When Kyle Carpenter is awarded his Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony, he will join an elite fraternity of fewer than 3,500 men (and one woman) who have earned the nation’s highest award for valor.
Carpenter, 24, will become the youngest living recipient of the medal and the 38th South Carolinian to earn the commendation since it was created in 1861. The roster of South Carolina’s living Medal of Honor recipients currently includes Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, a retired Marine, and Lt. Michael E. Thornton, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL. Both Livingston and Thornton earned their commendations during the Vietnam conflict.
Profiles of Livingston and Thornton are included in the September 2010 South Carolina Living cover story “Local Heroes.”
Fast facts about the Medal of Honor
- Among South Carolina’s Medal of Honor recipients is Freddie Stowers of Anderson County. Stowers was a U.S. Army corporal who died leading his infantry unit in an assault on enemy trenches in France during World War I. He was awarded the medal posthumously by President George H.W. Bush in 1991 after a review of service records brought his heroism to light.
- The commendation was created by Congress 1861 to honor Union troops who served with distinction in the Civil War. A total of 1,522 medals were awarded during that conflict, compared to 464 awarded in World War II.
- South Carolina’s first recipient was U.S. Army Lt. Ernest A. Garlington, who received recognition in 1890 for service at the Battle of Wounded Knee.
- The Medal of Honor presented to Greenville native Michael Thornton was the last earned in the Vietnam War. The man he saved, fellow U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Thomas Norris, received his own Medal of Honor for an operation conducted six months earlier in which Norris rescued two downed U.S. airmen.
- Two South Carolinians have received the award for heroism in noncombat settings. U.S. Navy Boilermaker Edward Floyd earned his in 1905 for “extraordinary heroism at the time of the blowing out of the manhole plate of boiler D” aboard the U.S.S. Iowa. U.S. Navy Shipfitter First Class George Wheeler of Charleston received his in 1909 for action “during a conflagration in Coquimbo, Chile.”
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South Carolina’s Medal of Honor recipients
Anderson, Webster, U.S. Army, Vietnam
Atkins, Thomas E., U.S. Army, World War II
Baker, John F. Jr., U.S. Army, Vietnam
Barker, Charles H., U.S. Army, Korea
Currey, Francis S., U.S. Army, World War II
Dozier, James C., U.S. Army, World War I
Elliott, Middleton Stuart, U.S. Navy, Vera Cruz, 1915
Floyd, Edward, U.S. Navy, Interim 1901-1910 **
Foster, Gary Evans, U.S. Army, World War I
Garlington, Ernest A., U.S. Army, Indian Campaign
Hall, Thomas Lee*, U.S. Army, World War I
Heriot, James D.*, U.S. Army, World War I
Hilton, Richmond H., U.S. Army, World War I
Hooper, Joe Ronnie, U.S. Army, Vietnam
Howe, James D.*, U.S. Marines, Vietnam
Johnson, Ralph H.*, U.S. Marines, Vietnam
Kennedy, John T., U.S. Army, Philippine Insurrection
Kennemore, Robert S., U.S. Marines, Korea
Knight, Noah O.*, U.S. Army, Korea
Livingston, James E., U.S. Marines, Vietnam
Mabry, George L. Jr., U.S. Army, World War II
McGinty, John J. III, U.S. Marines, Vietnam
McWorter, William A.*, U.S. Army, World War II
Moffett, William A., U.S. Navy, Vera Cruz, 1915
Murray, Charles P. Jr., U.S. Army, World War II
Owens, Robert Allen*, U.S. Marines, World War II
Smith, Furman*, U.S. Army, World War II
Stowers, Freddie*, U.S. Army, World War I
Sullivan, Daniel A.J., U.S. Navy, World War I
Thornton, Michael E., U.S. Navy, Vietnam
Truesdale, Donald LeRoy, U.S. Marines, Second Nicaragua Campaign
Villepigue, John C., U.S. Army, World War I
Watkins, Lewis G.*, U.S. Marines, Korea
Wheeler, George H., U.S.Navy, Interim 1901-1910 **
Williams, Charles Q., U.S. Army, Vietnam
Williams, James E., U.S. Navy, Vietnam
Wilson, Harold E., U.S. Marines, Korea
* Awarded posthumously
** Non-combat award
Sources: The Medal of Honor: A Commemoration of South Carolina Recipients and the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
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Full Citations for five South Carolina Medal of Honor Recipients
Five heroes accredited to South Carolina were among the honorees when Charleston hosted Beyond Valor, the 2010 Medal of Honor Convention. Here are their official citations.
Col. Charles P. Murray Jr., U.S. Army (ret.)
For commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into enemy territory. Descending into a valley beneath hilltop positions held by our troops, he observed a force of 200 Germans pouring deadly mortar, bazooka, machinegun, and small arms fire into an American battalion occupying the crest of the ridge. The enemy's position in a sunken road, though hidden from the ridge, was open to a flank attack by 1st Lt. Murray's patrol but he hesitated to commit so small a force to battle with the superior and strongly disposed enemy. Crawling out ahead of his troops to a vantage point, he called by radio for artillery fire. His shells bracketed the German force, but when he was about to correct the range his radio went dead. He returned to his patrol, secured grenades and a rifle to launch them and went back to his self-appointed outpost. His first shots disclosed his position; the enemy directed heavy fire against him as he methodically fired his missiles into the narrow defile. Again he returned to his patrol. With an automatic rifle and ammunition, he once more moved to his exposed position. Burst after burst he fired into the enemy, killing 20, wounding many others, and completely disorganizing its ranks, which began to withdraw. He prevented the removal of 3 German mortars by knocking out a truck. By that time a mortar had been brought to his support. 1st Lt. Murray directed fire of this weapon, causing further casualties and confusion in the German ranks. Calling on his patrol to follow, he then moved out toward his original objective, possession of a bridge and construction of a roadblock. He captured 10 Germans in foxholes. An eleventh, while pretending to surrender, threw a grenade which knocked him to the ground, inflicting 8 wounds. Though suffering and bleeding profusely, he refused to return to the rear until he had chosen the spot for the block and had seen his men correctly deployed. By his single-handed attack on an overwhelming force and by his intrepid and heroic fighting, 1st Lt. Murray stopped a counterattack, established an advance position against formidable odds, and provided an inspiring example for the men of his command.
Lt. Michael E. Thornton, U.S. Navy SEAL (Ret.)
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor, along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base. Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent encirclement. Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant's last position; quickly disposed of 2 enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water's edge. He then inflated the lieutenant's lifejacket and towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft. By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
Master Sgt. John F. Baker Jr., U.S. Army (Ret.)
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. En route to assist another unit that was engaged with the enemy, Company A came under intense enemy fire and the lead man was killed instantly. Sgt. Baker immediately moved to the head of the column and together with another soldier knocked out 2 enemy bunkers. When his comrade was mortally wounded, Sgt. Baker, spotting 4 Viet Cong snipers, killed all of them, evacuated the fallen soldier and returned to lead repeated assaults against the enemy positions, killing several more Viet Cong. Moving to attack 2 additional enemy bunkers, he and another soldier drew intense enemy fire and Sgt. Baker was blown from his feet by an enemy grenade. He quickly recovered and single-handedly destroyed 1 bunker before the other soldier was wounded. Seizing his fallen comrade's machine gun, Sgt. Baker charged through the deadly fusillade to silence the other bunker. He evacuated his comrade, replenished his ammunition and returned to the forefront to brave the enemy fire and continue the fight. When the forward element was ordered to withdraw, he carried 1 wounded man to the rear. As he returned to evacuate another soldier, he was taken under fire by snipers, but raced beyond the friendly troops to attack and kill the snipers. After evacuating the wounded man, he returned to cover the deployment of the unit. His ammunition now exhausted, he dragged 2 more of his fallen comrades to the rear. Sgt. Baker's selfless heroism, indomitable fighting spirit, and extraordinary gallantry were directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades, and inflicting serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.
Capt. John J. McGinty III, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 2d Lt. McGinty's platoon, which was providing rear security to protect the withdrawal of the battalion from a position which had been under attack for 3 days, came under heavy small arms, automatic weapons and mortar fire from an estimated enemy regiment. With each successive human wave which assaulted his 32-man platoon during the 4-hour battle, 2d Lt. McGinty rallied his men to beat off the enemy. In 1 bitter assault, 2 of the squads became separated from the remainder of the platoon. With complete disregard for his safety, 2d Lt. McGinty charged through intense automatic weapons and mortar fire to their position. Finding 20 men wounded and the medical corpsman killed, he quickly reloaded ammunition magazines and weapons for the wounded men and directed their fire upon the enemy. Although he was painfully wounded as he moved to care for the disabled men, he continued to shout encouragement to his troops and to direct their fire so effectively that the attacking hordes were beaten off. When the enemy tried to out-flank his position, he killed 5 of them at point-blank range with his pistol. When they again seemed on the verge of overrunning the small force, he skillfully adjusted artillery and air strikes within 50 yards of his position. This destructive firepower routed the enemy, who left an estimated 500 bodies on the battlefield. 2d Lt. McGinty's personal heroism, indomitable leadership, selfless devotion to duty, and bold fighting spirit inspired his men to resist the repeated attacks by a fanatical enemy, reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.
Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Commanding Officer, Company E, in action against enemy forces. Company E launched a determined assault on the heavily fortified village of Dai Do, which had been seized by the enemy on the preceding evening isolating a marine company from the remainder of the battalion. Skillfully employing screening agents, Capt. Livingston maneuvered his men to assault positions across 500 meters of dangerous open rice paddy while under intense enemy fire. Ignoring hostile rounds impacting near him, he fearlessly led his men in a savage assault against enemy emplacements within the village. While adjusting supporting arms fire, Capt. Livingston moved to the points of heaviest resistance, shouting words of encouragement to his marines, directing their fire, and spurring the dwindling momentum of the attack on repeated occasions. Although twice painfully wounded by grenade fragments, he refused medical treatment and courageously led his men in the destruction of over 100 mutually supporting bunkers, driving the remaining enemy from their positions, and relieving the pressure on the stranded marine company. As the 2 companies consolidated positions and evacuated casualties, a third company passed through the friendly lines launching an assault on the adjacent village of Dinh To, only to be halted by a furious counterattack of an enemy battalion. Swiftly assessing the situation and disregarding the heavy volume of enemy fire, Capt. Livingston boldly maneuvered the remaining effective men of his company forward, joined forces with the heavily engaged marines, and halted the enemy's counterattack. Wounded a third time and unable to walk, he steadfastly remained in the dangerously exposed area, deploying his men to more tenable positions and supervising the evacuation of casualties. Only when assured of the safety of his men did he allow himself to be evacuated. Capt. Livingston's gallant actions uphold the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.
Source: Congressional Medal of Honor Society
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Get more
For more information on the commendation, visit the website of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
In 2004, The South Carolina State Guard Foundation published The Medal of Honor: A Commemoration of South Carolina Recipients, profiling all 37 South Carolinians, living and deceased, who had earned the Medal of Honor to that point. For more information, visit sg.sc.gov.
View the national exhibition of portraits of Medal of Honor recipients at themedal.com.
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Related stories
- Gamecock warrior - Medal of Honor nominee Kyle Carpenter is giving his “new 100 percent” to civilian life.
- Awarding the Medal of Honor - Military historian Dik Daso takes us behind the scenes of the June 19 Medal of Honor ceremony.
- Local heroes - Learn more about the five South Carolina Medal of Honor recipients honored when Charleston hosted Beyond Valor, the 2010 Medal of Honor Convention.
- Heroism on display - Tour the Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point Military Park in Mount Pleasant.