Photo By Scott Sturkol | Retired Sgt. Maj. Kenneth E. Stumpf, shown here in the 1960s, earned the Medal of...... read more read more
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(Reprinted from Oct. 7, 1994, edition of the Fort McCoy Triad newspaper. Former Sgt. Maj. Kennth Stumpf passed away in April 2022 in Tomah, Wis.)
BY ROB SCHUETTE
Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office
Developing leadership abilities is the best way for enlisted soldiers and NCOs to get ahead in today's Army, said the nation's last active-duty enlisted Medal of Honor recipient (in 1994).
Sgt. Maj. Kenneth Stumpf, retiring sergeant major of the Fort McCoy Readiness Group, was a private first class when he arrived in Vietnam in 1966. Seven months later, he became a staff sergeant.
"I went up the ladder quickly, even during a time of war," he said. "I never ran from leadership responsibility."
Stumpf said he also never asked for special favors because he received the Medal of Honor, or thought it made him a better person than the people he served with. Most of the Medal of Honor recipients he knows are the same way — quiet and unassuming.
“I’m not God's gift to the NCO corps because I received the Medal of Honor,” Stumpf said. “I’ve always done the best job I could do and tried to lead by example. I only asked three things from the Soldiers I served with — to be on time for work and give me your best shot and take pride in your work. In turn, I'll take care of you and make it work; we both win for the unit.”
Vietnam played a large role in shaping his attitudes toward NCOs and officers, Stumpf said. While younger officers earned his admiration for being side-by-side with the enlisted personnel during the fighting, the more-senior officers were in their command centers or flying above a triple-layered jungle canopy.
Consequently, the senior officers didn’t have first-hand knowledge like those in previous wars did, and were mapping strategy while being unaware of the “real war,” he said.
“I was a private first class when I took over a squad,” he said. “It was an awesome responsibility.
The young soldiers were, and are, the heart and soul of the military. They’re the ones who bleed first and bleed the most.”
In Vietnam, approximately 28,000 Army personnel were killed, and more than 26,000 first-termers were killed.
On April 25, 1967, Spc. Stumpf, a squad leader, and his six squad members, encountered a Vietnamese rifle company occupying a fortified bunker complex, according to the Congressional Citation for the Medal of Honor.
During the initial contact, three Soldiers were wounded. Stumpf left a secure position, and moving through heavy enemy gunfire carried each man, in turn, to safety. He then led his squad against enemy bunker positions and eliminated two of them. Heavy fire continued from another bunker.
Arming himself with extra hand grenades, Stumpf threw a hand grenade through the aperture. It was immediately returned and forced him to take cover.
Undaunted, Stumpf pulled the pines on two grenades, held the grenades for several seconds and then threw them in the bunker, successfully eliminating the emplacement.
With the elimination of this position, his unit was able to assault and overrun the enemy.
“I feel the Medal of Honor isn’t mine alone or something that I earned,” he said. “The people in my squad earned it for me. It belongs to all those who wore the uniform and made sacrifices. I served to pay back the veterans who served before me and allowed me to grow up in a free society.”
Staff Sgt. Stumpf left the military in 1967 and returned to the paper mill he used to work in near his home town of Menasha, Wis. It wasn’t until after he received the Medal of Honor that he decided to re-enter the military and make it a career.
Before he was allowed to serve two subsequent tours, Stumpf said he had to overcome hesitancy by to military hierarchy to sending a Medal of Honor recipient back to Vietnam.
“I have deep respect for enlisted Soldiers; that’s what soldiering is all about,” he said. “My main mission was to take care of the Soldiers. ‘Caring’ and and ‘compassion’ are two key words.”
Stumpf considers the highlights of his 29-year military career to be the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Purple Heart, and the combat patch he wears on his right shoulder.
Stumpf said he wouldn’t change anything in his career, although he might reconsider making the military a career if he were enlisting today because of the reduced benefits.
“I love the Army, and I am going to miss the young Soldiers so bad,” he said. “Somehow, I found a way to get the Soldiers to do the right things for me. Sometimes it took a lot of work and counseling.”
Stumpf said he enjoys doing volunteer work with area veterans and will continue to do it in retirement.
Stumpf and his wife, Dorothy, plan to live in the Tomah area after his retirement. He will perform public relations work for a Wisconsin Rapids architectural, engineering, and surveying firm, and will continue to play racquetball, a sport that earned him all-Army honors in 1981.
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2022 16:59 |
| Story ID: | 422154 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 269 |
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