Melvin William More
Sergeant, U.S. Army

Melvin William More attended Inglewood High School where, according to classmates, he was a superb athlete and a very popular person. As Captain and a star guard on the basketball team, he scored most of the winning points for the League championship and, after the game, was hoisted onto the shoulders of his teammates and paraded around the gymnasium floor. He also loved baseball, playing 1st base and pitching, and was co-captain of the team. He was also President of the Boy's League. They noted that Mel was a man who excelled at "quiet leadership."

More continued playing baseball at El Camino College until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951. He arrived in Korea in January 1952.

In September 1952, Sergeant Melvin William More was serving as a Section Leader with the Heavy Mortar Section, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in Korea.

On 7 September, SGT More's unit was engaged with enemy forces in the vicinity of Kundung-ni, North Korea. In the predawn darkness, Company G was occupying defensive positions on a hill of great tactical importance. Suddenly it was subjected to an intense enemy mortar and artillery bombardment followed by a massive assault by a numerically superior hostile force. Hundreds of incoming rounds were exploding in close proximity to the position of SGT More's Section where he rallied his men and directed their efforts as they supported the riflemen at the top of the hill. Communication with the Section's Forward Observer was disrupted as the lines were cut by the intense enemy fire. SGT More, now wounded, still made repeated trips through the intense hostile bombardment to the crest of the hill and back in order to adjust the fire of his men. His section fired with deadly accuracy until its ammunition was gone. SGT More then learned that the enemy had secured a foothold on the crest of the hill. He quickly organized his men into an assault force and led them in a charge up the steep slope through the intensive enemy fire. Well in front of his men, he moved from bunker to bunker inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy troops with his grenades. As SGT More's force pushed the enemy from the hill, flying shrapnel from an exploding enemy round ended his mission. SGT More's extraordinary heroism and inspiring leadership resulted in the recapture of an important terrain feature and earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Combat Infantryman Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, under the provisions of the Act of Congress approved July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Sergeant Melvin William More (ASN: US-56149735), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving as a Section Leader with the Mortar Section, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Sergeant More distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces in the vicinity of Kundung-ni, Korea, on 7 September 1952. In the pre-dawn darkness Sergeant More's company, occupying defensive positions on a hill of great tactical importance, was subjected to an extremely intense enemy mortar and artillery bombardment followed by a fanatical smashing assault by a numerically superior hostile force. With hundreds of incoming hostile rounds exploding in close proximity to his section's position, Sergeant More rallied his men and directed their efforts as they supported the beleaguered riflemen at the top of the hill. Suddenly communication with the section's forward observer was disrupted as essential lines were cut by the intense enemy fire. In order to adjust the fire of his men, Sergeant More, painfully wounded, nevertheless made repeated trips through the intense hostile bombardment to the crest of the hill and back to his section's position. Inspired by his efforts, the section fired with deadly accuracy until its ammunition was exhausted. Suddenly Sergeant More learned that the enemy had secured a foothold on the crest of the hill. Displaying aggressive leadership, he immediately organized his men into an assault force and led them in a charge up the precipitous slope through the murderous fusillade of enemy fire. Well in advance of his comrades, he moved from bunker to bunker, inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy troops inside with accurately thrown grenades. As the force led by Sergeant More pushed the foe from the hill, flying shrapnel from an exploding enemy round ended his courageous mission. The extraordinary heroism and completely selfless devotion to duty displayed by Sergeant More on this occasion resulted in the recapture of an important terrain feature.

General Orders: Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 638 (October 20, 1952)

Burial

Sergeant Melvin William More is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, Los Angeles County, CA.

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