Darwin Keith Kyle (June 1, 1918 – February 16, 1951) a veteran

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in World War II, Darwin Kyle earned both a Silver Star and Bronze Star for his heroic actions in France and Germany. A Master Sergeant at the beginning of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, "Gus" was posthumously awarded the Soldiers Medal for his heroic actions on December 24, 1950, during the final stages of the

Hungnam evacuation The Hungnam evacuation' (), also known as the Miracle of Christmas, was the evacuation of United Nations (UN) forces and North Korean civilians from the port of Hungnam, North Korea, between 15 and 24 December 1950 during the Korean War. As part ...

. On January 27, 1951, he received a battlefield commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was killed in action on February 16, 1951, and on January 16, 1952, at the Pentagon, his widow accepted the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty. Kyle joined the Army from Racine, West Virginia, in November 1939.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Company K, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Place and date: Near Kamil-ni, Korea, February 16, 1951 Entered service at: Racine, W. Va. Born: June 1, 1918,

Jenkins, Kentucky Jenkins is a home rule-class city in Letcher County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,203 as of the 2010 census. History In autumn of 1911, the Consolidation Coal Company purchased the current location of Jenkins as part of a tr ...

G.O. No.: 17, February 1, 1952 ;Citation

2d Lt. Kyle, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. When his platoon had been pinned down by intense fire, he completely exposed himself to move among and encourage his men to continue the advance against enemy forces strongly entrenched on Hill 185. Inspired by his courageous leadership, the platoon resumed the advance but was again pinned down when an enemy
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) ar ...
opened fire, wounding 6 of the men. 2d Lt. Kyle immediately charged the hostile emplacement alone, engaged the crew in hand-to-hand combat, killing all 3. Continuing on toward the objective, his platoon suddenly received an intense automatic-weapons fire from a well-concealed hostile position on its right flank. Again leading his men in a daring bayonet charge against this position, firing his carbine and throwing grenades, 2d Lt. Kyle personally destroyed 4 of the enemy before he was killed by a burst from an enemy submachine gun. The extraordinary heroism and outstanding leadership of 2d Lt. Kyle, and his gallant self-sacrifice, reflect the highest credit upon himself and are in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the military service.

Legacy

The U.S. Army named a camp after 2d Lt. Kyle, Camp Kyle, near

Uijeongbu Uijeongbu () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Overview Uijeongbu is located north of the Korean capital Seoul; it lies inside a defile, with mountains on two sides, and commands a natural choke point across the main traditional in ...

, South Korea. Darwin K

Notes

References

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"Lt. Darwin K. Kyle" Kentucky History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, Darwin K. 1921 births 1951 deaths United States Army Medal of Honor recipients American military personnel killed in the Korean War Recipients of the Soldier's Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Jenkins, Kentucky Military personnel from Kentucky United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War

Medal of Honor citation

Legacy

See also

Notes

References