Re: Major George A. Davis: 50 years ago he perform his deed

[Mike Davino <mdavino@yahoo.com>]

Cookie,

Several Army tankers have received the Medal of Honor.
 At least one was a Korean War veteran - M/Sgt Ernest
Kouma.  Here is his citation:

KOUMA, ERNEST R. 

Rank and organization: Master Sergeant (then Sfc.)
U.S. Army, Company A, 72d Tank Battalion. Place and
date: Vicinity of Agok, Korea, 31 August and 1
September 1950. Entered service at: Dwight, Nebr.
Born: 23 November 1919, Dwight, Nebr. G.O. No.: 38, 4
June 1951. Citation: M/Sgt. Kouma, a tank commander in
Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous
gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty in action against
the enemy. His unit was engaged in supporting infantry
elements on the Naktong River front. Near midnight on
31 August, a hostile force estimated at 500 crossed
the river and launched a fierce attack against the
infantry positions, inflicting heavy casualties. A
withdrawal was ordered and his armored unit was given
the mission of covering the movement until a secondary
position could be established. The enemy assault
overran 2 tanks, destroyed 1 and forced another to
withdraw. Suddenly M/Sgt. Kouma discovered that his
tank was the only obstacle in the path of the hostile
onslaught. Holding his ground, he gave fire orders to
his crew and remained in position throughout the
night, fighting off repeated enemy attacks. During 1
fierce assault, the enemy surrounded his tank and he
leaped from the armored turret, exposing himself to a
hail of hostile fire, manned the .50 caliber machine
gun mounted on the rear deck, and delivered pointblank
fire into the fanatical foe. His machine gun emptied,
he fired his pistol and threw grenades to keep the
enemy from his tank. After more than 9 hours of
constant combat and close-in fighting, he withdrew his
vehicle to friendly lines. During the withdrawal
through 8 miles of hostile territory, M/Sgt. Kouma
continued to inflict casualties upon the enemy and
exhausted his ammunition in destroying 3 hostile
machine gun positions. During this action, M/Sgt.
Kouma killed an estimated 250 enemy soldiers. His
magnificent stand allowed the infantry sufficient time
to reestablish defensive positions. Rejoining his
company, although suffering intensely from his wounds,
he attempted to resupply his tank and return to the
battle area. While being evacuated for medical
treatment, his courage was again displayed when he
requested to return to the front. M/Sgt. Kouma's
superb leadership, heroism, and intense devotion to
duty reflect the highest credit on himself and uphold
the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army. 





--- AMPSOne@aol.com wrote:
> Diego,
> 
> I checked the records and here is what I have:
> 
> 511127  Yesipko, A. 176 GIAP (KIA)
> 511127  Verdysh, A.P. 176 GIAP (KIA)
> 511130  Tu-2 (PLAAF)
> 511130  Tu-2 (PLAAF)
> 511130  Tu-2 (PLAAF)
> 511130  MiG-15 (PLAAF)
> 511205  Ryzhov, A.D. 196 IAP (KIA)
> 511213  Gorskiy I.A. 18 GIAP (KIA)
> 520210  No Soviet losses
> 
> The reason for no Soviet losses on 10 Feb would
> actually tend to support the 
> Chinese claim that they got him, as at least two of
> the MiGs were seen to go 
> down. That would pretty much either make them
> Chinese or awfully lucky 
> Russians, as Davis appears to be one of those guys
> who centered his sight on 
> the enemy pilot. 
> 
> Incidentally, as some of the more sage people have
> noted, you do not WIN a 
> Medal of Honor, you EARN it. Several fighter pilots
> got one in WWII for 
> shooting down a lot of airplanes; other than David
> McCampbell who shot down 9 
> Japanese bombers out after his carrier and a few
> others like Joe Foss who did 
> well with inferior aircraft, the official view later
> on was that it was more 
> than their achievements deserved when compared to
> medics saving wounded under 
> fire or infantrymen taking on machine gun nests
> single-handed. There are 
> other inequalities as well -- no tanker ever got one
> (deemed a "crew served 
> weapon" by the Army and not qualifying, go figure on
> that one) but several 
> ship captains did. 
>  
> Cookie Sewell
> AMPS
> 


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