26-05-2025
Gallup war hero exhibit on display at National Medal of Honor Museum
May 25—The only thing on U.S. Army Cpl. Hiroshi Miyamura's mind when he was facing certain death in Korea was his troops.
Miyamura was a machine-gun squad leader with the U.S. Army's Company H, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division when the enemy threatened to overrun his position near Taejon-Ni in April 1951.
When he thought his soldiers could be killed, Miyamura said in a 2019 interview, he decided to withdraw "never thinking anything other than trying to protect my men."
Giving cover to his men, Miyamura wielded a bayonet and machine gun and engaged in hand-to-hand combat against the Chinese before being captured and spending over two years in a prisoner of war camp.
He would be given the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions, though he did not learn about it until after he was released from the camp in 1953.
"Hiroshi's surprise was almost a physical thing," Scripps-Howard staff writer Jim Lucas wrote in the Aug. 20, 1953, article published in the Albuquerque Tribune. "His eyes widened and his chin trembled."
"What!" Miyamura said.
Over 70 years later, his story is being told in an exhibit at the National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas, which opened in March.
"It was probably one of the greatest honors you can feel, to have your dad displayed in front of the public," Hiroshi Miyamura's son, Pat Miyamura, said in a recent phone interview.
'I was more or less by myself'
Hiroshi "Hershey" Miyamura was born on Oct. 6, 1925, in Gallup, the son of Japanese immigrants (Gallup now has a high school named after him). He served in the U.S. Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II, after the federal government lifted restrictions on Japanese Americans serving in the war. Following his discharge in 1946, Miyamura enlisted with the Army Reserve.
When the Korean War began, he was called to active duty and became a squad leader in the Third Infantry Division. Months later, on April 24, 1951, his life would change forever.
On that night, his men were in a defensive position near Taejon-Ni when the Chinese attacked. Miyamura jumped from his shelter wielding a bayonet and killed about 10 people. Returning to his position, he administered first aid and directed their evacuation.
After another assault, Miyamura got to a machine gun and fired until it was empty. He then bayoneted his way through enemy soldiers to a second gun emplacement. Miyamura ordered his men back while he remained to cover their movement. He killed more than 50 Chinese combatants before his ammunition ran out again, according to his medal citation.
"I was more or less by myself," Miyamura said in the Scripps-Howard article.
He was retreating when he ran into a Chinese soldier who threw a grenade at him. Miyamura kicked it back before it blew up, injuring him. He kept moving until he stumbled into barbed wire where he was captured.
"When last seen, he was fighting furiously against an overwhelming number of enemy soldiers," the citation said. "Cpl. Miyamura's indomitable heroism and consummate devotion to duty reflect the upmost glory on himself and uphold the illustrious traditions of the military service."
Miyamura was released as prisoner on Aug. 20, 1953, after the armistice was signed. Two months later, Oct. 27, 1953, he received the Medal of Honor from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
"It seems impossible that human beings could stand up to the kind of punishment they received and deliver the kind of service they have," Eisenhower said during the ceremony.
"There are so many Americans that do not know what the medal represents or what any soldier or service woman or man does for his (or her) country," Miyamura said in a Congressional Medal of Honor Society Living History video. "I hope one of these days they will learn of the sacrifices that a lot of these men and women have made for this country."
'We can be inspired'
Miyamura is one of 341 people featured in the National Medal of Honor Museum, which has a ring of honor listing all 3,528 recipients. The medal dates back to 1861.
These people not only answered the call of duty, but they served under extraordinary circumstances "and we can be inspired by those stories," National Medal of Honor Museum President and CEO Chris Cassidy said.
Along with his Medal of Honor, Miyamura's exhibit includes unopened letters from his wife, Terry Miyamura, after he was taken prisoner. It also has an opened letter to her, saying in part to "Please take care of yourself, it won't be much longer. If the people back home want peace there is nothing that can prevent it."
Pat Miyamura said his father, who died at the age of 97 in Phoenix just after Thanksgiving in 2022, did not want to talk about his experiences in Korea. It wasn't until Miyamura visited with other veterans over the years that Pat Miyamura said he learned more about the man who nearly died saving his fellow soldiers in April 1951 and the importance of the medal he earned.
"To see and hear their stories, you're in awe of them," Pat Miyamura said. "To know what these recipients have gone through to deserve their medals is kind of sobering and emotional."
