July 27 honors the memory of Korean War veterans. It marks the day in 1953 when the United States, The People’s Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea agreed to an armistice, bringing the war to an end after three bloody years.
A total of 1,789,000 U.S. military members served in theater during the war. More than 289,000 of them were from Texas. And 1,723 of those Texans never made it home alive.
In honor of all who served in that conflict, we wanted to highlight three Texans who fought there and were awarded the Medal of Honor.
Ambrosio Guillen. U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Ambrosio Guillen grew up in El Paso. He joined the Marine Corps at 18, several years before the Korean War began. On July 25, 1953, two days before the official ceasefire, he led his pinned-down platoon in hand-to-hand combat against two enemy battalions at Songuch-on. Guillen and his men were able to force the enemy into retreat. But Guillen was severely wounded and died a few hours later. For his bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Ribbon.
Charles F. Pendleton. U.S. Army Cpl. Charles F. Pendleton was from Fort Worth. He joined the army in 1951, a year after the U.S. became embroiled in the war. On July 17, 1953, the same day the ceasefire was reached, Pendleton fought bravely against enemy forces near Choo Gung-Dong. Although wounded by a grenade during the fighting, he forced two waves of enemy forces to retreat. He was later killed by an exploding mortar. For his gallantry, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor and the Purple Heart.
Whitt Lloyd Moreland. U.S. Marine Corps Pfc. Whitt Lloyd Moreland grew up in Austin. He joined the Marine Corps at 18 in 1948. On May 29, 1951, while working as an intelligence scout at Kwagch’i-Dong, Moreland assisted a rifle platoon in a successful attack against an enemy stronghold. After the position had been captured, Moreland and several comrades moved forward to overtake an enemy bunker. On the way, he slipped on an enemy grenade. He shouted warnings to his fellow soldiers and covered the grenade with his body. The blast took his life. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart and the Korean Service Medal.
Veteran Energy salutes all of our lionhearted Korean War veterans. We remember your courage, and we thank you for your sacrifice for America.
