b. 30/10/1932 Newark, New Jersey. d. 12/06/1952 Pyongony, Korea.
DATE OF MOH ACTION: 12/06/1952 Pyongony, Korea.
Henry Svelha MOH
Svehla was born October 30, 1932, in Newark, New Jersey, but grew up in nearby Belleville. He was one of six children — the youngest of three sons — to parents John Svehla, a mechanic, and Susan Svehla, a stay-at-home mother. Henry loved fishing and was known to take care of everyone in the family.
Svehla, whose family nickname was Squeeky, enlisted in the Army in November 1951 as the Korean War was raging. He was sent to the peninsula to fight in February 1952 as a member of the 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division.
On June 12, 1952, Svehla was serving as a rifleman with Company F in a region known as the “Iron Triangle” inside what is now the Demilitarized Zone. His company and another unit were doing reconnaissance on Hill 472, an enemy outpost northeast of Chorwon, South Korea, when they were attacked at the top of the hill.
Svehla’s unit began to falter, and the young private knew something had to be done for them to survive. Svehla quickly leapt to his feet and charged at the enemy’s positions, firing his weapon and throwing grenades as he went. His determination caught on, and his platoon rallied behind him with renewed vigor.
Svehla took out several enemy positions and inflicted heavy casualties before being hit by shrapnel from a mortar round that seriously wounded his face. However, he refused medical attention and kept fighting.
When an enemy grenade landed near several other soldiers, Svehla didn’t hesitate — he threw himself on top of it to absorb the blast.
“Every human instinct, every impulse, would tell a person to turn away. But at that critical moment, Henry Svehla did the opposite. He threw himself on that grenade,” said President Barack Obama at Svehla’s Medal of Honor ceremony. “With his sacrifice, he saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.”
Svehla’s body remains unaccounted for. It wasn’t recoverable at the time of his loss, and thus far, it’s not been among the remains returned to the U.S. in the decades since the July 1953 armistice. According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the North Korean government has not permitted investigations of the area where he died.In lieu of a proper burial, Svehla is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. There, his name is displayed alongside the names of more than 8,000 other Americans missing from the Korean War. Svehla initially received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross in March 1953; however, his family thought he deserved more for his sacrifice. They tried to make that happen for 60 years, but there wasn’t any movement on it until 2001 when Svehla’s brother, John, and nephew, Andrew, contacted U.S. Rep Bill Pascrell.
For a decade, Pascrell’s staff made it their mission to give Svehla the proper honor he deserved by uncovering his service records and giving them to the Defense Department for re-examination. That investigation finally got his family what they were hoping for.
On May 2, 2011, Svehla received the Medal of Honor from Obama during a White House ceremony. His sister, Dorothy, accepted it on his behalf. Sadly, his brother, John, who had pushed so hard for the honor, died within a year prior to the ceremony.While there is no formal burial site for Svehla, his hometown has made a place for him to be remembered. A monument to Svehla was unveiled in Belleville in 2011, and in 2019, a town post office was also dedicated to the fallen soldier.
MOH CITATION:
Private First Class Henry Svehla distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Rifleman with F Company, 32d Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Pyongony, Korea, on 12 June 1952. That afternoon while Private First Class Svehla and his platoon were patrolling a strategic hill to determine enemy strength and positions, they were subjected to intense enemy automatic weapons and small arms fire at the top of the hill. Coming under the heavy fire, the platoon’s attack began to falter. Realizing the success of the mission and the safety of the remaining troops were in peril, Private First Class Svehla leapt to his feet and charged the enemy positions, firing his weapon and throwing grenades as he advanced. In the face of this courage and determination, the platoon rallied to the attack with renewed vigor. Private First Class Svehla, utterly disregarding his own safety, destroyed enemy positions and inflicted heavy casualties, when suddenly fragments from a mortar round exploding nearby seriously wounded him in the face. Despite his wounds, Private First Class Svehla refused medical treatment and continued to lead the attack. When an enemy grenade landed among a group of his comrades, Private First Class Svehla, without hesitation and undoubtedly aware of the extreme danger, threw himself upon the grenade. During this action, Private First Class Svehla was mortally wounded. Private First Class Svehla’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
BURIAL LOCATION: REMAINS NOT RECOVERED.
IN MEMORY OF MARKER AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA.
MEMORIAL SECTION G, SITE 27.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.
