Don Carlos Faith Jr. (August 26, 1918 – December 1, 1950) was an officer in the

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, ...

during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

. He was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

awarded 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 val ...

for his actions in Korea from November 27, through December 1, 1950. In 1976 LTC Faith was posthumously inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame 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 employee ...

, Georgia.

Early life

Faith was born in

Washington, Indiana Washington is a city in Daviess County, Indiana. The population was 11,509 at the time of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Daviess County. It is also the principal city of the Washington, Indiana Micropolitan Statistical Are ...

on 26 August 1918, the son of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

Don Carlos Faith. He was found medically unfit for admission to

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

, and instead enrolled at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

Military career

With America's entry into the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

approaching, Congress passed the Selective Service Act in 1940. Don Faith was called in for his draft physical, but was rejected for the same dental disqualification that thwarted his admission to the

. However, Faith was able to successfully appeal the draft board's decision, and he was inducted on June 25, 1941 following graduation from

, where he was a brother of Delta Phi Epsilon, Professional Foreign Service Fraternity. After completion of

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

, he was commissioned on February 26, 1942. Lieutenant Faith was assigned to the

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...

and spent the remainder of the war with the division. He served as both an aide to Brigadier General

Matthew Ridgway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Altho ...

, commander of the 82nd from 1942−1944, and as a staff officer in the division. In addition to participating in all of the division's combat jumps during the war in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, Faith was awarded two

Bronze Stars The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a Combat, combat zo ...

and was promoted to lieutenant colonel, on the staff of Major General

Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, n ...

. After World War II, Faith served with the military mission in China until it was withdrawn. His next assignment was with the 7th Infantry Division in Japan as a battalion commander. When the war in Korea broke out during the summer of 1950, Faith and the 7th Infantry were sent to help stop the invasion of South Korea. Faith was the commander of the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. The 31st Regimental Combat Team 31st RCT was part of the force that pushed north with the objective of reaching the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

. The 31st RCT was on the eastern bank of the Chosin Reservoir when the Chinese

People's Volunteer Army The People's Volunteer Army (PVA) was the armed expeditionary forces deployed by the People's Republic of China during the Korean War. Although all units in the PVA were actually transferred from the People's Liberation Army under the order ...

(PVA) staged a massive attack on the night of November 27, 1950. This began the

Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of th ...

that would last until December 13, 1950. During a desperate drive south by convoy along the only road on December 1, the 31st RCT's commander, Colonel Allan D. MacLean, was killed and so the command of the entire regiment fell to Faith. Later the same day, Faith led an attack against a PVA roadblock where he was wounded by a fragmentation grenade. Faith was loaded into the cab of a 2 1/2-ton truck, and with Pfc. Russell L. Barney driving it, was the only truck to get through the last roadblock. As Barney was driving, they were struck by PVA small arms fire at which time Faith was hit again and was killed. At some point Barney had to abandon the truck, leaving Faith's body in the vehicle. Barney made it back to the safety of United Nations lines where he later reported his account. Like all the dead and wounded who were killed by the PVA and left with all the abandoned convoy vehicles, as none of the convoy vehicles made it to safety, Faith was listed as missing in action. President Harry S. Truman awarded the Army Medal of Honor, posthumously, to Lieutenant Colonel Don C. Faith Jr.. The award was presented to Mrs. Barbara Faith in Washington, D.C., by General

Omar N. Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army. Bradley was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and ove ...

, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a ceremony on June 21, 1951. The official Department of the Army award and citation were published in its General Order No. 59, 2 August 1951. Later, Faith's classification was changed to killed in action, body not recovered. After 62 years in this classification, Faith's remains were recovered near the Chosin Reservoir by a Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) field recovery team. His remains were identified through DNA and reported to the public by Defense Prisoner Of War – Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) on October 11, 2012. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on April 17, 2013, with full military honors.

Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor citation

:General Orders: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 59 (August 2, 1951) :Action Date: November 27 – December 1, 1950 :Service: Army :Rank:

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

:Company: Commanding Officer :Battalion: 1st Battalion :Regiment: 32d Infantry Regiment :Division: 7th Infantry Division Citation:

''The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) Don Carlos Faith Jr. (ASN: O-46673), United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty while Commanding the 1st Battalion, 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, in action against enemy aggressor forces at Hagaru-ri, (Chosin Reservoir) North Korea, from 27 November to 1 December 1950. When the enemy launched a fanatical attack against his battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Faith unhesitatingly exposed himself to heavy enemy fire as he moved about directing the action. When the enemy penetrated the positions, Lieutenant Colonel Faith personally led counterattacks to restore the position. During an attack by his battalion to effect a junction with another U.S. unit, Lieutenant Colonel Faith reconnoitered the route for, and personally directed, the first elements of his command across the ice-covered reservoir and then directed the movement of his vehicles which were loaded with wounded until all of his command had passed through the enemy fire. Having completed this he crossed the reservoir himself. Assuming command of the force his unit had joined he was given the mission of attacking to join friendly elements to the south. Lieutenant Colonel Faith, although physically exhausted in the bitter cold, organized and launched an attack which was soon stopped by enemy fire. He ran forward under enemy small-arms and automatic weapons fire, got his men on their feet and personally led the fire attack as it blasted its way through the enemy ring. As they came to a hairpin curve, enemy fire from a roadblock again pinned the column down. Lieutenant Colonel Faith organized a group of men and directed their attack on the enemy positions on the right flank. He then placed himself at the head of another group of men and in the face of direct enemy fire led an attack on the enemy roadblock, firing his pistol and throwing grenades. When he had reached a position approximately 30 yards from the roadblock he was mortally wounded, but continued to direct the attack until the roadblock was overrun. Throughout the five days of action Lieutenant Colonel Faith gave no thought to his safety and did not spare himself. His presence each time in the position of greatest danger was an inspiration to his men. Also, the damage he personally inflicted firing from his position at the head of his men was of material assistance on several occasions. Lieutenant Colonel Faith's outstanding gallantry and noble self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty reflect the highest honor on him and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.''
(This award supersedes the prior award of the Silver Star (First Oak Leaf Cluster) as announced in G.O. No. 32, Headquarters X Corps, dated 23 February 1951, for gallantry in action on 27 November 1950.)

Dates of rank

* Enlisted – 25 June 1941 * 2nd Lieutenant – 27 February 1942 * 1st Lieutenant – 15 July 1942 * Captain – 24 February 1943 * Major – 10 May 1944 * Lieutenant Colonel – 16 June 1945Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. Vol. 1. p. 558.

References

External links

: *
Soldier Missing from Korean War Identified
– Department of Defense News Release *
Arlington National Cemetery
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Faith, Don C. Jr. 1918 births 1950 deaths Military personnel from Indiana United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel killed in the Korean War Recipients of the Silver Star Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army colonels United States Army personnel of World War II People from Washington, Indiana