A man among men
David B. Bleak
Medal of Honor action
On 14 June 1952, Bleak was part of a patrol of the 2nd Battalion, 223rd Infantry, sent north to probe Chinese forward positions and attempt to obtain Chinese prisoners of war for interrogation. Bleak volunteered to accompany the 20-man patrol of an I&R Platoon
on this mission, which was to send them to a sparsely-vegetated feature
called Hill 499, where Chinese forces were known to be operating. The
patrol left United Nations lines at 04:30 Korea Standard Time
on 14 June, under cover of darkness. It was preceded by an attack by F
Company, 223rd Infantry, to the west which was intended to distract
Chinese forces.[5][n 1]
However, as the patrol ascended the hill, it came under heavy Chinese automatic weapons
fire which struck the lead elements, injuring several soldiers. Bleak,
at the rear of the formation, rushed forward and treated and stabilized
several soldiers hit in the initial volley, then followed the remainder
of the patrol as it continued its mission.[5]
As they attempted to continue up the hill, several Chinese soldiers
from a nearby trench opened fire, injuring another soldier. According to
witness reports, Bleak rushed the trench and dove into it, tackling one
Chinese soldier and, with only his hands, broke the soldier's neck,
killing him. Bleak was then confronted by a second soldier, whom he
reportedly grabbed by the neck, fatally crushing his windpipe. A third
Chinese soldier then approached, and in the ensuing scuffle, Bleak used
his combat knife to stab and kill the soldier.[2][3][5]
Bleak then returned to the patrol and attempted to treat more wounded members, but soon thereafter a Chinese hand grenade
bounced off of the helmet of the soldier standing next to him and
landed nearby. Bleak tackled the soldier over and covered him with his
larger frame to protect him from the grenade, but neither was injured in
the ensuing blast.[5]
The patrol then continued on its mission, and was successful in capturing several Chinese prisoners.[4]
However, as it descended Hill 499 to return to UN lines, they were
ambushed by another group of Chinese hidden in a trench with an
automatic weapon. Three of the other soldiers were wounded in the
attack, and as Bleak attempted to run to them, he was hit in the leg.
Bleak dressed all four wounds, but one of the men had been hit too
critically to move. In spite of continued Chinese fire and his own
injury, Bleak picked up the wounded soldier and began to carry him down the hill.[5]
As he attempted to withdraw with the wounded soldier, Bleak was
confronted by two more Chinese. Putting down the wounded soldier, Bleak
reportedly surprised the Chinese soldiers by charging them and smashing
their heads together with such force that he may have fractured the skulls of one or both of the assailants before pushing them out of his way.[2][3][5][8]
Eventually, all 20 men of the patrol returned to the UN lines, but a
third of them were wounded. Bleak was credited with saving the patrol,
both by promptly treating the wounded and by aggressively attacking and
killing or neutralizing five Chinese soldiers.[5]
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