Archie Van Winkle, 61; Korean War Hero Was Awarded Medal of Honor

Archie Van Winkle, the Marine Corps sergeant who ignored his own wounds to help repel an attack by North Korean troops and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his courage, is dead at age 61.

Van Winkle’s body was found May 20 on his yacht docked in Ketchikan, Alaska, his wife, LaVonne, said this week from her home near San Diego. He died of unspecified natural causes, she said.

The couple had spent the last seven years cruising the Alaskan coast, but maintained a mailing address in suburban El Cajon, where their two daughters live. They also have two sons.

A native of Juneau, Van Winkle was a 25-year-old staff sergeant when his company encountered a fierce nighttime assault in Sudong, North Korea, on Nov. 2, 1950, said Nicholas Oresko, director of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, which is made up of all living recipients of the nation’s highest military honor.

Van Winkle rallied his men and spearheaded an attack against a larger enemy force that had pinned down the Americans with heavy automatic and grenade fire. A bullet shattered his arm and a grenade exploded near his chest but he refused to move to the rear of his men and continued to lead the charge.

During World War II he flew 62 missions as an aerial gunner during the invasion of the Philippines, earning two air medals and a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Discharged in July 1945, he became a Marine reservist in 1949 and returned to active duty upon the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. He retired in 1974 with the rank of colonel.