JAMES LAMAR STONE (1922 ~ ) Medal of Honor Recipient James Stone was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, on December 27, 1922. He was raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Stone attended the University of Arkansas, where he studied chemistry and zoology and was a member of the Army's Reserve Officer Training Corps.
After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in 1947, Stone worked for the General Electric Company in Houston, Texas. He was called to active duty in 1948 and trained at Fort Ord, California. Stone was deployed to Korea as a First Lieutenant with Company F, Second Battalion, Eighth Cavalry Regiment, First Cavalry Division in early March 1951.
On November 21, 1951, Stone was a platoon leader on a hill overlooking the Imjin River near Sokkogae. His small unit of 48 men was subjected to a heavy mortar attack at about nine o'clock that night. Stone radioed for flares to be sent up above the hillside when the bombardment ended. The flares revealed an overwhelming enemy force advancing up the hill. The American defenses repelled this first attack wave, along with five others over the next three hours. The Chinese force received reinforcements after midnight, bringing their estimated number to roughly 800.
The enemy attacked again and Stone directed the defenses by moving from position to position in the trenches. Stone exposed himself to enemy fire in the process by climbing the sandbag trench walls. A flamethrower malfunctioned and its operator was killed, so Stone rushed through enemy fire, repaired it, and gave it to another soldier to operate. The enemy then entered the American trenches and hand-to-hand combat ensued. Stone used his rifle as a club in the fighting before he seized the unit's only remaining machine gun and moved it several times to fire on advancing enemy soldiers. The fighting in the trenches killed half of Stone's men and Stone himself was wounded three times.
He ordered the remaining soldiers to retreat while he stayed behind with the wounded to cover their escape. Stone and the other wounded soldiers were overwhelmed just before dawn. When the Army recaptured the position the next day they counted 545 enemy soldiers who died attacking Stone's unit.
Stone was unconscious when captured by the Chinese and carried by stretcher to a nearby command post for his interrogation. He spent the next 22 months in a prisoner of war camp near the Yalu River. A few of Stone's letters home were received by his family, so they knew that he was alive. Stone befriended John "Doc" Watson, a West Point graduate from Mississippi, at the POW camp. Throughout their time at the camp, the two relied on each other for support. They were exchanged in the "Big Switch" prisoner exchange at the end of the war in September, 1953. It was only after Stone was exchanged that he learned he was to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented the medal to Stone at the White House on October 27, 1953.
Stone remained in the Army after returning to the United States. He served for a period of time in Germany before moving to the Fort Worth area to administer several ROTC units in the 1960s. Stone served a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1971. He retired from the Army as a Colonel after almost 30 years of service.
Stone has lived in Arlington, Texas, since 1980. He is an active member of the Dallas-Fort Worth area Korean War Veterans Association. For a period of time he helped in a home building business started by his son, James L. Stone Jr. Stone is an avid baseball fan and enjoys attending Texas Rangers games as well as his grandson Stewart's little league games.
Bibliography: "Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor in Texas," Capitol Visitors Center, State Preservation Board of Texas. Collier, Peter, "Holding Fast: James L. Stone," Military.com, http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,MoH_James_Stone,00.html, April 26, 2006. Strassman, Neil, "More Interested in Surviving," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, December 2, 2005.
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