Congressional Medal of Honor Museum is Moving Experience

By Bruce Wilkins

The World War II Medal of Honor Display

Mt. Pleasant, S.C. — Almost unseen on the hangar deck of the massive U.S.S. Yorktown is a small museum that, nonetheless, is packed with enough human emotion to fill the entire ocean itself.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum at the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum near Charleston, South Carolina is one of deep emotion — both uplifting and wrenching — for anyone, not just members or former members of military service. To walk along its floor and to read individual stories of extreme heroism and self-sacrifice is an experience than virtually no one will ever will forget.

"The fate of nations often hangs in the balance during great battles, and the outcome of these battles can hinge on the actions of a few great men or a towering individual," explained Victoria Leslie, Director of Operations for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society which oversees the museum. "The Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action that this nation awards to its servicemen who risk their lives in defense of their country, and the Medal of Honor Museum was established to pay tribute to their many contributions and sacrifices."

The Congressional Medal of Honor was established during the Civil War and has been awarded to military personnel who have exhibited acts of the highest bravery and self-sacrifice. This museum has exhibits that includes presentations on recipients from the Civil War, Indian Campaigns, Wars of American Expansion, Peacetime, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, Viet Nam and Somalia, pointed out Leslie. Among the most famous are Audie Murphy who was the most decorated soldier in World War II and James "Jimmy" Doolittle, who led the B-25 raid over Tokyo a few months after Pearl Harbor, she added.

Victoria Leslie in the museum

"As of March 18, 2004, 3,459 Medals of Honor have been awarded, performed by 3,440 individuals (19 double recipients) and 132 still walk among us today," Leslie said.

Nearby Charleston is represented among those Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, with a photo and capsule presentation on the unselfish battlefield achievement of Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson, a member of a U.S. Marine reconnaissance battalion in Viet Nam. Johnson was born in Charleston in 1949, but entered the Marine Corps in Oakland, California, becoming a member of the 1st Marine Division.

While under severe fire from a much-larger enemy force in the Quan Duc Valley on March 8, 1968, Johnson was inside a three-man fighting hole when the enemy dropped a grenade into their midst. Instinctively, PFC Johnson jumped on the grenade, absorbing the explosion and schrapnel which instantly killed him but saved the life of his buddies, as well as preventing the enemy force from penetrating their position.

Even the tiny hamlet of Chatham, Virginia, located near our home office, is represented. During the German siege of Bastogne during the height of the Battle of the Bulge in World War II, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Archer T. Gammon, through knee-deep snow, charged a three-man German machine gun nest and destroyed it with a grenade, saving his platoon from being cut to pieces by the German soldiers as they crossed an open field.

Gammon then single-handedly rushed a German Tiger tank and its remaining two protecting foot soldiers, killing them and making the tank back off in retreat. However, as the tank backtracked into the woods, one last burst from its heavy gun instantly killed Gammon.

These are just some of the amazing stories of bravery and self-sacrifice of Medal of Honor winners, many of which can be read at the museum. There is also a display of the coveted medals that were donated by family members of the recipients and by some of the recipients themselves.

Each of us have known people in our lives who have been amazing sources of strength and self-sacrifice, those individuals who have stood with us and for us through the worst of times in our everyday lives. But on the field of battle during intense combat situations, the need for such American serviceman and their inherent extreme bravery and self-sacrifice is crucial for our country’s successful defense of freedom and liberty, at home and abroad.

Visiting the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum on the U.S.S. Yorktown is a breath-taking, humbling, enlightening, and rejuvenating experience, all rolled into one. Walking inside this museum — no matter what part of the country you are from, no matter your race, religion, or creed — you cannot help but feel the awesome presence of the very best of what our American military is all about.

The museum’s hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Oct. 1-Mar. 31) and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Apr. 1-Sept. 30). For more information on the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point, visit their website at www.cmohs.org.