Bills will seek to name VA Clinic in Guntersville for Medal of Honor winner Ola Lee Mize
If Alabama’s congressional delegation is successful, the community-based Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in Guntersville will carry the name of a Medal of Honor winner.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, introduced a bill on Thursday, and Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, plans to introduce similar legislation naming the clinic at 101 Judy Smith Drive for Col. Ola Lee Mize.
The measure has the backing of the rest of the delegation, as well as the Alabama chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and Disabled American Veterans.
Mize, a native of Albertville in Marshall County and a longtime Gadsden resident, enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in 1950, and had reached the rank of sergeant when he earned the nation’s top military honor for his actions in a two-day battle on June 10-11, 1953, near Surang-ni, Korea.
He was part of Company K of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, stationed at Outpost Harry, which came under a massive enemy attack.
According to the official citation, Mize:
• Made his way through a barrage of gunfire to rescue a wounded soldier at a listening post;
• Established an effective defense system at Outpost Harry against enemy forces that had penetrated into trenches near the area;
• Inflicted heavy casualties and repelled attacks even though he was blown down three times by artillery and grenade blasts;
• Led fellow soldiers from bunker to bunker, firing through apertures and throwing grenades;
• Killed an enemy soldier who stepped out behind a comrade ready to fire;
• Fought his way to a friendly machine gun position, killing 10 enemy soldiers and dispersing the rest;
• Established a protective defensive position at the main outpost;
• Used radio to direct friendly artillery fire on the enemy's routes of approach;
• Helped forces regroup for a counterattack that drove enemy forces from the outpost.
Mize received the honor in 1954. He made the Army his career and joined the Special Forces after the Korean War, and served in Vietnam. He reportedly was in line for another Medal of Honor for heroism there, but didn’t receive it since he already had earned one.
He retired as a colonel in 1981, and died in 2014 at age 82.
A stretch of Steele Station Road in Rainbow City and Patriots Park at Noccalula Falls, site of the Etowah County War Memorial, carries his name, as does the headquarters building of the Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Florida.
Aderholt said Mize “embodied the long-standing American principles of service to country, dedication to family and commitment to hard work.”
Tuberville described him as “a true patriot who embodied the American ideals of courage, selflessness and honor,” adding, “He devoted his entire life to putting country ahead of self, and showed true bravery in the face of danger time and again.”
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Alabama, praised Mize’s “ courage and remarkable valor on the battlefield,” adding, “Naming this VA facility in his honor will ensure that Alabama’s heroes today and those in the generations to come will continue to commemorate his service.”
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Push in Congress to name VA Clinic in Guntersville for Ola Lee Mize
