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Brothers Robert
and Jerome McGovern
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Jerome F. McGovernSecond Lieutenant Jerome McGovern was killed-in-action in Korea on February 10, 1951, earning the Silver Star for his bravery. His brother, Robert, was killed-in-action in Korea on January 10, 1951. Jerome was killed while serving in the vicinity of Kumwang-ni, Korea, when his Company attacked Hill 442. They were halted by enemy fire, and ignoring a painful wound, he reorganized his platoon and resumed the assault. Inspired by his actions, the platoon charged and it was then that he received his second, and fatal, wound. The two brother were returned to the United States where they were buried side-by-side in Section 3 of Arlington National Cemetery, under a stone which reads: "To their consciences they were true and had the genius to be men.
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Remembering Two Brothers' 1951 Sacrifice for Freedom
Washington Post Saturday, January 9, 1999 (Steve Vogel)
On a frozen battleground in North Korea nearly a half-century ago, 1st Lt. Bob McGovern led his Army platoon on an assault up a rocky slope against enemy troops who were pouring machine gun and mortar fire on U.S. troops from hillside bunkers.
Two months earlier, the Chinese Red Army had launched its devastating Yalu River offensive, but now, in late January 1951, American and allied forces had regrouped and were returning the attack.
McGovern, a Washington native and a 1946 graduate of St. John's
College High School in the District, was hit and wounded as he
and his platoon from the 5th
Cavalry Regiment came
under withering machine gun fire. But McGovern continued up Hill 312,
and he urged his men on. When he was within 10 yards of a machine
gun nest, a burst of fire ripped the
carbine from his hands, but he continued forward, firing his pistol
and throwing grenades. The machine gun was silenced, but McGovern
fell in front of the bunker and died. He was 23. For his valor,
he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Eleven days later, Bob McGovern's younger brother, 2nd Lt. Jerome
McGovern, St. John's Class of 1948, was fighting nearby in Korea,
but he had not learned of his brother's fate. Leading his platoon
on an attack to seize a hill near Kumwang-ni, Jerome McGovern
was wounded, but he reorganized his platoon and resumed the assault.
The platoon followed him on a fierce charge, and the lieutenant
was hit a second time; this time his
wounds were fatal. He was 21. For his gallantry, he was awarded
the Silver Star.
The funeral of the McGovern brothers was a major event in Washington. Friends and neighbors from the Petworth neighborhood where the boys had grown up turned out in force, as did the cadets of St. John's. Bishop John McNamara presided over the service, and the brothers were buried at Arlington National Cemetery. "Close in Life, the 2 McGovern Boys Are Buried Side by Side," The Washington Post reported.
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