Charles L. McGaha (February 26, 1914Sources are inconsistent on McGaha's birth date. His government issued headstones give February 26, 1914 (see ), while the book "25th Infantry Division" gives February 27, 1914. – August 8, 1984) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

—for his actions in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

McGaha was born in the small town of Cosby in eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

McGaha's Medal of Honor citation incorrectly records his place of birth and enlistment as "Crosby", Tennessee. to Laura McGaha. His family had a long history of service in the United States military. In October 1937, at age 23, he traveled to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, hoping to enlist in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. The navy recruiter, not needing any more enlistees, turned him away, so McGaha left for Knoxville and joined the

instead. In 1941, McGaha was stationed in

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, with Company G of the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was there when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941, precipitating the United States' entrance into World War II. McGaha fought in the

Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...

and the northern Solomons before participating in the campaign to recapture the Philippines from Japanese control. On February 7, 1945, he was serving as a master sergeant during the Battle of Luzon. On that day, near

Lupao Lupao, officially the Municipality of Lupao ( ilo, Ili ti Lupao; tl, Bayan ng Lupao), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 45,917 people. The town is derive ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

, he repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in order to aid wounded soldiers, led his

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

after the platoon leader was wounded, and deliberately drew

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese fire onto himself so that others could escape to safety. For these actions, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor and given a battlefield commission to

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. McGaha was then

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

from the Army, but soon re-enlisted as a master sergeant and was stationed at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia. His nomination for the Medal of Honor was approved a year after the battle, on April 2, 1946. During a ceremony at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

on March 27, 1946, President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

formally presented McGaha and another man, Navy Commander

Richard O'Kane Richard Hetherington O'Kane (February 2, 1911 – February 16, 1994) was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for commanding in the Pacific War against Japan to the most successful record of ...

, with Medals of Honor. In December 1949, McGaha married Jeanette Large. McGaha again became a

commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

and reached the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

before retiring from the Army. McGaha died at age 70, after being stabbed forty times in an apparent robbery attempt, and was buried in Union Cemetery, Newport, Tennessee.

Awards

A full list of his decorations includes the *

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

with three oak leaf clusters * Good Conduct Medal *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

with "Foreign Service" clasp * Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four

campaign star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s * World War II Victory Medal *

Philippine Liberation Ribbon The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on 20 December 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. The d ...

with star McGaha also received the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

and

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

with star.

Medal of Honor citation

McGaha's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGaha, Charles L. United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients People from Cosby, Tennessee United States Army officers Recipients of the Silver Star 1914 births 1984 deaths World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Awards

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References