321:. The gully itself ended further up Hill 200 at a Korean burial mound. After edging his way up the hill, Burke peeked over the top of the burial mound. He saw the main Chinese trench, which was approximately 100 yards (100 m) away. The trench was covered in enfilade, was curved around the hill and contained many Chinese troops. Surprisingly, the Chinese were relaxing, with some of them talking, sitting, and laughing, while others were throwing grenades and firing mortars. Burke went down the gully to Company G's position and told Sergeant Arthur Foster, the senior NCO, "Get'em ready to attack when I give you the signal!" Burke then dragged the last functioning Browning model 1919 machine gun and three cans of ammunition back up the hill. On top of the burial mound, he mounted the machine gun, set the screw to free traverse, and prepared his 250-round ammunition box. He began firing at the nearest part of the Chinese trench where the mortars were located. After Burke shot at all of the Chinese mortar squads, he then fired upon a machine gun emplacement. Afterwards, Burke fired up and down the trench at Chinese soldiers too shocked to react. Eventually, the Chinese fled down the trench in a panic. Burke continued to fire until his Browning jammed. While he attempted to clear his weapon, an enemy soldier started throwing grenades at him. Burke not only ignored this, he also ignored the grenade fragments that tore open the back of his hand. Eventually, Burke was able to clear his weapon and kill the Chinese grenadier.
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rally and urge the men to follow him toward 3 bunkers impeding the advance. Dashing to an exposed vantage point he threw several grenades at the bunkers, then, returning for an Ml rifle and adapter, he made a lone assault, wiping out the position and killing the crew. Closing on the center bunker he lobbed grenades through the opening and, with his pistol, killed 3 of its occupants attempting to surround him. Ordering his men forward he charged the third emplacement, catching several grenades in midair and hurling them back at the enemy. Inspired by his display of valor his men stormed forward, overran the hostile position, but were again pinned down by increased fire. Securing a light machine gun and 3 boxes of ammunition, 1st Lt. Burke dashed through the impact area to an open knoll, set up his gun and poured a crippling fire into the ranks of the enemy, killing approximately 75. Although wounded, he ordered more ammunition, reloading and destroying 2 mortar emplacements and a machine gun position with his accurate fire. Cradling the weapon in his arms he then led his men forward, killing some 25 more of the retreating enemy and securing the objective. 1st Lt. Burke's heroic action and daring exploits inspired his small force of 35 troops. His unflinching courage and outstanding leadership reflect the highest credit upon himself, the infantry, and the U.S. Army.
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trenches with a pistol in one hand and a grenade in the other. He shot five or six
Chinese soldiers in the forehead. Burke also fired at two Chinese soldiers from further down the trench. Afterwards, he threw his grenade in their direction, jumped out of the trench, and placed himself against the dirt berm. The Chinese were aware of Burke's location and began throwing grenades at his position. Most of the grenades thrown rolled down the hill and harmlessly exploded. Some of the grenades, however, did explode near Burke. He managed to catch three of them and toss them back at the Chinese. At the same time, troops from Burke's company threw grenades. However, some of those grenades exploded near Burke.
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around the
Browning's hot barrel sleeve and tore the 31-pound weapon off its tripod. He then wrapped the ammunition belt around his body, walked towards the trench, and fired upon retreating units. Foster and his men followed. When Burke ran out of Browning ammunition, he used his .45 automatic and grenades in order to clear out bunkers. At Hill 200, Burke killed over 100 men and decimated two mortar emplacements and three machine gun nests. For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor at a
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341:, 1st Infantry Division, at Bien Hoa on 1965. On 22 July 1965, while commanding combat operations from a helicopter, Burke was shot down by small arms fire. He had to return to the United States and was hospitalized for an extended period of time. Once out of the hospital, he was assigned to Germany. Overall, he spent 35 years in the US Armed Forces, served as the Army's liaison officer to the
294:. The company was hindered by a large and well-entrenched Chinese force on Hill 200. The battle raged for days, with the 2nd Battalion's attacks being constantly repulsed. At first, Lieutenant Burke kept up with the reports. Eventually, he could no longer remain on the sidelines. As he himself stated, "I couldn't see leaving my guys up there without trying to do something."
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rifle at the trench line and shot at every
Chinese soldier who rose to throw a grenade. Unfortunately, the grenades were still being thrown. After firing an eight-round clip, Burke decided to take more drastic measures. As he recalled, "I considered myself a pretty fair shot, but this was getting ridiculous. I had to do something."
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Burke dragged up a 57 mm recoilless rifle and shot three rounds at the closest enemy bunker. The bunker itself was a wooden-fronted structure covering a cave, which was dug into the overall hillside. The
Chinese attacked American troops by hurling grenades from their trenches. Burke aimed his M1
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After laying down his rifle, Burke took a grenade and ran approximately 30 yards (27 m) to the
Chinese trench line. He avoided enemy fire by hurling himself at the base of a dirt berm that was 2 feet (0.61 m) high. When the Chinese momentarily stopped firing, Burke jumped into one of the
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1st Lt. Burke, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and outstanding courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. Intense enemy fire had pinned down leading elements of his company committed to secure commanding ground when 1st Lt. Burke left the command post to
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Meanwhile, Sergeant Foster led a small group to Burke's location and was told by Burke to provide extra firepower. Burke and the others were convinced that they were under siege from a full-sized force instead of a few adamant skirmishers. As the
Chinese retreated, Burke wrapped his field jacket
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Burke's tour of duty was almost over in
October 1951. At the time, Burke was found at the rear of his regiment. He had a plane ticket in his pocket and was eager to see his wife and infant son. 2 miles (3.2 km) away, Burke's company was attempting to cross the
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When Burke was at the base of Hill 200, he was shocked to witness his company's strength reduced to 35 traumatized survivors. Burke described the condition of his company:
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when he returned to
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five months later. At the time, he was the leader of
Company G, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment. When
995:"Heroic Arkansan Wins MH". Pacific Stars and Stripes. US Department of Defense. April 8, 1952. p. 2.
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These men were completely beat. They lay huddled in foxholes, unable to move. They all had the
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In 1943, Burke was eighteen years old when he dropped out of
Henderson State College (now
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Burke abandoned the dirt berm by crawling off to the side, where he found cover in a
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The Deadliest Men: The World's Deadliest Combatants throughout the Ages
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Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
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Place and date: Near Chong-dong, Korea, October 28, 1951
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of men who'd seen too much fighting, too much death.
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After accepting his commission, he was dispatched to
908:Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army
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665:European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
1146:United States Army Center of Military History
1129:United States Army Center of Military History
1091:United States Army Center of Military History
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1213:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
1193:United States Army personnel of World War II
973:List of Korean War Medal of Honor recipients
928:Born: September 29, 1924, Tichnor, Arkansas
835:Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
1208:Korean War recipients of the Medal of Honor
198:(September 29, 1924 – June 1, 1999) was a
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242:. After being discharged, he joined the
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1228:People from Arkansas County, Arkansas
1142:Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War
1087:Medal of Honor recipients: Korean War
818:International awards and decorations
339:2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment
337:He was the commanding officer of the
214:for his actions on October 28, 1951.
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1127:from websites or documents of the
273:, which was later upgraded to the
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968:List of Medal of Honor recipients
1169:. Colorado: Paladin Press, 2001.
1123: This article incorporates
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364:Colonel Burke's awards include:
1058:"Burial detail: Burke, Lloyd L"
252:Distinguished Military Graduate
1148:. June 8, 2009. Archived from
1093:. June 8, 2009. Archived from
716:National Defense Service Medal
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1248:American expatriates in Italy
1223:Recipients of the Silver Star
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329:ceremony on April 11, 1952.
234:and served two years during
823:Individual and unit awards
404:Distinguished Service Cross
350:Arlington National Cemetery
275:Distinguished Service Cross
173:Distinguished Service Cross
85:Arlington National Cemetery
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1238:American United Methodists
861:United Nations Korea Medal
679:World War II Victory Medal
591:Presidential Unit Citation
224:Henderson State University
563:with 3 oak leaf clusters
511:with 3 oak leaf clusters
238:with combat engineers in
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1138:""LLOYD L. BURKE" entry"
1083:""LLOYD L. BURKE" entry"
887:Korean War Service Medal
805:Combat Infantryman Badge
692:Army of Occupation Medal
472:& oak leaf cluster
1243:20th-century Methodists
904:Medal of Honor citation
848:Vietnam Gallantry Cross
627:American Campaign Medal
561:Army Commendation Medal
1125:public domain material
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874:Vietnam Campaign Medal
360:Awards and decorations
343:United States Congress
307:
1035:Kirchner, pp. 49, 51.
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769:Vietnam Service Medal
746:with 5 service stars
667:with 3 service stars
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110:Years of service
73:Hot Springs, Arkansas
1026:Kirchner, pp. 48-49.
1005:Kirchner, pp. 47-48.
924:Entered service at:
917:1st Cavalry Division
913:5th Cavalry Regiment
771:with 1 service star
744:Korean Service Medal
137:1st Cavalry Division
133:5th Cavalry Regiment
113:1943–1946, 1950–1978
926:Stuttgart, Arkansas
354:Arlington, Virginia
303:thousand-yard stare
265:forces crossed the
609:Good Conduct Medal
232:United States Army
210:. He received the
204:United States Army
196:Lloyd Leslie Burke
105:United States Army
53:September 29, 1924
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1154:. Retrieved
1150:the original
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1099:. Retrieved
1095:the original
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1065:. Retrieved
1062:ANC Explorer
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807:(2nd Award)
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184:Purple Heart
147:World War II
143:Battles/wars
68:(1999-06-01)
66:June 1, 1999
1188:1999 deaths
1183:1924 births
911:Company G,
466:Bronze Star
430:Silver Star
327:White House
271:Silver Star
206:during the
178:Bronze Star
155:Vietnam War
35:Nickname(s)
1177:Categories
1156:2007-12-30
1113:References
1101:2007-12-30
470:"V" device
277:, and two
267:Yalu River
208:Korean War
151:Korean War
92:Allegiance
49:1924-09-29
935:Citation:
1067:July 14,
946:See also
285:Hill 200
228:Arkansas
100:Service/
893:Badges
718:with 1
263:Chinese
202:in the
200:soldier
122:Colonel
38:Scooter
161:Awards
102:branch
75:, U.S.
58:, U.S.
979:Notes
468:with
319:gully
259:Korea
240:Italy
226:) in
1069:2023
244:ROTC
128:Unit
118:Rank
63:Died
43:Born
352:in
254:.
186:(4)
180:(2)
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1040:^
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987:^
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432:(
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