BY ROB DAVIS
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Medal of Honor recipients and World War II veterans kicked off Freedom Fest weekend by meeting with the media last Friday at John Emerald Distilling Company in Opelika. Veterans Jack Stowe, Robert “Bob” Patterson and Melvin Morris were joined by family and friends as they answered questions and reflected on their military service and being awarded with the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration.
The Medal of Honor is awarded to American soldiers for acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty. Established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861, only 3,525 soldiers have ever been awarded the Medal of Honor.
Jack Stowe
World War II Navy veteran Jack Stowe, who is 99 years old, was just 15 years old and working in a grocery store in Denton, Texas, on Dec. 7, 1941 when he heard that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor. Wanting desperately to fight for his country, Stowe persuaded his school nurse to falsify a document to show that he was 18 years old. Stowe quit high school and joined the Navy. Just a few weeks after enlisting Stowe found himself fighting on the front lines of the heavily bombed Solomon Islands.
“I was just a kid when I enlisted but I grew up in a hurry,” Stowe said. “I was 16 when I crossed the equator.”
After serving four years in the Navy, Stowe returned home still a teenager but forever changed by the war.
“I saw things that no human should ever have to see,” he said. “I’m just glad that I made it home alive. I saw a lot of death and lost a lot of friends over there.”
Command Sergeant Major Bob Patterson
Command Sergeant Major Bob Patterson served in the United States Army from 1966 until 1991. He served in Vietnam in 1967-1968 and in the Gulf War 1990-1991. A native of Fayetteville,N.C. Patterson said he joined the Army to escape the tobacco fields back home.
It was during his service in Vietnam that Patterson distinguished himself for his courage and leadership. He became a Green Beret and led a variety of elite missions including counterinsurgency and direct action operations. Patterson is proud of his service and being awarded the Medal of Honor but says it came with a price. He credits his ability to compartmentalize with keeping him from revisiting those harsh realities of war.
“I saw men, my fellow soldiers and friends, burn up in flames and be blown to bits,” Patterson said. “I keep it all back here in the back of my mind and I try not to let it get out.”
Patterson’s official Medal of Honor citation states that during an assault against a North Vietnamese Army battalion Patterson risked his own life and saved the lives of countless American soldiers by ignoring the warnings from his comrades and moving forward into heavily fortified enemy territory. Armed with a rifle and pockets full of grenades Patterson took out five enemy bunkers, killing eight enemy soldiers and capturing seven.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Patterson was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, three Purple Hearts and three Army Achievement medals. But it is the Medal of Honor that he cherishes the most.
“Well it’s the highest honor a soldier can receive and there aren’t many that have been presented with it,” he said. “I’m happy that I can share it with my family.”
Sergeant First Class Melvin Morris
Sergeant First Class Melvin Morris served in the United States Army from 1959 until 1985. Born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, Morris served in Company D, Special Forces in South Vietnam in 1969 and 1970. He distinguished himself when his unit encountered a large enemy minefield and heavy enemy gunfire. When he heard that a fellow team commander had been killed near an enemy bunker, Morris and two of his soldiers decided to risk their own lives in order to retrieve their comrades’ body. When the two soldiers accompanying him were wounded Morris helped them back to safety and continued to move forward alone while dodging heavy enemy machine gunfire. Morris destroyed four enemy bunkers on his way to finding his deceased fellow commander and returning him to his unit despite being wounded three times.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Morris also has two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. According to Morris’ son Maurice, his father never spoke about his service, and it wasn’t until Maurice enlisted in the Army that he learned of his father’s accomplishments.
“I had no idea,” Maurice said. “Mom and Dad never talked about it. When I joined the Army I had all these sergeants coming up to me saying do you know who your dad really is? Do you know what all your dad did over in Vietnam? So I learned that my father is an American hero. It’s pretty cool and well deserved.”
