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Colonel Lewis L. Millett, USA, Retd.

MOH Citation:

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company E, 27th Infantry Regiment.
Place and date: Vicinity of Soam-Ni, Korea, 7 February 1951.
Entered service at: Mechanic Falls, Maine.
Born: 15 December 1920, Mechanic Falls, Maine.
G.O. No.: 69, 2 August 1951.
Citation: Capt. Millett, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action. While personally leading his company in an attack against a strongly held position he noted that the 1st Platoon was pinned down by small-arms, automatic, and antitank fire. Capt. Millett ordered the 3d Platoon forward, placed himself at the head of the 2 platoons, and, with fixed bayonet, led the assault up the fire-swept hill. In the fierce charge Capt. Millett bayoneted 2 enemy soldiers and boldly continued on, throwing grenades, clubbing and bayoneting the enemy, while urging his men forward by shouting encouragement. Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill. His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder. During this fierce onslaught Capt. Millett was wounded by grenade fragments but refused evacuation until the objective was taken and firmly secured. The superb leadership, conspicuous courage, and consummate devotion to duty demonstrated by Capt. Millett were directly responsible for the successful accomplishment of a hazardous mission and reflect the highest credit on himself and the heroic traditions of the military service.

As noted, COL Millett was born in 1920. He enlisted in the 101st Field Artillery, Massachusetts National Guard, in 1938. In 1940, he went into the Army Air Corps as an air mechanic specializing in aerial gunnery in the 1st Reconnaissance Squadron. Later, when Roosevelt indicated the US would avoid entanglement in foreign wars, he deserted and enlisted in the Canadian Army. After Pearl Harbor, when we became entangled in a foreign war, he was in with the Canadians in England but was allowed to rejoin the US Army.

In WW2, he served with the 1st Armored Division, rising to Sergeant and then earning a battlefield commission. He received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star (for valor) and the Purple Heart. After the war, he left the Army, but later joined the 103rd Infantry, Maine National Guard.

He went to Korea early on, serving in the 25th Infantry Division. He was assigned to the 27th Infantry ("Wolfhounds"), where he commanded Easy Company. Hackworth (then in Golf Company) has alleged that the bayonet charge that led to his Medal was a bit hyped by SLA Marshall, but nevertheless praises Millett's leadership and bravery. Stories surrounding Millett were recounted in Army Magazine in January 2002:

On one occasion, Millett had been wounded in the leg by a shell fragment. Ordered into an ambulance against his will, Millett was informed by a doctor that the Geneva Convention forbade weapons in ambulances. According to Wolfhound folklore, Millett replied, "I'm a soldier, not a lawyer. Where I go, my rifle goes." The physician replied, "Get in." Half an hour later, the Chinese ambushed the truck convoy and machine-gunned the ambulances. Millett immediately dove into a ditch and with his M-1, blasted a path clear for himself and two other G.I.s. Crawling through enemy lines he evaded capture and reached American lines. Millett wound up in a field hospital but less than two days later, he went AWOL to return to the fighting.

Shortly thereafter, flying in observation planes as a forward observer for the 8th Field Artillery, part of the 27th Regimental Combat Team (RCT), Millett spotted a downed observation plane, the wounded pilot beckoning for help. Ordering his own pilot to set down, Millett lifted the wounded pilot into his seat and fought off the enemy with his M-1. He then evacuated the injured pilot to safety.

An infantryman at heart, Millett soon requested transfer to a frontline company when he heard that Easy Company, 27th Infantry had lost its company commander in November 1950. Commanding Easy during the retreat from the Yalu had been Capt. Reginald (Dusty) Desiderio, who posthumously earned the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty in the terrible fighting along the Chongchon River. Adored by his men, Desiderio had led the company with great distinction since its arrival the preceding summer. In his last fight, Desiderio's undaunted courage and heroism under fire coupled with the indomitable spirit of his soldiers resulted in Easy Company being recommended for the Presidential Unit Citation.

Millett became Easy Company's skipper on January 1 and immediately moved to place his imprint on the command. To increase the firepower in his unit, he obtained an additional Browning Automatic Rifle per squad. Each soldier also received four to six hand grenades. Next, he inculcated Easy Company with the spirit of the bayonet, considered by many to be a useless weapon unsuited for combat in Korea. He emphasized the bayonet, personally supervising all aspects of training. Two days of intense two-hour training periods, followed by daily thrusts, jabs and butt strokes against stacks of rice straw or a mud bank, made even the most dubious members of the command believe that their new commanding officer was a fighter. Sharpening the bayonets to a razor edge, the men heeded Millett's warning: "In our next fight, we'll use this. Have it ready."

According to S.L.A. Marshall, Easy Company's ensuing fight was only one small piece of the general engagement fought by the 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning" Division in its advance from Suwon to the Han River in February 1951. On the division's right was the 3rd Infantry Division; together the two divisions comprised I Corps. Seven miles north of Suwon stands Hill 440, a dominating mass of ridges that blocks any advance on the two parallel roads that drive toward the Han River. Marshall likened Hill 440 to a mountain. Gibraltar itself did not look more formidable. After savage fighting, the Americans took Hill 440, inflicting more than 4,200 enemy casualties at a cost of approximately 70 American dead.

On February 5, 1951, Easy Company was in the RCT's lead along the left road when it encountered an entrenched enemy. Millett's first platoon was soon pinned down on a frozen rice paddy by direct fire from a low running ridge directly to their front. From his command post 50 meters in the rear, Millett made an instant assessment and ordered his 2nd Platoon to fix bayonets and come in on the 1st's left. Third Platoon was to support the attack by fire. "Fix bayonets and follow me," Millett shouted to 1st Platoon and rushed to the base of the hill. Temporarily protected by defilade, he then led the platoon forward, the men screaming at the tops of their lungs. S.L.A. Marshall reported that Millett was in the lead, shouting "she-lie sa-ni," which purportedly is Chinese for "I'm going to kill you with a bayonet." Covered by the fire from 3rd Platoon, Millett and the 1st Platoon reached the crest unscathed, just as the Chinese soldiers were beginning to evacuate their position. Shooting the fleeing enemy, Easy Company had achieved a spectacular victory at minimal cost, but this seemingly inconsequential action was merely a dress rehearsal for what was to occur two days later.

On February 7, Easy Company was once again in the lead as Task Force Bartlett approached yet another hill, this one designated Hill 180. With 3rd Platoon occupying a reserve position to provide covering fire should the need arise, Millett's two remaining platoons approached the ridge, with their commanding officer leading them. As he brought 1st Platoon abreast of the ridge, Millett received word that the enemy was in force atop Hill 180. Out of range of artillery, Millett contemplated delaying the attack or seizing the opportunity at hand. Without hesitation, he immediately prepared for an assault, directing his attached tank platoon to join 3rd Platoon in firing on the enemy position. Positioning himself with 1st Platoon, Millett yelled: "Get ready to move! We're going to assault the hill. Fix bayonets! Charge! Everybody goes with me."

Fortunately Millett and his men reached the base of the hill with minimal casualties. Regrouping under cover of a protective outcropping, Millett led the men forward toward the first of three knobs that characterized the hill. While personally leading his company, Millett placed himself at the head of two platoons and with fixed bayonet, led the assault up the fire-swept hill. In the fierce charge, Millett bayoneted two enemy soldiers and boldly continued on, throwing grenades, clubbing and bayoneting the enemy, while urging his company forward by shouting encouragement. Amid the roar of battle, Millett could be heard shouting for 3rd Platoon to join the assault: "Use grenades and cold steel! Come on up here, you sons of bitches!" At one point, Millett had to fire his M-1 to release its bayonet by the recoil. Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill.

Millett's dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder, just as they had two days earlier. This time Easy Company had endured its fair share of casualties as well, but they had carried the hill. Wounded by a grenade fragment, Millett refused evacuation until the objective was taken and firmly secured. That evening, Easy Company took time to reflect on what they had done. Of the approximately 200 enemy soldiers who had occupied Hill 180 at noon, 47 lay dead on the ground and later reports confirmed the Chinese and North Koreans had incurred an additional 60 wounded. Of the dead that lay strewn on Hill 180, 18 had been killed with bayonets. Five months later President Truman awarded Capt. Lewis Lee Millett the Medal of Honor and Easy Company received its second Distinguished Unit Citation.

In 1952, then CPT Millett was on the leadership board at the Infantry School. In 1956, he went to the Infantry Officer’s Advanced Course and completed Ranger School as a Major. He later founded the 101st Airborne's Recondo School, the 82nd Airborne's Raiders and the Laotian Commandos. In 1960, he was on the first Mobile Training Team (MTT) for the Biêt Dông Quân, the ARVN Rangers. He later served in the Phoenix Program, where reportedly he voluntarily served as a hostage in a North Vietnamese battalion while its commander arranged to surrender to the ARVNs. He retired in 1973.

Besides the Medal of Honor, his decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit (2 OLC), Bronze Star with "V", Purple Heart (3 OLC), Air Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and various foreign awards.

The Army article, on Millett and Dick Winters, is here: http://www.majordickwinters.com/capt...uary_2002.html