Melvin Ruben Stai
Captain, U.S. Army

Melvin Ruben Stai was born on 1 September 1917 in Tomahawk, WI, the son of Norwegian immigrants, and was raised in Wisconsin. He and his wife, Marietta, had two children, son Mike and daughter Marylyn.

In World War II, Stai served as an enlisted man.

On 6 September 1950, then-First Lieutenant Melvin Ruben Stai was serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, in South Korea. While his unit was engaged with the enemy that day, 1LT Stai's gallantry in action earned him the U.S. Army's third highest award for valor, the Silver Star Medal.

On 26 November 1950, then-Captain Stai's unit was engaged with enemy forces and his valorous actions earned him a second award (Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster) of the Silver Star.

On 30 November 1950, CPT Stai was now the Commanding Officer of Company A and his unit was engaged with enemy forces near Kunu-ri, Korea. While the 1st Battalion was fighting a delaying action south of Kunu-ri, Captain Stai's Company A was in reserve position at the base of a hill. When the enemy infiltrated and seized the hill, he was ordered to launch a counterattack to retake it. In the face of extremely heavy automatic-weapons fire, he started his advance up the hill and was almost immediately halted by the enemy fire. During this halt, he exposed himself to enemy fire while coordinating and directing his Company's fire. Despite the urging of platoon and squad leaders, the men of Company A were unable to advance due to the increasingly heavy enemy fire. Resuming the advance alone, CPT Stai had moved about fifty yards up the hill when the men of Company A, inspired by his courageous action, rallied behind him and began pressing the attack. The renewed attack killed about fifty of the enemy and routed the remainder from the strategic position. After being driven from the hilltop, the enemy laid down a heavy concentration of direct mortar and machine-gun fire on their deserted position. Despite the heavy fire, Captain Stai remained in the open, placing each man in the best position to fire upon the enemy. After securing the hill, CPT Stai's Company held the position throughout the day and contributed greatly to the successful withdrawal of the remainder of the Regiment. CPT Stai's extraordinary heroism and inspiring leadership earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

On 29 January 1951, Captain Stai was captured and taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in South Korea. While a POW, he was killed by an air raid on the Suan Beam (POW) Camp on 22 April 1951.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Bronze Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart
Prisoner of War 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 Captain (Infantry) Melvin Ruben Stai (ASN: 0-2035983), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy of the United Nations while serving with as Commanding Officer of Company A, 1st Battalion, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Captain Stai distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action against enemy aggressor forces near Kunu-ri, Korea, on 30 November 1950. While the 1st Battalion was fighting a delaying action south of Kunu-ri, Captain Stai's company was in reserve position at the base of a hill. When the enemy infiltrated and seized the hill, he was ordered to launch a counterattack to retake it. In the face of extremely heavy automatic-weapons fire, he started his advance up the hill and was almost immediately halted by the overwhelming enemy fire. During this halt, he continuously exposed himself to withering enemy fire in order to coordinate and direct the fire of his company. Despite the urging of platoon and squad leaders, the men of Company A were not able to advance in the face of increasingly heavy enemy fire. Captain Stai, resuming the advance alone, had gone about fifty yards up the hill when the men of Company A, inspired by his courageous action, rallied behind him and began pressing the attack. This attack once renewed, succeeded in driving the enemy from the strategic position, killing approximately fifty and routing the remainder. After being driven from the hilltop, the enemy laid down a heavy concentration of direct mortar and machine-gun fire on their deserted position, but in spite of his heavy fire, Captain Stai, although he could be clearly seen by the enemy, remained in the open and placed each man of his command in position to fire upon the retreating enemy. After securing the hill, he held the position throughout the day, and thereby contributed greatly to the successful withdrawal of the remainder of the regiment.

General Orders: Headquarters, Eighth U.S. Army, Korea: General Orders No. 90 (February 22, 1951)

Burial

At the time of his death, the remains of Captain Melvin Ruben Stai were not recovered. He was memorialized with his name inscribed on Court 6 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, HI.

Captain Stai's remains were recovered on 20 November 2000 and identified on 25 May 2011. He was finally laid to rest on 9 July 2011 at the Washington State Veteran's Cemetery, Medical Lake, Spokane County, WA, in Section 4, Row A, Site 77.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=72982193