DAVID BRUCE BLEAK
dies at 74 on 23 March 2006
DAVID BRUCE BLEAK, an Army medic during the Korean War who received the Medal of Honor, has died. He was 74. Bleak died on Thursday 23 March 2006 at Lost Rivers District Hospital Arco, Idaho. He had emphysema, Parkinson's disease and complications from a broken hip.
Bleak was a strapping Idaho youth more than 6 feet tall and 250 pounds who quit high school and worked in ranching and railroad jobs. After joining the United States Army in 1950, he was selected for medical duty and shipped to Korea. On 14 June 1952, near Minari-gol, he was a 20-year-old sergeant serving with the 223rd Infantry Regiment of the 40th Infantry Division.
He volunteered to join a reconnaissance patrol whose mission was to capture an enemy prisoner for interrogation. As he and his comrades walked up the rough slope of Hill 499, they came under intense enemy attack by automatic weapons and small-arms fire.
Bleak tended to the immediate casualties, then rejoined the men to continue fighting up the hill. From a concealed trench, communist forces again mowed down many U.S. soldiers.
At this point, Bleak ran into the trench, killed two of the enemy with his large hands breaking one's neck and crushing the other's windpipe and killed a third by plunging his trench knife into the man's chest.
He then jumped atop a fellow soldier to block the impact of a grenade which had just bounced off the man's helmet and rolled into the trench. During that engagement, Bleak was shot in the leg but ignored his wound to care for others.
Later, while heading back to Allied lines with a wounded buddy hanging from his broad shoulders, he was attacked by two communist soldiers armed with bayonets.
" Closing with the aggressors, he grabbed them and smacked their heads together, then carried his helpless comrade down the hill to safety ", according to Bleak's citation for the Medal of Honor, the military's highest award for valor.
In October 1953, he received the medal from President Dwight David Eisenhower at a White House ceremony. DAVID BRUCE BLEAK was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, on 27 February 1932.
After his military service, he lived in Wyoming and worked variously as a rancher, grocery store meat cutter and truck driver. Starting in the mid-1970s, Bleak spent a decade as a dairy farmer in Moore, Idaho.
Then he became a janitor at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, a nuclear research test facility.
Bleak retired in the mid-1990s as chief hot-cell technician, helping to store and dispose of fuel rods. His son called his father a humble man who felt others had acted just as courageously but without recognition."He always said he carried the medal for them as well ", the younger Bleak said.
CITATION FOR AWARD OF THE
ARMY MEDAL OF HONOR
Sergeant, U.S. Army, Medical Company 223d Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division.
Place and date:
Vicinity of Minari-gol, Korea, 14 June 1952.
Entered service at:
Shelley, Idaho.
Born:
27 February 1932, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
G.O. No.: 83, 2 November 1953.
Citation:
Sergeant Bleak, a member of the medical company, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and indomitable courage above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. As a medical aidman, he volunteered to accompany a reconnaissance patrol committed to engage the enemy and capture a prisoner for interrogation.
Forging up the rugged slope of the key terrain, the group was subjected to intense automatic weapons and small arms fire and suffered several casualties. After administering to the wounded, he continued to advance with the patrol. Nearing the military crest of the hill, while attempting to cross the fire-swept area to attend the wounded, he came under hostile fire from a small group of the enemy concealed in a trench.
Entering the trench he closed with the enemy, killed 2 with his bare hands and a third with his trench knife. Moving from the emplacement, he saw a concussion grenade fall in front of a companion and, quickly shifting his position, shielded the man from the impact of the blast.
Later, while ministering to the wounded, he was struck by a hostile bullet but, despite the wound, he undertook to evacuate a wounded comrade. As he moved down the hill with his heavy burden, he was attacked by 2 enemy soldiers with fixed bayonets. Closing with the aggressors, he grabbed them and smacked their heads together, then carried his helpless comrade down the hill to safety. Sgt. Bleak's dauntless courage and intrepid actions reflect utmost credit upon himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.
Later, while ministering to the wounded, he was struck by a hostile bullet but, despite the wound, he undertook to evacuate a wounded comrade. As he moved down the hill with his heavy burden, he was attacked by 2 enemy soldiers with fixed bayonets. Closing with the aggressors, he grabbed them and smacked their heads together, then carried his helpless comrade down the hill to safety. Sgt. Bleak's dauntless courage and intrepid actions reflect utmost credit upon himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service.
With his death there are exactly 125 living recipients
of the three variations of the MEDAL OF HONOR
Special to www.historicalmilitaria.com – 31 March 2006