Clyde Choate and the Medal of Honor

NO ONE STARTS UNITED STATES MILITARY SERVICE with the goal of winning a Medal of Honor (MOH). Since the first medals were awarded during the Civil War, only 3,400 individuals in the nation have been honored. It is a select club.The medal exemplifies national military valor dating to the birth of the United States 250 years ago.Among all states, Illinois ranks fifth with 210 medalists. The first four are New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio.Statistics tell only a fragment of the medal's history. The honor roll reflects the diversity of US citizens in terms of height, weight, skin color, age, parentage, education, economic status—you name it. The MOH rewards acts of bravery and courage under the most dangerous of circumstances.An example of Illinois’ bravest is Clyde Lee Choate, born June 28, 1920, in southern Illinois, to James and Grace Choate. The family's livelihood depended on James's work as a coal miner. They eventually settled on a farm near Anna.Clyde attended public schools, played football, and earned spending money doing odd jobs. On the farm, Clyde milked cows, slopped hogs, and tended vegetable crops. Life was not easy.After graduation, Clyde tried to enlist in the armed services. He said, “I tried three times to volunteer.” He failed the physical examination each time. When his draft notice arrived, “they took me with no hesitation.”Clyde L. Choate, age twenty-one, five feet eight inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, entered the army on April 25, 1942. He was assigned to the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, with which he served until discharged on May 26, 1945. During that time, his battalion took part in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Southern France. He was wounded twice (awarded the Bronze Star) and reached the grade of sergeant first class.In October 1944, the 601st and Choate battled dug-in German forces in the Vosges mountains of eastern France near the border with Germany. Clyde Choate's Medal of Honor citation tells the story: He commanded a tank destroyer near Bruyeres, France, on October 25, 1944. Our infantry occupied a position on a wooded hill when, at dusk, an enemy Mark IV tank and a company of infantry attacked, threatening to overrun the American position and capture a command post 400 yards to the rear.S/Sgt. Choate's tank destroyer, the only weapon available to oppose the German armor, was set afire by 2 hits. Ordering his men to abandon the destroyer, S/Sgt. Choate reached comparative safety. He returned to the burning destroyer to search for comrades possibly trapped in the vehicle risking instant death in an explosion which was imminent, and braving enemy fire which ripped his jacket and tore the helmet from his head. Completing the search and seeing the tank and its supporting infantry overrunning our infantry in their shallow foxholes, he secured a bazooka and ran after the tank dodging from tree to tree and passing through the enemy's loose skirmish line. He fired a rocket from a distance of 20 yards, immobilizing the tank but leaving it able to spray the area with cannon and machinegun fire. Running back to our infantry through vicious fire, he secured another rocket, and advancing against a hail of machinegun and small-arms fire reached a position 10 yards from the tank. His second shot shattered the turret. With his pistol he killed 2 of the crew as they emerged from the tank; and then running to the crippled Mark IV while infantry sniped at him, he dropped a grenade inside the tank and completed its destruction. With their armor gone, the enemy infantry became disorganized and was driven back. S/Sgt. Choate's great daring in assaulting an enemy tank single-handed, his determination to follow the vehicle after it had passed his position, and his skill and crushing thoroughness in the attack prevented the enemy from capturing a battalion command post and turned a possible defeat into a tactical success.President Harry S. Truman presented Choate the Medal of Honor at a ceremony in Washington, DC, on August 23, 1945.Choate's acknowledged courage opened the door to civilian public service. From his home in Anna—he remained a lifelong resident—Choate won election as a Democrat to the Illinois house of representatives in 1946.At the beginning, with no standing among the legislature's old bulls, it was just a sinecure for a World War II hero. Wisely, he watched and learned. Fellow southern Illinoisan Paul Powell, who became speaker of the house in 1949, took a liking to the young man. For the next fifteen years, they formed a powerful political alliance that, among many achievements and controversies, provided needed jobs and infrastructure across the southern half of the state. As Powell's sidekick and workhorse, Choate hustled votes for favored programs.Southern Illinois University (SIU) was a legislative priority. Powell and Choate, neither of whom attended college, successfully battled the dominant interests of the University of Illinois for state funds and curriculum expansion at SIU.When Powell won election as secretary of state in 1964, Choate took over as leader of the house Democratic caucus. Among many key legislative battles, he provided a compromise for enactment of a state income tax. Choate hoped his experiences would open the door to election as speaker. The opportunity came in 1975.To be elected Choate needed the support of Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. Over many years Powell and Choate had challenged Daley's efforts to control state government. Daley had a long memory. Adding to the political complexity was the election of Dan Walker as governor in 1974. Walker promoted policies opposed to the interests of Daley and Choate. Those three wrestled over the election of a speaker. Choate came close, but after thirteen weeks and ninety-three ballots, the house chose long-shot William Redmond. Daley had abandoned Choate.Over the years, Choate declined many opportunities to seek higher state office. He always insisted that serving in the house for thirty years, much of it in leadership positions, was ambition enough.Choate left the house in 1977 and started work as a lobbyist for SIU. He died on October 5, 2001, in Anna.