US Congressional Medals of Honor(MoH) are shiny and blue. They come in a narrow black box. So, when Sam Coursen was handed one by General Omar Bradley, he really didn’t know what was inside. You would have to excuse Sam. He was only fourteen months old. You see, the medal, the nation’s highest award for heroism, was given in honor of his father, Lt. Samuel Streit Coursen, Sr., US Army. If you went to Dublin High School in the mid 1960s, you knew Little Sam. None of you here were lucky enough to have known Big Sam. So, I will tell you his story, the story of an intrepid American hero. (continue reading)
A Veteran in Korea Saved by a Hero
And here is a nice story about a veteran of war in Korea by Todd DePastino of Veteran Breakfast Club.
“Yesterday, I spent the best afternoon imaginable at The Residence in Bethel Park retirement community, where I met a wonderful 90-year-old man named Chuck Nice. I told him how apt his last name was. He said to me, “I don’t even like to argue with people, and yet I had to kill them in Korea.” Chuck was one of the first soldiers shipped overseas to Pusan in July 1950 as a sergeant in Company C, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On October 6, 1950, after lots of terrible combat, his depleted platoon received a new leader, Lt. Samuel S. Coursen. Six days later, Chuck’s platoon was down to a handful of men, including Coursen, when the 5th Cav attacked North Korean positions near the city of Kaesong as part of the massive UN offensive above the 38th Parallel.
While fighting on Hill 174 ‘n Korea, Lt. Coursen saw one of his men wounded. He also saw that the enemy was about to overrun their position. Then Lt. Coursen turned to his platoon. He told them to run as fast as they could away from the enemy. Then, Coursen fixed bayonet and charged, holding off the North Koreans long enough to allow Chuck and his comrades to escape. “(continue reading)
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