Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr.
Red Cloud in his Marine Corps uniform
Born	2 July 1925 Hatfield, Wisconsin
Died	5 November 1950 (aged 25) near Chonghyon, North Pyongan Province, North Korea
Place of burial	Winnebago Mission, Wisconsin
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Marine Corps United States Army
Years of service	1941–1945 (USMC) 1948–1950 (USA)
Rank	Sergeant (USMC) Corporal (USA)
Service number	16299515[1]
Unit	2nd Marine Raider Battalion 29th Marine Regiment 19th Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars	World War II Battle of Guadalcanal Battle of Okinawa Korean War Battle of Taejon Battle of Pusan Perimeter Chinese First Phase Campaign  †
Awards	Medal of Honor Purple Heart Medal (2)

Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. (2 July 1925 – 5 November 1950) was a United States Army corporal who was killed in action while serving in the Korean War. Corporal Red Cloud posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions "above and beyond the call of duty" near Chonghyon, North Korea, on 5 November 1950 during the Chinese First Phase Campaign. Before joining the army, he had been a United States Marine Corps sergeant who had served in World War II.

Born in Hatfield, Wisconsin, Red Cloud, a Ho-Chunk Native American, dropped out of high school to enlist in the Marine Corps during World War II. He first served in combat with the Marine Raiders during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942 before health problems forced him stateside in 1943 to recover. Red Cloud avoided a medical discharge, and served with the 6th Marine Division during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

Red Cloud enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1948. After the Korean War began in June 1950, he was sent to Korea with the 19th Infantry, 24th Infantry Division, which was among the American troops who fought the first battles of the war, being pushed back during the Battle of Taejon and the Battle of Pusan Perimeter. The 19th Infantry also was part of the Eighth United States Army advance into North Korea. On the night of 5 November 1950, Red Cloud was manning a forward observation post when he spotted an imminent surprise attack by Chinese forces. Red Cloud single-handedly held off the Chinese forces despite being shot eight times, at one point ordering his men to tie him to a tree because he was too weak to stand by himself. His company found him the next morning, surrounded by dead Chinese troops. He was credited with alerting his company to the ambush and saving them from being overrun. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.