Last man to lead bayonet charge dies

LOMA LINDA, Calif., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Retired Army Col. Lewis L. Millett, 88, a Medal of Honor winner for leading what reportedly was the last major bayonet charge, has died, the Pentagon said.

Millett died in Loma Linda, Calif., last Saturday of congestive heart failure after serving for more than 15 years as the honorary colonel of the 27th Infantry Regiment Association, the Defense Department said in a news release.

Millett received the Medal of Honor for his actions Feb. 7, 1951, when he led the 25th Infantry Division's Company E, 27th Infantry, in a bayonet charge up Hill 180 near Soam-Ni, Korea, during the Korean War, the department said. Millet, then a captain, was leading his company in an attack against a held position when he noticed a platoon pinned down by small-arms, automatic and antitank fire. Taking the lead ahead of two platoons, Millett ordered fixed bayonets and led an assault up the hill.

"Despite vicious opposing fire, the whirlwind hand-to-hand assault carried to the crest of the hill," the citation states. "His dauntless leadership and personal courage so inspired his men that they stormed into the hostile position and used their bayonets with such lethal effect that the enemy fled in wild disorder."

Besides the Medal of Honor, Millett earned the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, two Legions of Merit and four Purple Hearts during his 35-year military career, which included tours in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

A memorial service for Millett was scheduled for Dec. 5 at the National Medal of Honor Memorial at Riverside National Cemetery in California, the department said.