James L. Stone | |
|---|---|
 Stone in 2010 | |
| Birth name | James Lamar Stone |
| Born | (1922-12-27)December 27, 1922 Pine Bluff, Arkansas |
| Died | November 9, 2012(2012-11-09) (aged 89) Arlington, Texas |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1948 – 1976 |
| Rank |  Colonel |
| Unit | 8th Cavalry Regiment,1st Cavalry Division |
| Battles / wars | Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards | Medal of Honor Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart |
James Lamar Stone (December 27, 1922 – November 9, 2012) was aUnited States Army officer and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—theMedal of Honor—for his actions in theKorean War. He was awarded the medal for his conspicuous leadership during a fight against overwhelming odds, for continuing to lead after being wounded, and for choosing to stay behind after ordering others to retreat, a decision which led to his capture byChinese forces.
Stone joined the Army fromHouston, Texas, in 1948, and by November 21, 1951 was serving as afirst lieutenant in Company E of the 2nd Battalion,8th Cavalry Regiment,1st Cavalry Division. On that morning, Stone'splatoon relieved another American unit that was manning a hilltop outpost above theImjin River near Sokkogae,South Korea).
At about 9:00 pm, Chinese forces launched anartillery andmortar attack against the outpost, followed by a series ofinfantry assaults. Stone led hisplatoon's defense against thebattalion-sized force. Just after midnight, a second battalion joined the Chinese assault, pitting Stone's 48-man platoon against roughly 800 enemy soldiers. Wounded three times during the battle, Stone continued to lead his men and fight, including inhand-to-hand combat. Realizing the defense was hopeless, Stone ordered those men who could still walk to leave and rejoin the rest of Company E, while he stayed behind with the badly wounded to cover their retreat. Stone eventually lost consciousness and, just before dawn on November 22, he and the six remaining men of his platoon were captured by Chinese forces.
After regaining consciousness, Stone was interrogated by the Chinese before being sent to a prison camp on theYalu River. After 22 months of captivity, he was released in a prisoner exchange on September 3, 1953. Upon his liberation, Stone learned that he was to receive the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle near Sokkogae.
Stone's Medal of Honor was officially approved on October 20, 1953 and presented to him a week later. At a ceremony in theWhite House on October 27, PresidentDwight Eisenhower presented Medals of Honor to Stone and six others.
Stone reached the rank ofcolonel and served in theVietnam War before retiring from the Army in 1976.[1]
First Lieutenant Stone's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
1st Lt. Stone, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. When his platoon, holding a vital outpost position, was attacked by overwhelming Chinese forces, 1st Lt. Stone stood erect and exposed to the terrific enemy fire calmly directed his men in the defense. A defensiveflame-thrower failing to function, he personally moved to its location, further exposing himself, and personally repaired the weapon. Throughout a second attack, 1st Lt. Stone; though painfully wounded, personally carried the only remaining lightmachine gun from place to place in the position in order to bring fire upon the Chinese advancing from 2 directions. Throughout he continued to encourage and direct his depleted platoon in its hopeless defense. Although again wounded, he continued the fight with hiscarbine, still exposing himself as an example to his men. When this final overwhelming assault swept over the platoon's position his voice could still be heard faintly urging his men to carry on, until he lost consciousness. Only because of this officer's driving spirit and heroic action was the platoon emboldened to make its brave but hopeless last ditch stand.[2]
Stone died in November 2012 in Arlington, Texas, aged 89.[3]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Army Center of Military History.