DOB/DOD: August 23, 1923 (Philadelphia, PA) – August 27, 1951; 28 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Margaret “Peggy” A. Burns (1921-2020) on May 17, 1947, in Danbury, Connecticut.
CHILDREN: One son, Lee J. (1950-2013). Two daughters, Sharon L. Hartell Siegel (1948-) and Sandra J. Hartell Barry (1949-).
ENLISTMENT: His original enlistment was in 1940 at 17 years old.
SERVICE NUMBER: O-944579
FAMILY: Born to Andrew R. Sr. (1898-1990) and Dorothy Jackson Hartell (1899-1999). Three brothers, Andrew S. Jr. (1922-1999), Leonard (1931-2001), and Charles E. (1932-2022).
Lee Hartell was born August 23, 1923, in Pennsylvania and grew up in Danbury, Connecticut. He attended local schools, went to church with his family, and was active in the Boy Scouts between the ages of 10 and 17. Hartell was not a physically imposing figure. He seized playing football following a broken clavicle. Even as an adult, he stood only 5’8” and weighed only 135 pounds. Yet, young Lee was a steady youth with great endurance, prefiguring his military career. At age 15, he broke his neck in a swing accident but ignored the pain for several days until he was overcome by paralysis. A six-week hospitalization resulted in a discharge with a brace he was expected to wear for the rest of his life. Hartell worked himself to a full recovery, and the brace was removed in three months. At 17, he joined the Connecticut National Guard, although he was too young to enlist. He was a good student at Danbury High School, but the arrival of World War II caused him to earn his diploma in the Army. The Hartell family had a long tradition of military service. Lee’s father, Andrew Hartell Sr., served in the Navy in World War I and would again in World War II. His grandfather saw service in the Spanish-American War, and his great-grandfather was a veteran of the Civil War. Three of Lee’s brothers also served in the armed forces. Hartell’s father recalled following Lee’s death, “We’ve always been a militia family.”
Lee Hartell enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard on June 20, 1940, in the 192nd Field Artillery Battalion. He transferred to active duty on September 22, 1942, and was wounded in action in the South Pacific on June 19, 1943. He then transferred to Battery C of the 31st Battalion, 8th Field Artillery training regiment at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was discharged from active duty on July 1, 1945. He was discharged from the Connecticut National Guard the following day.
On August 8, 1946, he rejoined the Connecticut National Guard as a Second Lieutenant and served as an artillery officer with the 963rd Field Artillery Battalion. He was then discharged from the National Guard on January 12, 1948, to enter active duty service. He was deployed to Korea as part of Battery A, 15th Artillery Battalion of the 2nd Infantry Division.
In addition to the Medal of Honor, Lt Hartell is the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Good Conduct Medal, the Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean War Service Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING: Korean War
BRANCH OF SERVICE: Army
UNIT: Battery A, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division
GENERAL ORDERS: Department of the Army, General Orders No. 16 (February 1, 1952)
AGE ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT: 28
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to First Lieutenant (Field Artillery) Lee Ross Hartell (ASN: 0-944579), United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Battery A, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, in action against enemy aggressor forces at Kobangsan-ni, Korea, on 27 August 1951. During the darkness of early morning, the enemy launched a ruthless attack against friendly positions on a rugged mountainous ridge. First Lieutenant Hartell, attached to Company B, 9th Infantry Regiment, as a forward observer, quickly moved his radio to an exposed vantage on the ridge line to adjust defensive fires. Realizing the tactical advantage of illuminating the area of approach, he called for flares and then directed crippling fire into the onrushing assailants. At this juncture, a large force of hostile troops swarmed up the slope in banzai charge and came within ten yards of First Lieutenant Hartell’s position. First Lieutenant Hartell sustained a severe hand wound in the ensuing encounter but grasped the microphone with his other hand and maintained his magnificent stand until the front and left flank of the company were protected by a close-in wall of withering fire, causing the fanatical foe to disperse and fall back momentarily. After the numerically superior enemy overran an outpost and was closing on his position, First Lieutenant Hartell, in a final radio call, urged the friendly elements to fire both batteries continuously. Although mortally wounded, First Lieutenant Hartell’s intrepid actions contributed significantly to stemming the onslaught and enabled his company to maintain the strategic strongpoint. His consummate valor and unwavering devotion to duty reflect lasting glory on himself and uphold the noble traditions of military service.
Presentation Date and Details: January 16, 1952, at the Pentagon, by the Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett to his widow.
From The News (Paterson, NJ) September 19, 1951
KILLED DIRECTING BANZAI DEFENSE
EAST CENTRAL FRONT, Korea, Sept. 19 (UP) – A bullet crashed into 1st Lt Lee R Hartell’s chest as he stood, microphone in hand, unflinching at the North Korean banzai charge.
He had just said: “Keep firing both batteries. I think they have got us.”
The bullet but a period to the sentence and his life. But his crisp order from a forward artillery post saved the lives of others.
Allied guns responded with a fire curtain. It checked the enemy advance while an isolated infantry company with Hartell obtained fresh ammunition.
The young lieutenant from Danbury, Connecticut, moved forward to the exposed position overlooking “Bloody Ridge” on the dark, rainy morning of August 27. The saddle-shaped slope north of Yanggu was already drenched with the blood of thousands.
Whistle-blowing North Koreans broke through the Allied defense. Hartell carefully made adjustments and called for fire from 105-millimeter howitzers to the rear.
He ignored hand grenades bursting a few yards from his open position. He refused to leave his radio or to use a rifle in his own defense.
A bullet shattered his right hand. He jammed it under his left armpit to stem the flow of blood and called again for artillery fire. Throughout, he continued to make adjustments for accurate fire.
Hartell lived up to the reputation he established as an artillery plane spotter. He was known to “kick the back seat out of his plane” whenever he spotted a good target.
The man, called “The Sparrow” among his friends because of his quick, bright movements, was assigned as a forward observer with a rifle company hard pressed for replacements.
He leaves a wife, two daughters, and a son he never saw behind in Danbury.
From the Hartford Courant January 17, 1952
AWARD GIVEN TO WIDOW OF DANBURY MAN
LOVETT PRESENTS HONOR MEDAL TO MRS. HARTELL IN PENTAGON CEREMONY
WASHINGTON, January 16 (AP) – Two New Englanders, First Lieutenant Lee R. Hartell, 28, of Danbury, Connecticut, and Corporal Clair Goodblood, 21, of Burnham, Maine, today were awarded posthumously, the Medal of Honor.
The blue-starred ribbons and medals were presented in a Pentagon ceremony by Secretary of Defense Robert Lovett to Mrs. Margaret E. Hartell, widow of Lieutenant Hartell, and Mrs. Emily S. Goodblood, mother of the corporal. Lovett also presented Medals of Honor to relatives of eight others who died in Korean fighting.
Hartell was killed near Kobansan-Ni, Korea, on the night of August 27 when Reds attacked his unit. He crawled to a forward position, called for flares to illuminate the attacking force, and directed artillery fire against them. Although badly wounded, he continued to call back, firing directions while the enemy was only 30 feet from him.
Mrs. Hartell wore a black suit and hat and a corsage of gardenias presented by the Defense Department. She listened with a set expression as the citation for her husband was read by Brigadier General John A. Klein, deputy adjutant General.
In the Pentagon auditorium audience were her three children, Sharon Lee, 3; Sandra Jean, 2; John Lee, 1; and Hartell’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew R. Hartell, all of Danbury.
Sharon Lee and Sandra Jean wore tiny red, white, and blue corsages on their dark blue suits. The three youngsters, sitting with their grandparents, seemed puzzled by the bright lights and the cameras.
Senators McMahon and Benton and Representative Morano of Connecticut were present at the ceremony and personally expressed their sympathy and pride in Hartell’s heroism to the family. Morano also spoke for Governor John Davis Lodge of Connecticut.
From the Danbury News Times May 30, 2021
DANBURY — Sandra Barry doesn’t remember her dad.
She was only 2 when First Lieutenant Lee Hartell was killed in the Korean War on Aug. 27, 1951, on a rugged terrain now known as “Bloody Ridge.”
But remembrances of him are throughout Danbury, the United States, and Korea. Hartell is the only Danbury resident since the Civil War to be posthumously awarded with the prestigious Congressional Medal of Honor.
“We just remember seeing pictures, and that really didn’t mean anything to us,” said Barry, whose brother was just under one and sister was three when their father died. “Because he was over in Korea for a year before that, almost a year.”
The Medal of Honor is the country’s highest award for military valor in action, with more than 3,500 recipients nationwide and 82 recipients from Connecticut, according to federal and state figures.
“You end up becoming…kind of a hero to other veterans,” said Daniel Hayes, director of veterans affairs in Danbury. “That’s way above and beyond the call of duty.”
Nathan Hickok, from the Army, and James Sullivan, from the Navy, are the only other Danbury residents to earn this medal, both because of their service in the Civil War. Sgt. Major Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr., of Bethel, and Capt. Paul Bucha, of Ridgefield, received the medal for their service during the Vietnam War.
Hartell, who was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Danbury, joined the Connecticut National Guard at 17 in 1940 and was called to Camp Blanding, Fla. At 18, he reportedly became the youngest corporal in the 43rd Division and was deployed to New Zealand in October 1942 to fight in the Pacific Theater operations during World War II, according to the state military department.
After World War II, he married Margaret Burns “Peggy” Hartell in May 1947. They had three children, Sharon, Sandra, and Lee.
He was deployed to Korea in 1950 and led a forward observation team to support Company B, earning the nickname “Colonel Hilltop” because he shot at the enemy while calmly standing at the top of a hill, the state said.
Communist forces attacked predawn on Aug. 27 near Kobanson-ni, and Company B was surrounded on all sides. From his position, Hartell could see where the enemy was and called for flares, shooting at the attackers as they approached within 10 yards of him.
“First Lieutenant Hartell sustained a severe hand wound in the ensuing encounter but grasped the microphone with his other hand and maintained his magnificent stand until the front and left flank of the company were protected by a close-in wall of withering fire, causing the fanatical foe to disperse and fall back momentarily,” the citation for his medal reads.
The enemy regrouped and overran an outpost.
That’s when Hartell was shot through the chest.
“Keep firing both batteries. I think they’ve got us,” he said in a final radio call, according to the state.
Hartell’s actions “contributed significantly to stemming the onslaught and enabled his company to maintain the strategic strongpoint,” the medal citation reads.
When Hartell’s remains returned to Danbury, schools and businesses closed, and flags were flown at half-mast, the Danbury War Memorial describes on its website.
The Connecticut National Guard carried his flag-draped casket through the city streets, followed by a parade of soldiers, veterans’ organizations, and civic groups, the state said. Hartell was buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery.
But the city didn’t do much else to remember her dad when she was a kid, Barry said.
“It was just something that happened,” said Barry, adding she didn’t look forward to going to the Memorial Day parade yearly as a kid. It’s something she misses this year, with the parade canceled for the second year in a row due to COVID-19.
But the city later named the connector between White and Crosby Streets as Lee Hartell Drive and put a monument for him there.
“I would have rather they didn’t do that at all,” Barry said.
Kids would sit, stand, and jump off the monument, she said. In 1997, the monument was moved to its current place between the Vietnam and Korean War memorials outside the Danbury War Memorial.
“That’s where it belonged,” Barry said.
A photograph of Hartell is displayed in the lobby of the War Memorial building. The Disabled Americans Veterans Lee Hartell, Chapter 25 in Danbury, is named after him, and a plaque inside the building, as well as a sign outside, bears his name.
The Hartell chapter was formed in 1954 and sought to recognize his service.
“If it wasn’t for him, a lot of guys would have died,” said Chuck Gartland, commander of the organization who graduated from Danbury High School and served in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.
There’s a Camp Hartell in Windsor Locks, as well as in Munsan-ni, Korea. The Hartell House serves as a general officer’s mess hall for U.S., South Korean, and United Nations military personnel. A road at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, was renamed Hartell Boulevard.
Although Hartell died in August, his body was not returned to the family until January, Barry said. It came in a sealed coffin, she said. Her mother couldn’t believe he was gone because many other soldiers who had been missing were returning alive.
“My mother didn’t talk about my father at all,” Barry said. “It was kind of a sad situation because, for many years, she just didn’t accept the fact he was gone.”
Barry recalled her grandparents on both sides of the family helping to watch her and her siblings.
“It was rough growing up,” Barry said. “She put a lot of good faith on.”
Her mom — who died at 99 last December — served three terms as city treasurer with then-Mayor John Define, according to her obituary. She worked at the John McLean store on Main Street around Christmastime for many years and every year at the Great Danbury State Fair, her daughter said.
“She loved working at the fair,” Barry said
After Gartland returned home from Vietnam, he lived near the Hartells — although, at the time, he didn’t know them or their connection to the first lieutenant. He said he often saw a woman, who he thinks was either Hartell’s mother or wife, walking her dog with a “look of loneliness” on her face, so he always said hello.
Bernie Rotunda was drafted into the Korean War in 1951 and served for a year and four months. He never met Hartell but became friends with his wife, who laid a wreath for her husband each time the veterans read his name during ceremonies.
“She was very friendly and very helpful to the Korean War veterans,” said Rotunda, who is the first vice commander for the Catholic War Veterans Post 1042 in Danbury.
Barry doesn’t know what made her dad join the service. Her grandfather and uncles were in the Navy, with her grandfather, Andrew Hartell, Sr., serving in World War I and II.
“Kind of back in those days, it was something you did,” Barry said. “He just had a real drive.”
Barry’s two sons sought to go into the military. One of her sons went into the Air Force but was injured during his training and could not continue. Her other son became a Navy SEAL.
She doesn’t know if he was inspired by her father, but her son grew up hearing her grandfather’s stories from the Navy.
She recalled her son once arguing with a kid, who refused to believe the photo hanging in the War Memorial building where they had camp was of the boy’s grandfather. Barry settled the fight by confirming the photo was of her dad.
“He [my son] was quite proud of it,” Barry said.
Lee Hartell Drive in Danbury, Connecticut
Memorial at the Danbury War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Danbury, Connecticut. Photo by Jeff DeWitt.
Buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery, 71 Lake Avenue Extension, Danbury, Connecticut; Section 20, Grave 197. Photos by Jeff DeWitt.
END