Hanke learns stories of courage, valor firsthand from Medal of Honor recipients

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By MICHAEL HANKE
Friday, October 12, 2007 5:02 PM CDT

For the Herald

I had the privilege of escorting 62 of 109 surviving recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor (MOH) when they met in Green Bay for their annual convention on Sept. 3-Sept. 10. This was the first time that the society chose to hold its convention in Wisconsin.

Currently, there are five living recipients that are from Wisconsin. Four of them were in attendance.

Throughout my duty with the recipients, I learned two valuable lessons.

They do not consider themselves “winners” of the medal; they are recipients. They tell you that the Medal of Honor is not a competition therefore it cannot be won. They consider themselves the caretakers of the medal, wearing it not for themselves but for the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for America — their lives.

The second lesson is soldiers do not “lose” limbs in combat. They are either stolen or blown off.

My first days in Green Bay were spent at the airport escorting recipients to their hotel and assisting and/or guiding them with information about events taking place during the convention.

On day two, I met and had lunch with Mr. Rubin. His MOH was for his actions in the Korean War. His life story is unique.

Rubin, a Hungarian Jew, was rescued from a World War II German concentration camp by American troops. He made a promise that someday he would go to America and serve in the Army so he could repay the U.S.A. for liberating him.

He accomplished his goal tenfold. While being held captive in a Korean POW camp, he was offered his freedom — the catch was he would return to his native country of Hungary.

He refused the offer and stated that he was an American. Regardless of the chance of him being caught, Rubin would sneak out at night and return with food and medical supplies to care for his fellow POWs.

Ironically, he believes his time in a concentration camp in Europe gave him the knowledge and skills to sneak in and out of the POW camp to care for his fellow prisoners.

On the third day I sat and talked with Mr. Ronald Roser, a Korean War Veteran. Roser told me of the battles he had been involved with and how he killed 12 enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat and had 175 confirmed rifle kills. He is unquestionably someone I wouldn’t want to upset.

On the fourth day, we returned to Lambeau field for a luncheon. Some of the guests (other than recipients) that attended were, the Command Sergeant Major of the Army, the 32nd Infantry Brigade Commander and the Mayor of Green Bay.

That evening, I returned to the airport to pick up Mr. Thorsness, a recipient who flew in late. There were a few VFW members at the airport assisting the arrival.

At one time, Thorsness was declared missing in action. One of the VFW members had a POW/MIA bracelet that he had worn for 35 years. It turned out the bracelet belonged to Thorsness.

Apparently, the VFW member did not find out until two years ago that Thorsness was no longer a POW/MIA. Upon his arrival at the airport in Green Bay, the VFW member returned the bracelet to Thorsness.

Day five was a short day for me. I spent most of the time in the recipients’ hospitality room visiting and listening to people telling of remarkable events that have taken place in times of war and of heroic acts of courage, might, valor and integrity.

Saturday a Native American Veterans program was conducted by Veterans of the Oneida Nation. The four Wisconsin recipients that were in attendance were called up on stage and received an Eagle feather in their honor, which would be placed in the Medal of Honor Museum.

Sunday, was my last day with the MOH recipients. We were going to the Packer game at Lambeau field and we had box seat tickets. I escorted Mr. Baker (MOH Vietnam) and his wife. The detail escorted the wives of the recipients to their box seats and met up with the recipients and walked out on the field.

We stayed on the sidelines as the MOH recipients were introduced to a loud, emotional standing ovation. A woman soldier from the Wisconsin Army National Guard sang our National Anthem and there was then a fly over from the Air force.

We stayed on the sidelines through the kick off and went to our box seats to watch the game. I spent the rest of my duty day speaking with the recipients.

A few of the MOH recipients I met really made an impression.

- The heroic acts of Sammy Davis in Vietnam inspired the movie “Forrest Gump.”

- Jack Lucas was the youngest person to receive the MOH since the Civil War at age 17. When he returned home, he followed through with a promise he made to his mother and returned to high school. He was a freshman in High School wearing the MOH.

- John Baca saved his fellow soldiers by covering a live hand grenade with his helmet and shielding the blast with his body.

- Lewis Millett is the only man to be court-martialed for desertion and battlefield-promoted to lieutenant in the same day. He was in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

- Walter Marm was a pilot in Vietnam. The movie “We Were Soldiers” was about one of his battles.

- John Finn is the oldest living recipient at 98 years old. A Pearl Harbor survivor, he received 22 wounds while maintaining his fighting position.

- Einar Ingman is one of the five Wisconsin survivors. He is from Tomahawk. His health is poor so his wife and children attended in his stead.

Michael Hanke is a Staff Sgt. with 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry, Company A, based in Menomonie. His family is from Chippewa Falls.