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| The Long Ballad of Tibor 'Ted' Rubin (Newest Medal of Honor Awardee) |
| 2005-09-22 |
| On the evening of October 30, 1950, in the dark, early days of the Cold War, Red Chinese forces mounted a massive nighttime assault on American troops at Unsan, North Korea. As overwhelming numbers of communist soldiers attacked Americans throughout the night and into the next day, a rifleman with the Army's 8th Cavalry Regiment took up a 30-caliber machine gun at the south end of his unit's line, following in the footsteps of three other soldiers - all of whom had been killed at the post. When the rest of the American troops were told to withdraw, the rifleman never received the order, and continued "steadfastly manning" the machine gun until his ammunition was exhausted, according to Army records. The brave soldier's "determined stand" single-handedly slowed the advance of the enemy in his sector, allowing the remnants of his unit to retreat southward, and to safety. Fifty-five years later, the valor of the rifleman, Tibor "Ted" Rubin, is finally being recognized. On Friday, Corporal Rubin, who served in Korea from July 23, 1950, to April 20, 1953, will receive America's highest military accolade, the Medal of Honor, from President Bush in a White House ceremony. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #7 oh....Zpaz got it... |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-22 14:19 |
| #6 awesome. Why has it taken so long? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-09-22 13:59 |
| #5 Plain old anti-semitism is why he was not nominated early on. From jta.org: In July of that year, Pfc. Rubin found himself fighting on the frontlines of Korea with I Company, 8th Regiment, First Cavalry Division. There he encountered the terror of the company â First Sgt. Artice Watson. According to lengthy affidavits submitted by nearly a dozen men â mostly self-described âcountry boysâ from the South and Midwest â Watson was a vicious anti-Semite who consistently âvolunteeredâ Rubin for the most dangerous patrols and missions. Rubinâs bravery during such missions so impressed two of his commanding officers that they recommended him three times for the Medal of Honor. Both officers were later killed in action, but not before telling Watson to initiate the necessary paper work to secure the medals for Rubin. Some of the men in Rubinâs company were present when Watson was ordered to put in for the medals, and all are convinced that he deliberately ignored the orders. âI believe in my heart that First Sgt. Watson would have jeopardized his own safety rather than assist in any way whatsoever in the awarding of the medal to a person of Jewish descent,â wrote Cpl. Harold Speakman in a notarized affidavit. The guy must have a sturdy physical and mental constitution to say the least. To have your body wrecked not once but twice and still survive says something. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2005-09-22 13:56 |
| #4 Thanks Mr. Rubin. Never forget there were countless others we'll never know. |
| Posted by: MunkarKat 2005-09-22 13:11 |
| #3 Wow. How much is one man expected to go through in this life? Amazing. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-09-22 12:55 |
| #2 I, too, stand in awe of such a man. Thanks, Corporal - well done! |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2005-09-22 12:52 |
| #1 Wow! Words fail me. But I wonder why he wasn't recognized before? |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2005-09-22 12:38 |