Carl L. Sitter

United States Marine Corps officer

Carl Leonard Sitter (December 2, 1922 – April 4, 2000) was a highly decorated United States Marine Corps officer and Korean War Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

He was born in Syracuse, Missouri, but grew up in Pueblo, Colorado. Upon graduating from Central High School, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on June 22, 1940. He served for eight months in Iceland, then was ordered to the Pacific area. He was serving as a corporal in the Wallis Islands when, on December 12, 1942, he was given a field commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. Sitter saw combat on Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands, and Guam in the Marianas. He was first wounded on February 20, 1944, on Eniwetok, but went back into action almost immediately. He was wounded again the following July on Guam, during the action in which he earned the Silver Star. The situation was similar, though on a smaller scale, to the one in which he earned the Medal of Honor: he exposed himself to enemy fire to lead his rifle platoon, and when wounded refused to be evacuated until his mission was accomplished. Captain Sitter was awarded the Medal of Honor for leadership during a two day battle at Hagaru ri, Korea during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. In the bitter fighting between the Chinese and the surrounded US forces near the Chosin Reservoir in November 1950, Captain Sitter was wounded by hand grenades, but continued to lead his men until he repulsed a counterattack. He is one of four Medal of Honor recipients from Pueblo, Colorado, the others being William J. Crawford, Drew Dennis Dix, and Raymond G. Murphy.

After 30 years in the Marine Corps, Sitter went to work for the Virginia Department of Social Services. He retired in 1985 at age 63. In 1998, at age 75, Sitter returned to college, graduating on May 28, 1999, at age 76. Sitter died in Richmond, Virginia, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.