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Copyright (c) |
By
HUEY
FREEMAN -- H&R Staff Writer Decatur, IL, January 12, 2004-- One summer day a half century ago, Sgt. Richard Baughman was machine-gunning enemy soldiers on a Korean hillside when a fragmentation grenade exploded nearby, sending him sprawling into a barbed-wire fence. On Monday afternoon at the Illinois National Guard Armory, Baughman finally received medals recognizing his heroic actions in that terrible battle on Pork Chop Hill. As Baughman, 73, stood in a room filled with 40 people -- many of them members of the Korean War Veterans Association, wearing their colors, blue blazers and dark slacks -- while a National Guard officer read the official Army account of the actions that earned him the Bronze Star. "With total disregard for his own safety, Sgt. Baughman commandeered a machine gun and defended his unit's position, saving the lives of many of his comrades and inflicting grievous losses on the enemy forces attacking his unit," said 1st Lt. Stephan Toussaint of the 66th Infantry Brigade. Lt. Col. Michael Selby, the brigade's executive officer, pinned the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart onto Baughman's sky blue Windbreaker. Baughman enthusiastically thanked everyone who helped him receive his long overdue medals. The rural Decatur resident was a 22-year-old radioman with a maintenance job at General Electric Co. when he was activated to fight in the struggle against the North Korean and Chinese Communist troops. The medals were obtained through the efforts of Judy Hinds, staff assistant in the Springfield office of Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, after a story on Baughman ran in the Herald & Review this past Veteran's Day. Baughman, who was a member of the National Guard's 44th Infantry Division, serving with the Army's 7th Division in Korea, said he might have received his medals earlier had most of his company not been killed or wounded. "There wasn't anybody left to do it," Baughman recalls. After shrapnel cut open his chin and cheek on July 9, 1953, the fourth day of a fierce battle for the hill, Baughman was taken to a hospital near Seoul for treatment. When he returned to the front to find his unit, he discovered he was just one of 12 men from a 188-man company who had not been killed or seriously wounded. As an armistice drew near -- it was signed on July 27 -- Baughman boarded a ship to leave the war-torn land. "I was tickled to death to come home," he said. "I'm lucky to be alive." Although his Army discharge form clearly states that Baughman was authorized to receive a Purple Heart for being wounded in action, his earlier efforts to obtain the medal with George Washington's profile on it were unsuccessful. When Baughman contacted LaHood's office in November, he also mentioned that an Army captain in Korea had told him he was recommended for a Bronze Star for his valorous actions. Apparently the Army found enough supporting evidence to also award Baughman the Bronze Star, a medal given for heroic service against an armed enemy. Judy Baughman, the honoree's wife of 23 years, said she was glad he finally received the awards he deserves. "He did such a great thing with the machine gun," she said. "He said he couldn't hit anything with a rifle. He threw (his rifle) away." Annette Giberson, Richard Baughman's daughter, said her father has always been a quiet person who never talked about his life. She said Monday was a unique day for her father. "This is the first time I've been at a ceremony celebrating anything in his life," she said, struggling to contain her emotions. Gary Puckett, Richard Baughman's stepson, said the veteran has been on cloud nine since he heard the news that he would receive his medals. The Purple Heart, the oldest military award in the world still in use today, was first presented to Revolutionary War soldiers in 1783. The Bronze Star was established in 1944 to recognize heroic and meritorious actions of those who served in World War II. Tim Butler, LaHood's press secretary in Springfield, said there has been an increase in requests for medals by veterans and their family members since 9/11. He said Hinds obtained Baughman's medals by contacting the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. About five weeks after Richard Baughman contacted LaHood's office, Hinds received the medals and forwarded them to the veteran, in advance of the ceremony. "These guys deserve it," Butler said of the veterans who are finally receiving their awards. "They have been out there preserving our freedoms, and they deserve a token of our appreciation, such as a medal." |
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Hero's
Honors: Veteran awarded medals 50 years after Pork Chop Hill