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The doorbell at the Inverness home of Kenneth L. Bradshaw, Jr., greets visitors with the Notre Dame fight song. The greeting is illustrative of Bradshaw's fighting Irish spirit that enabled him to survive on the battlefields of Korea.
Born in Tauton, Massachusetts, Bradshaw grew up in neighboring Raynhan. After graduating from Taunton Vocational School in 1947, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 1948.
Within weeks of the outbreak of the Korean War on June 25, 1950, Bradshaw was sent as an individual replacement to the 24th Infantry Division, which was defending the Pusan Perimeter against advancing North Korean forces. Assigned to Company E, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry, he soon formed an inseparable friendship with three unit members---Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud, Corporal Bob Black and Sergeant John Moore
The successful September 15 Inchon landings by U.S. forces and breakout of the Pusan Perimeter caused North Korean resistance to evaporate. By late October, Bradshaw's division was within 18 miles of the Yalu River, which separates North Korea from the People's Republic of China.
Amid talk of the war being over by Christmas, Bradshaw's company learned the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had crossed the Yalu River en massed. In anticipation of the PLA onslaught, Bradshaw's company was ordered to withdraw to Hill 123 and establish defensive positions.
Prior to dawn on November 5, Corporal Red Cloud, a Marine veteran of WW II fondly called "Chief" because of his Native American heritage, sounded the battle cry with "Here they come".
Under the cover of darkness, the Chinese had flanked Company E undetected to attack it from the rear. Bradshaw moved from his two man fighting position to a vantage point to engage the advancing enemy with hand grenades. Returning to his fighting position, he found his fellow defender dead.
As his company's defenses crumbled, Bradshaw withdrew down a ravine with three Chinese soldiers in pursuit. Taking cover behind rocks, he took aim at his pursuers, killing all three. He then continued his withdrawal until he came upon and took temporary refuge with a heavy weapons company.
Of the approximately 160 members of Company E, most were killed, wounded or captured. While Bradshaw miraculously escaped unscathed, his friends Red Cloud, Black and Moore were killed in action. Despite being wounded three times, Corporal Red Cloud's valiant and fierce fight to the death earned him the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.
After Bradshaw's company was reconstituted, it endured a series of engagements and withdrawals southward until the battle lines stabilized in the vicinity of the 38th parallel, which politically divides the two Koreas. In the days that followed, Company E found itself ceding and retaking ground and preparing defenses for the next major PLA assault.
The inevitable assault came on February 6, 1951 during which Bradshaw earned his Purple Heart. The Chinese assault was supported with deadly fire from a machinegun position. Bradshaw, in turn, placed machinegun fire on the enemy position knocking it out of action. Bradshaw's successful action brought heavy enemy fire on his position, wounding him in the right arm and his assistant gunner in the shoulder.
Severely wounded and seeking medical attention, Bradshaw and his assistant gunner made their way to the company aid station. After the Chinese attack subsided, he was evacuated to the battalion aid station and then to Pusan for further evacuation to the 155th Station Hospital in Yokohama, Japan.
Close to two months later, Bradshaw was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Following several surgeries and 15 months of rehabilitation, he was medically retired from the U.S. Army in May 1952.
Returning to Raynham Massachusetts as the proud recipient of the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman Badge, Bradshaw took up civilian life ultimately retiring in 1983 from General Electric with 29 years service. In 1988, he and his wife Barbara relocated to Inverness.
Bradshaw is a life member of the DAV, Korean War Veterans Association and VFW. He is also a past commander of VFW Post 4337 in Inverness, a life charter member of Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776, MOPH, a 32nd Degree Mason and a Shriner.
Among Bradshaw's most cherished honors, however, was his induction as a warrior of the Ho-Chunk Nation in a recent ceremony at Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Once comrades in battle, now he and his friend Corporal Red Cloud are reunited as warriors.
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