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Medal of Honor Recipient

Melvin O. Handrich

U.S. Army · Korean War

MOH-RC-002374Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: Army design with a neck ribbon. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Army Medal of HonorRecorded presentation: 1951

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

About this image

Representative form selected from the recorded presentation year (1951), not authenticated medal-object provenance.

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Medal of Honor

August 25–26, 1950

Sobuk San Mountain, Korea

Rank at action
Master Sergeant
Service
U.S. Army
Conflict
Korean War
Unit or command
Company C, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
Presentation date
August 2, 1951

The Citation

Sources ↓
M/Sgt. Handrich, Company C, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. His company was engaged in repulsing an estimated 150 enemy who were threatening to overrun its position. Near midnight on 25 August, a hostile group over 100 strong attempted to infiltrate the company perimeter. M/Sgt. Handrich, despite the heavy enemy fire, voluntarily left the comparative safety of the defensive area and moved to a forward position where he could direct mortar and artillery fire upon the advancing enemy. He remained at this post for 8 hours directing fire against the enemy who often approached to within 50 feet of his position. Again, on the morning of 26 August, another strong hostile force made an attempt to overrun the company's position. With complete disregard for his safety, M/Sgt. Handrich rose to his feet and from this exposed position fired his rifle and directed mortar and artillery fire on the attackers. At the peak of this action he observed elements of his company preparing to withdraw. He perilously made his way across fire-swept terrain to the defense area where, by example and forceful leadership, he reorganized the men to continue the fight. During the action M/Sgt. Handrich was severely wounded. Refusing to take cover or be evacuated, he returned to his forward position and continued to direct the company's fire. Later a determined enemy attack overran M/Sgt. Handrich's position and he was mortally wounded. When the position was retaken, over 70 enemy dead were counted in the area he had so intrepidly defended. M/Sgt. Handrich's sustained personal bravery, consummate courage, and gallant self-sacrifice reflect untold glory upon himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. Melvin O. Handrich — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-30

    current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-002385
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-30
Recorded order reference (not verified against the original)
60
Entered service at
Manawa, Wis.
Archive transcription SHA-256
477be5374f881aa2be04e081a1e1aca9d5201f6b827f684ac4330d324c136e26

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The inherited rank-1 Society candidate was confirmed by substantive comparison of identity, service, rank, unit or command, action context, and citation; candidate rank or successful rendering alone was not treated as verification. The exact current profile heading is Melvin O Handrich; the controlled display name is Melvin O. Handrich, and both forms remain preserved. The controlled canonical unit or command is Company C, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division; the current structured profile renders Company C, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, and the inherited wording Company C, 5th Infantry Regiment remains preserved as a separately attributed variant. The controlled action-date display is August 25–26, 1950; the current structured source value and any fuller citation chronology remain separately attributed. The controlled historical action place is Sobuk San Mountain, Korea; the current structured place Sobuk San Mountain, Korea and the complete inherited geocoder value South Korea remain preserved in the audit evidence. The structured field gives August 25, 1950, while the rendered citation continues the action into the morning of August 26; the controlled range records both days and preserves the structured single-date value separately. The inherited full citation remains canonical and checksum-protected; current rendered wording is preserved separately where transcribed. No underlying General Order was examined, so the exact-order gate remains pending and no General Order verification is claimed.

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