Donald Kenneth Schwab (December 6, 1918 – February 19, 2005) was a United States Army veteran of World War II and recipient of the Medal of Honor.
Early life and military service
Donald K. Schwab was born on December 6, 1918, near Hooper, Nebraska, to Harry J. and Catherine Alvina Schwein Schwab. One of seven children, he attended country school in District 15 and graduated from Hooper High School in 1936. Schwab's family was of predominantly German descent and practicing Lutherans.
Schwab registered for the draft in October 1940 and was inducted into the Army on June 16, 1941. Stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, since his induction, Schwab was selected for infantry officer candidate school at Fort Benning, Georgia, in May 1942. After graduation, he was assigned to Company H, 390th Infantry Regiment, 98th Infantry Division, at Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. In April 1943, he was reassigned to the Army Ground Forces Overseas Replacement Depot at Camp Reynolds, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. Schwab was sent overseas and assigned to the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. On October 13, 1943, he was wounded in the leg in Italy, necessitating his evacuation to a military hospital in North Africa.
Schwab returned to duty in the spring of 1944. Schwab was wounded in action a second time in June. For his actions in combat on September 17, 1944, near Lure, France, Schwab was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for leading his company in repeated assaults across an open field against entrenched German positions in a treeline that had pinned down his unit with machine gun and machine pistol fire. After two American attacks had been checked, resulting in several casualties, Schwab reorganized his unit and arranged for the evacuation of the wounded. Schwab ordered his men to press the attack for a third time, and after halting them short of the objective and having them take cover, singlehandedly crept forward under fire and surprised an enemy gunner in his foxhole, knocking him senseless with the butt of his carbine and taking him prisoner. Schwab's actions disorganized the enemy forces, causing them to withdraw.
Schwab was wounded a third time (a minor wound on the upper lip) in October, and a fourth time (in the right arm) on November 2. His arm wound was serious enough to necessitate his return to the United States for further treatment and convalescence at Winter General Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, during which time he received leave to visit his parents. Schwab was released from the hospital in August 1945.
Medal of Honor
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2002 called for a review of the service records of approximately 600 mostly Jewish American and Hispanic American veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those who participated in actions possibly deserving an award the Medal of Honor. Schwab was among five additional service members who the review identified as having been overlooked for the honor. Schwab was awarded the Army Medal of Honor posthumously by President Barack Obama in a March 18, 2014 ceremony in the White House; Schwab's son Terry accepted the medal from the president on behalf of his late father.
Citation
Later life
After leaving the Army, Schwab returned to his family's farm near Hooper. He married Maralee Janssen on September 18, 1946. In 1951, he took a job as a rural mail carrier with the United States Postal Service, from which he retired in 1980. Donald K. Schwab died on February 19, 2005, at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha, Nebraska. He was preceded in death by his parents, four sisters, two brothers, an infant daughter, and a grandson, being survived by his wife, three daughters, and two sons.
Awards and decorations
BadgeCombat Infantryman Badge1st rowMedal of Honor2nd rowBronze Star MedalPurple HeartAmerican Defense Service Medal3rd rowAmerican Campaign MedalEuropean–African–Middle Eastern Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory Medal
3rd Infantry Division Insignia
See also
List of Medal of Honor recipients for World War II
References
External links