Hometown: Hatfield, WI
Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: Company E, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Purple Heart (2)
Date of Sacrifice: November 5, 1950 - KIA near Chonghyon, North Korea
Age: 25 
Conflict: Korean War, 1950-1953

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was born in Hatfield, Wisconsin—along the Black River, some 60 miles northeast of where it joins the Mississippi. He and his parents, Mitchell “Mike” and Nellie “Lillian” (Winneshiek Twocrow) along with younger brothers Merlin and Randall, were members of the Winnebago tribe, later known as the Ho-Chunk.

Mitchell attended high school in nearby Black River Falls, Wisconsin. In 1941, his junior year, the world was at war in Europe and the Pacific—although the United States had not yet officially entered the conflict. At age 17, Red Cloud received his father’s permission to leave school and join the United States Marine Corps. He enlisted on August 11, 1941, four months before Imperial Japan attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Red Cloud was deployed to World War II’s Pacific theater, assigned to “Carlson’s Raiders,” the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion. He fought in the Solomon Islands campaign, on the island of Guadalcanal. Like many Marines in the Pacific, Red Cloud developed a severe case of malaria. He recovered and refused his medical discharge.

Returning to action, Red Cloud then served with A Company, 29th Marines, 6th Marine Division in the Battle of Okinawa. Suffering a bullet wound to the shoulder, Red Cloud was awarded a Purple Heart medal and discharged from the Marine Corps in November of 1945, having achieved the rank of sergeant.

He returned home, married, and started a family. Red Cloud had difficulty settling into civilian life, and in 1948 he returned to active duty—this time with the U.S. Army. He was assigned to “Easy Company,” Company E, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.

His unit was sent to Kyushu, Japan, and in July was among the first U.S. companies sent to Korea with the outbreak of war on June 25, 1950. By this time Red Cloud was 25 years old, older than most of the men serving with him. As a proven combat Veteran, Red Cloud was highly respected by the men of Easy Company.

On November 5, 1950, Easy Company was positioned near Chonghyon, North Korea, on Hill 123. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Red Cloud “was manning a listening post at the hill’s ridge, right in front of the command post, when he realized Chinese Communist forces were approaching. Those forces instantly charged at him from the brush about 100 feet away.”

Cpl. Red Cloud, armed with only a Browning automatic rifle, left the safety of his listening position. As enemy rounds struck him, he waved off a medic, wrapped his arm around a tree, and continued firing at the enemy onslaught. He delayed the attack long enough for Easy Company to coordinate its defense and evacuate the wounded.

On April 3, 1951, General Omar Bradley presented the nation’s highest military honor to Cpl. Red Cloud’s mother. The Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty in Chonghyon, Korea, 5 November 1950. Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up he delivered devastating point-blank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance, he pulled himself to his feet and wrapping his arm around a tree continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company’s position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud’s dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army.

His daughter, Annita Red Cloud, told Discover Wisconsin that she met the medic from her father’s unit at a Korean War Project event. She believes it’s likely that the medic was the last person to speak with her father. The medic recounted that Cpl. Red Cloud told him, “Get me all the ammo you can, and put it next to me,” and then, “get everybody you can out of here.”

Two days after his death, Easy Company recaptured Hill 123. They found that the bodies of the fallen U.S. soldiers had all been looted by the Chinese Communist soldiers—all except for Cpl. Red Cloud. The Americans speculated that it was the enemy soldiers’ way of honoring him.

To recognize Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.’s service and sacrifice, U.S. Army Garrison Camp Red Cloud, located in Uijeongbu, Korea, was named in his honor. On August 7, 1999, the United States Navy commissioned the Military Sealift Command ship USNS Red Cloud (T-AKR 313).

The American Legion Red Cloud Post 250 in Adams-Friendship, Wisconsin, is named in Cpl. Red Cloud’s honor. Other recognitions include Veterans posts, parks, and roads around Wisconsin. Every Fourth of July, the Ho-Chunk Nation celebrates “Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. Day.”

Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. was laid to rest in the Decorah Cemetery in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. The monument there refers to him as “The son of a Winnebago chief and warriors.” His daughter Annita describes the location as “…by the Indian Mission, which is pretty much the hub of the Ho-Chunk Nation.” She adds, “A person never dies…until he’s forgotten. And that’s what’s really important to me—that he’s not forgotten.”

Sources
U.S. Army photo VIRIN: 211006-A-D0439-066 (digitally restored), Public Domain
U.S. Army—Native Americans in the U.S. Army: Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.
U.S. Army: Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. Annual ceremony planned in memory of Medal of Honor recipient
U.S. Department of Defense—Medal of Honor Monday: Army Cpl. Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.
Korean War Project: CPL Mitchell Red Cloud Jr
Wisconsin Veterans Museum: Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud Jr
Discover Wisconsin: Ho-Chunk Warrior - Mitchell RedCloud Jr (Video)
Milwaukee Public Museum: Ho-Chunk Culture
Congressional Medal of Honor Society: Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.
Burial Site: Find a Grave