8 July

1Lt RICHARD  T  SHEA  JR.
Co A 17th Inf Reg, 7th ID
Sokkogae, Korea
6 to 8 July 1953

As executive officer, Co A, he was supervising the reinforcement of defensive positions when his position came under attack by a vastly superior enemy force.

1Lt Shea organized and led a counterattack that swiftly degraded into hand to hand combat.  Shea killed 2 enemy soldiers with his trench knife.

He calmly moved between defensive positions checking on his men, steadying and urging the troops to hold firm.

Shea fought side by side with his men throughout the night until the enemy mounted a dawn attack placing Shea’s position at risk of being overrun.  1Lt Shae charged forward in the lead as his men thwarted the enemy then regrouped. Shae’s group absorbed the remaining members of another company into his ranks and he rallied his men to charged the enemy again.

In spite of his wounds Shea refused evacuation and continued to lead the counterattack.  When one of his gun emplacements was pinned down by enemy fire, 1Lt Shea personally rushed the emplacement, firing his carbine and lobbing grenades with deadly accuracy at the enemy. He neutralized the weapon and killed 3 of the enemy.

On 8 July, the enemy attacked again. Despite additional wounds, Shea launched a determined counterattack and was last seen in close hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Lt. Shae finally secumed to his wounds, but not until he turned the tide of the battle and his men had taken the field.