Stories of America's Greatest Heroes
Ken Harbaugh tells the stories of service members who have distinguished themselves through an act of valor. These stories feature recipients from the Civil War to present day, including a few who were originally overlooked for the medal.
Defending Till the End: PFC Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano
| S:11 E:3Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano was a native Hawaiian who served in the Army in the Korean War before Hawaii was even a state. When an overwhelming enemy force attacked their defensive position, Kaho’ohanohano ordered his men to fall back, but he stayed behind. Kaho’ohanohano laid down deadly coverfire to protect his men as they retreated, firing a machine gun and throwing grenades. He was hit in the shoulder, but held his position until he had completely exhausted all of his ammo and grenades. Armed only with a shovel, Kaho’ohanohano was overwhelmed by enemy forces, but killed two in hand-to-hand combat.
Seeing Kaho’ohanohano’s fierce dedication and bravery, his squad was inspired. They rallied and launched a successful counter attack, pushing out the enemy. When the dust cleared, they found that Kaho’ohanohano’s machine gun had bent because it had fired so many bullets.
Kaho’ohanohano was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his sacrifice, but decades later, it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On May 2nd, 2011, Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and it was received by his nephew. He’s buried at the Maui Veterans cemetery in Maui, and a National Guard Armory in Maui was named after him.
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Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.
Anthony T. Kaho'ohanohano was born on July 22nd, 1930 in Maui, Hawaii. He was tall, shy and protective of his eight siblings. His father was a police officer and served in the Military, and Kaho’ohanohano, along with all of his brothers, followed in their father’s footsteps and served when they were old enough. Kaho’ohanohano joined the Army when he was 20 years old in early 1951, before Hawaii was even a state.
On September 1st, 1951, a year after the start of the Korean War, Private First Class Kaho’ohanohano was in command of a machine gun squad that was holding a defensive position near Chupa-Ri, Korea. Suddenly, they were attacked by an overwhelming enemy North-Korean force. Being significantly outnumbered, Kaho’ohanohano ordered his men to retreat- but he didn’t follow. Instead, he gathered grenades and ammo before manning the machine gun. Completely alone against the enemy, he laid down deadly cover fire and tossed grenades as his men got to safety. He was hit in the shoulder, but held his ground until his machine gun ran out of ammo. He then used another nearby gun to continue to hold off the approaching North Koreans. Eventually that too ran out of ammo, and with no grenades left, he reached for the only thing nearby that could help him defend himself- a shovel. With no more fire power to halt their attack, the enemy quickly overtook Kaho’ohanohano and his position.
Seeing Kaho’ohanohano’s strength and bravery, his squad was inspired. They rallied and launched a counter-attack, retaking their original position and fending off the enemy.
When the dust had settled, the squad found the barrel of Kaho’ohanohano’s machine gun bent because it had fired so many bullets. They also discovered that he had used the shovel in hand-to-hand combat to kill two more enemies- a final moment of unfaltering determination.
Kaho’ohanohano was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his sacrifice, but decades later, it was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. On May 2nd, 2011, Private First Class Anthony T. Kaho’ohanohano was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and it was received by his nephew. He’s buried at the Maui Veterans cemetery, and a National Guard Armory in Maui was named after him.
The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.
Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.
We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.