Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), 351st Infantry Regiment
Sam McGowan of Beaufort Receives DFC (sic)
Staff Sgt. Sam McGowan of St. Helena's Island, Beaufort, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest decoration in the gift of the country, the medal being in recognition of extraordinary heroism in action in Italy.
Under date of November 13, Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark, commanding the Fifth army, issued the following order:
"SAM MCGOWAN (14116418), staff sergeant, infantry, United States army. For extraordinary heroism in action, on 30 September 1944, at Mount Cappello, Italy. While occupying defensive positions on the crest of a hill, a company was subjected to an intense mortar barrage delivered from the vicinity of a house on the forward slope. Around the building approximately one hundred Germans were assembling, presumably for a counterattack. Staff Sergeant McGowan volunteered to lead a platoon against the enemy stronghold. With fixed bayonets, the platoon led by Sergeant McGowan made a lightning attack on the enemy strongpoint. While leading his men to a point dangerously close to the impact area of supporting fire, Staff Sergeant McGowan personally neutralized two machine guns with hand grenades, killing three Germans and capturing six. Forcing one of his prisoners to load an enemy machine gun, Staff Sergeant McGowan manned the hostile weapon. He fired at a group of Germans in a draw to the rear of the house, killing or wounding 12 Germans and forcing the remainder to flee. During this action, Staff Sergeant McGowan was severely wounded in the leg, but he personally led his men in a ferocious assault upon the house. He refused to be evacuated until he had reorganized his platoon and placed his men in defensive positions. The prodigious courage displayed by Staff Sergeant McGowan in the face of heavy odds won the admiration and esteem of his entire platoon, and his performance is exemplary of the finest traditions of the armed forces of the United States."
Sergeant McGowan, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sam McGowan of St. Helena's, is a great-grandson of Gen. Sam McGowan, who was also a member of the supreme court. He is a nephew of William C. McGowan of Columbia and bears the same name as the late Rear Admiral Sam McGowan, paymaster general of the United States navy during the First World War.
Sergeant McGowan is still in a hospital in Italy, recovering from his wounds, but his last letter said he was up and around.
He was a sophomore at Clemson when he entered the service.
Article and Photo: The State, December 3, 1944. Downloaded from Newspapers.com.
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