March 9, 1967 President Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor, America’s highest military decoration, to Lawrence Joel. Joel was the first living African American to receive the medal since the Spanish-American War. Joel was born February 22, 1928 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He joined the United States Army in 1946 and served in the […]
Tag Archives | Medal of Honor
March 5th in African American History – Robert Henry Jenkins, Jr.
March 5, 1969 Robert Henry Jenkins, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient, was killed in action. Jenkins was born June 1, 1948 in Interlachen, Florida. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1968 and within two months was promoted to private first class. On March 5, 1969, while serving as a Marine Gunner with […]
February 23rd in African American History – Oscar Palmer Austin
February 23, 1969 Oscar Palmer Austin, Medal of Honor recipient, was killed in action. Austin was born January 15, 1949 in Nacogdoches, Texas and joined the United States Marine Corps in April, 1968. He was promoted to private first class in October, 1968 and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam where he served as ammunitions […]
February 21st in African American History – Clifford Chester Sims
February 21, 1968 Clifford Chester Sims, Medal of Honor recipient, was killed in action. Sims was born June 18, 1942 in Port St. Joe, Florida. By February 21, 1968, he was serving in the United States Army as a staff sergeant in Company D, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.
February 15th in African American History – Charles Leroy Thomas
February 15, 1980 Charles Leroy Thomas, Medal of Honor recipient, died. Thomas was born April 17, 1920 in Alabama. Before World War II, he worked at Ford Motor Company and was a student at Wayne State University. On December 14, 1944 Second Lieutenant Thomas led a task force in the capture of Climbach, France. Thomas’ […]
February 7th in African American History – Eugene Ashley, Jr.
February 7, 1968 Eugene Ashley, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient, died. Ashley was born October 12, 1931 in Wilmington, North Carolina but raised in New York City. Ashley joined the United States Army in 1950 and served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. On February 6, 1968, while serving as a sergeant first class in […]
October 31st in African American History – Riley Leroy Pitts
October 31, 1967 Riley Leroy Pitts, the first African American commissioned officer to receive the Medal of Honor, died. Pitts was born October 15, 1937 in Fallis, Oklahoma. In 1960, he graduated from Wichita State University with a degree in journalism. After being commissioned as an officer in the Army, he was sent to Vietnam […]