Hall of Heroes
Peter Wirth Jr 2010 hall of Heroes Inductee
Veterans inducted into Tomah VA Hall of Heroes
Chances are, they never knew each other. Yet on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, three men who chewed some of the same dirt and suffered the same hardships while fighting in two different wars began serving together once again. “As long as these walls stand, our 2010 Hall of Heroes inductees, Peter Wirth, Jr. and Leonard Jasinski, will join Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. and the other Hall Of Heroes inductees, to inspire generations of Veterans, employees and volunteers,” said Public Affairs Officer, James Theres.
Besides all three being Marines, the connections between Wirth, Jasinski and Red Cloud are uncanny to say the least. It starts with Red Cloud, a Ho-Chunk Native American. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and served with the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalacanal. After refusing discharge as a result of contracting malaria and other tropical diseases, Red Cloud was assigned to the 6th Marine Division. In 1945, he was wounded and received a Purple Heart----
on the island of Okinawa.
The first inductee into the Tomah VA Hall of Heroes for 2010, Peter Wirth Jr., was an 18 year old Marine when on June 2, 1945 he participated in actions that would result in receipt of the Navy Cross—second only to the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. Later on June 18, 1945, Mr. Wirth was wounded and would receive the Purple Heart for his own actions----
on the island of Okinawa.
After WWII ended, Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. spent the next two years visiting relatives. In 1948, he enlisted into the United States Army and was sent to Japan. On July 3, 1950, two weeks after the North Koreans invaded the South, he was sent to Korea with the 24th Infantry Division. On the night of November 5, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces attacked United Nations Forces. Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. was at his guard post when 1,000 Chinese attacked his company. He was wounded, yet pulled himself to his feet," the citation continues, "and wrapping his arm around a tree, continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded." Under his covering fire, the rest of E Company began a fighting retreat from the hilltop to fortified positions 1,000 yards south. Red Cloud was reportedly struck by as many as eight bullets before dying. For his extraordinary heroism, Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. would receive the Medal of Honor postumously for his actions----
In North Korea.
The second inductee into the Tomah VA Hall of Heroes for 2010, Leonard Jasinski, was serving with the 1st Marine Division when on November 2, 1950, he was wounded on in the arm and the leg while providing fire support against an enemy postion. He was awarded a Bronze Star with a Gold Star and a Purple Heart for his actions---
In North Korea.
The connection of these three men doesn’t end with their war-time service. In October 1950, Mr. Jasinski had been awarded a Bronze Star for heroic achievement near Uijongbu, South Korea. Camp Red Cloud, in Uijongbu, was later dedicated in honor of Mitchell Red Cloud Jr. on Armed Forces Day, May 18, 1957. And finally, Mr. Dennis Beattie, will induct Peter Wirth Jr. into the Hall of Heroes. He is the Junior Vice Commancer of the Mitchell Red Cloud Marine Corps League detachment in Black River Fall, WI. Red Cloud was inducted into the Tomah VA Hall of Heroes on November 10, 2006. They now serve together once again for all of us in mind, body and spirit.
