VETERAN OF THE DAY
February 16, 2026
Fred B. McGee
Corporal, U.S. Army
Company B, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment
7th Infantry Division
Medal of Honor Recipient
Korean War Veteran
EARLY LIFE
Fred B. McGee was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1930.
A Midwesterner.
A steel worker.
A young man shaped by grit and industry.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1951 and deployed to Korea, serving from January to November 1952. At just 22 years old, he would face a test that would define his life.
MEDAL OF HONOR ACTION
June 16, 1952 — Near Tang-Wan-Ni, Korea
Serving as a gunner on a light machine gun in a weapons squad, McGee delivered a heavy volume of supporting fire from an exposed position despite intense enemy machine-gun and mortar fire directly on his location.
Forced to move his weapon multiple times under relentless fire, he continued to support the assault and provide covering fire for his platoon.
When his squad leader was wounded, along with several other members of his squad, McGee assumed command and moved his men even farther forward to a more exposed position in order to silence an enemy machine gun.
When his own machine gunner was mortally wounded, McGee once again took over the gun.
He ordered his squad to withdraw.
He stayed behind.
Though wounded in the face, McGee stood upright in the face of enemy machine-gun and mortar fire while attempting to evacuate the body of a fallen company runner. Forced to abandon the body under overwhelming fire, he then helped move a wounded Soldier to safety through heavy mortar and artillery fire.
He refused to leave until every wounded Soldier he could reach had been evacuated.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty, Corporal Fred B. McGee was awarded the Medal of Honor.
A PRESIDENTIAL TRIBUTE
As President Joe Biden said during the Medal of Honor ceremony:
“[He was] a Midwesterner, a steel worker and a gunner in one of the first integrated army units of the Korean War. Fred embodied the very best of our country. In June 1952, his unit was attacked. They took casualties. They were ordered to fall back. But Fred refused to leave until he helped every wounded Soldier evacuate.”
AFTER THE WAR
After returning home, McGee worked in the steel industry for more than four decades.
He lived a life of quiet dignity.
He passed away in 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — a survivor of Korea, a husband, a father, a worker, and a hero who came home.
LEGACY
At 22 years old, he stood in the open under fire so others could live.
He survived the war.
And then he built a life.
That, too, is courage.
Corporal Fred B. McGee
He held his ground.
He brought his brothers home.
And he came home himself.
Honor The Fallen. Support The Living. Teach The Next Generation.
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