The Association of the United States Army has published a new graphic novel celebrating the life and service of Medal of Honor recipient Hiroshi Miyamura, who was one of two living recipients of the medal from the Korean War along with Ranger Ralph Puckett.
AUSA has been publishing the MOH series of graphic novels since 2018 and has so far honored Audie Murphy, Mary Walker, Roy Benavidez, Ralph Puckett, and Alwyn Cashe, amongst many others. The comics are created by industry veterans including writer Chuck Dixon, art by Andrew Paquette, and letters by Troy Peteri who together have worked on the biggest name comics for DC and Marvel.
Miyamura grew up in Gallup, New Mexico and was drafted into World War 2. He missed the action as by the time he arrived in Germany the Nazis had surrendered. However, he remained in the reserves and was called up to serve in 3rd Infantry Division during the Korean War.
With his unit serving as the last line of defense between the capital city of Seoul and an invading Chinese Army, Miyamura killed nearly a dozen enemies in brutal hand-to-hand combat on April 5th, 1951. He then manned a Browning machine gun and fired on the enemy until running out of ammunition. Moving to another gun position he laid down a suppressive fire to allow his men to escape.
Killing another enemy in an abandoned trench, Miyramura fled downhill and got caught in barbwire before passing out in a ditch. He awoke to find Chinese soldiers surrounding him. He was captured.
As a Prisoner of War, Miyamura was force marched 300 miles over five weeks along with other American POWs. He was held prisoner for 28 months before being released in 1953. To his surprise, he had been awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions back in 1951. The Army had classified his MOH as top secret as they feared that if the enemy knew, they might have him killed.
Miyamura passed away at the age of 97 in 2022 and was laid to rest in his hometown of Gallup.
The AUSA provides their graphic novel free of charge and Miyamura's story can be read right now by visiting their website.
