James H. Skeldon

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Distinguished Service Cross to James H. Skeldon, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of the 2d Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Skeldon distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Daechon and Suachon, Korea, on 29 and 30 November 1950. Colonel Skeldon’s battalion was under heavy attack and the allied units on his right and left flanks had withdrawn. After committing his reserve company and exploiting all available means to stem the enemy attack, he ordered the withdrawal of his companies to the next ridge. Displaying the highest degree of leadership and with complete disregard for his own safety, he personally controlled this operation from the most advantageous positions, although continuously exposed to enemy fire. Not satisfied that all his men and equipment had been removed, he re-crossed a large open area which was being swept by heavy enemy fire and returned to his old command post where he made a personal reconnaissance of the area. He then moved to a nearby battalion command post and assisted another battalion commander in the withdrawal of his troops and tanks. During this move he was painfully wounded in the left shoulder, but refused evacuation. He soon discovered that elements of the 38th Infantry and allied troops had been surrounded and that the road was jammed with vehicles and that most of the troops and drivers were located in ditch along the road. Taking command of the situation, and under the cover of approaching darkness, he ordered the men to high ground along the south side of the road where he supervised their deployment to assure maximum effectiveness of their firepower. Later, upon regimental orders, he personally led these men from their encirclement to the regimental perimeter. On 30 November 1950, the battalion was ordered to attack and clear a strong enemy roadblock which had halted movement of the Second Division and other allied units. He personally led this attack and continued to expose himself to intense enemy fire so he could best control his battalion, which was encountering stiff and determined resistance. When the 2d Battalion was ordered to break through the roadblock and link up with allied units near Sunchon, he successfully spearheaded a motorized column that fought through the roadblock under intense enemy fire, thus opening the road for succeeding elements of the divisions.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 99 (February 26, 1951)

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to James H. Skeldon, Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as Commanding Officer of the 2d Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Skeldon distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Taege-ri, Kochang, and Chonju, Korea, during the period 1 September 1950 through 28 September 1950. While commanding his infantry battalion on 1 September 1950, when his unit was engaged in a defense against a major enemy offensive, Lieutenant Colonel Skeldon personally led a force consisting of a rifle platoon and two tanks against a roadblock established by infiltrated enemy troops. When he saw that the platoon was stopped because of heavy enemy automatic-weapons and small-arms fire, he unhesitatingly placed himself at the head of the troops, shouting words of encouragement and directed them to follow him. Noting that the advance that the advance nevertheless continued too slowly and realizing that all might be destroyed unless the enemy was eliminated without delay, he stood up and at the top of his lungs shouted the command, “Charge!” Inspired by such heroic leadership and utter indifference to danger, the platoon charged the enemy and wiped out the roadblock killing 35 and capturing many weapons. On 4 September 1950, he personally directed the rescue of a supporting tank from a muddy rice paddy within close range of the enemy. After seven hours of hazardous rescue work under intense mortar and flat-trajectory fire, he finally succeeded with the aid of three other tanks in saving the tank and preventing it from falling into the hands of the enemy. During the offensive operations of his battalion, which was leading the advance of the regiment after the penetration of the Pusan perimeter, he displayed the same heroism and audacious leadership that had marked his actions in the defensive operations. Having driven the enemy across the Nakton River, he immediately forced the river crossing with his own battalion on 18 September 1950, and aggressively led his troops forward from enemy strongpoint to strongpoint. On 25 September 1950, while driving the enemy back from Hyopchon across the Hwang River to Kochang, he again forged ahead of the lead elements and, by is personal example of valor and daring leadership in the face of the heaviest fire, so inspired his troops that they overran the hostile defensive positions, killing approximately 500 enemy troops and capturing 450 of them on that one day. On 28 September 1950, he and his battalion spearheaded the drive of his regiment, which carried the advancing columns a distance of 73 miles through enemy territory from Kochang to Chongju. He personally led his command over roads that, because of the speed of the advance, had not been searched for mines and through sniper-infested villages and towns, narrowly missing death by enemy fire on several occasions. His gallant and fearless leadership, with total indifference to his own safety, served as a continuous inspiration to all members of his command and was directly responsible for the swift and complete success of the offensive operations.
Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 90 (February 22, 1951)