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trapped by the enemy in mountainous terrain deep in hostile territory, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Koelsch voluntarily flew a helicopter to the reported position of the downed airman in an attempt to effect a rescue. With an almost solid overcast concealing everything below the mountain peaks, he descended in his unarmed and vulnerable aircraft without the accompanying fighter escort to an extremely low altitude beneath the cloud level and began a systematic search. Despite the increasingly intense enemy fire, which struck his helicopter on one occasion, he persisted in his mission until he succeeded in locating the downed pilot, who was suffering from serious burns on the arms and legs. While the victim was being hoisted into the aircraft, it was struck again by an accurate burst of hostile fire and crashed on the side of the mountain. Quickly extricating his crewmen and the aviator from the wreckage, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Koelsch led them from the vicinity in an effort to escape from hostile troops, evading the enemy forces for 9 days and rendering such medical attention as possible to his severely burned companion until all were captured. Up to the time of his death while still a captive of the enemy, Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Koelsch steadfastly refused to aid his captors in any manner and served to inspire his fellow prisoners by his fortitude and consideration for others. His great personal valor and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice throughout sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the United States naval service.
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For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with a Navy helicopter rescue unit in North Korea on 3 July 1951. Although darkness was rapidly approaching when information was received that a Marine aviator had been shot down and was
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helicopter, and intense enemy fire downed the craft as crewman George M. Neal, AM3, hoisted the injured pilot toward the helicopter. All three men survived the crash; and, after hiding in the mountains from enemy patrols for three days, they began a slow march to the coast. After six more days, they
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had been hit by enemy fire during an armed reconnaissance mission about 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Wonsan. Wilkins parachuted from his burning plane at low altitude and survived, despite being severely burned about the legs. Despite approaching darkness, worsening weather, and enemy ground
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reached a coastal village where they were captured the following day while hiding in a hut. During his captivity, though beaten and abused, Koelsch refused to aid his captors or submit to interrogation. His fortitude and personal bravery inspired his fellow prisoners.
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356:. He provided lifeguard duty for pilots who were downed either in coastal waters or over enemy-held territory. On June 22, he rescued a naval aviator from the waters of Wonsan Harbor, southeast of
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on August 1, 1946. Despite first entering
Princeton in September 1941, he returned to the university after the war, and finally graduated in 1949.
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and began his pickup. Thick fog prevented the air cover from protecting the unarmed
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Late in the afternoon of July 3, 1951, Koelsch responded to a distress call from a
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in
October for pilot rescue duty off the eastern coast of Korea. He served in
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on
October 23, 1944, after completing flight training he served in the
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officer and a recipient of
America's highest military decoration — the
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298:. During the next few years, he served at Naval Air Stations at
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John Kelvin
Koelsch was born in London and was educated at
415:. His grave can be found in section 30, grave 1123-RH.
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American military personnel killed in the Korean War
662:Lieutenant (jg) Koelsch's official citation reads:
242:(December 22, 1923 – October 16, 1951) was a
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372:fire, Koelsch located the downed aviator in the
911:United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
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971:United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients
717:List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
27:US Navy Medal of Honor recipient (1923–1951)
951:Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor
926:American prisoners of war in the Korean War
851:Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
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367:aviator, Captain James V. Wilkins, whose
991:Infectious disease deaths in North Korea
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258:pilot to be awarded the Medal of Honor.
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956:People from Briarcliff Manor, New York
941:English-born Medal of Honor recipients
936:British emigrants to the United States
931:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
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855:Naval History & Heritage Command
832:Naval History & Heritage Command
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388:Grave at Arlington National Cemetery
772:. National Museum of Naval Aviation
824:"US People - Koelsch, John Kelvin"
815:Naval History and Heritage Command
813:from websites or documents of the
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875:. August 15, 1955. Archived from
622:Korean Presidential Unit Citation
348:(HU-2) for pilot rescue duty off
809: This article incorporates
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568:Navy Presidential Unit Citation
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603:National Defense Service Medal
588:Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal
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400:on October 16, 1951, while a
966:United States Naval Aviators
310:. He became an accomplished
165:Helicopter Squadron 1 (HU-1)
961:United States Navy officers
790:Arlington National Cemetery
409:Arlington National Cemetery
314:pilot, and was promoted to
274:. He served in the British
101:Arlington National Cemetery
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921:American Korean War pilots
691:) was named in his honor.
657:Briarcliff Manor, New York
627:United Nations Korea Medal
598:World War II Victory Medal
321:After the outbreak of the
687:(later reclassified as a
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316:lieutenant (junior grade)
250:— for his actions in the
147:Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
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996:American torture victims
632:Korean War Service Medal
300:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
112:United States of America
749:Princeton Alumni Weekly
640:Medal of Honor citation
583:American Campaign Medal
811:public domain material
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46:Lt(jg) John K. Koelsch
986:Deaths from dysentery
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655:Memorial to Koelsch,
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578:Prisoner of War Medal
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346:Helicopter Squadron 2
327:Helicopter Squadron 1
282:before he joined the
169:Helicopter Squadron 2
156:Composite Squadron 15
135:Years of service
879:on December 15, 2008
745:"The Medal of Honor"
608:Korean Service Medal
352:, Korea, then under
272:Princeton University
224:Princeton University
548:Naval Aviator Badge
413:Arlington, Virginia
331:Miramar, California
254:. He was the first
240:John Kelvin Koelsch
161:Torpedo Squadron 18
158:Torpedo Squadron 97
34:John Kelvin Koelsch
976:Shot-down aviators
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284:U.S. Naval Reserve
244:United States Navy
129:United States Navy
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268:the Choate School
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881:. Retrieved
877:the original
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834:. 2000-09-01
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751:. 2016-01-21
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563:Purple Heart
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394:malnutrition
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358:Yo Do Island
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325:, he joined
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209:Purple Heart
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176:Battles/wars
85:(1951-10-16)
18:John Koelsch
906:1951 deaths
901:1923 births
369:F4U Corsair
296:Pacific War
138:1942 — 1951
52:Nickname(s)
895:Categories
883:2006-10-14
860:2006-10-14
838:2006-10-14
776:2007-12-16
755:2022-03-29
723:References
329:(HU-1) at
323:Korean War
256:helicopter
252:Korean War
216:Alma mater
181:Korean War
108:Allegiance
66:1923-12-22
847:"Koelsch"
770:"HO3S-1G"
681:USS
398:dysentery
342:Princeton
337:Princeton
335:USS
280:The Blitz
262:Biography
190:) (
75:, England
695:See also
672:Namesake
618:4th row
594:3rd row
574:2nd row
554:1st row
118:Service/
799:General
689:frigate
683:Koelsch
184: (
728:Inline
544:Badge
365:Marine
350:Wonsan
302:, and
292:ensign
286:as an
201:Awards
171:(HU-2)
120:branch
73:London
55:"Jack"
610:with
90:Korea
873:Time
676:The
396:and
378:HO3S
270:and
153:Unit
143:Rank
80:Died
60:Born
276:RAF
193:DOW
187:POW
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736:^
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308:18
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64:(
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
