By PACHARI MIDDLETON
Anniston Army Depot
ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. – David Mize grew up hearing stories about his distant cousin, Ola Lee Mize. Though they never met, he feels like he knows him.
“I remember sitting on the porch with my great-uncle Millard playing the banjo and telling stories to my dad about Ola Lee,” he said.
War stories passed down, and through, relatives recounted acts of extraordinary heroism and selflessness, earning then-U.S. Army Sgt. Ola L. Mize the Medal of Honor during the Korean War.
More than memories were passed down. Between the tales of the catfish pond, the big tree where David’s mom swung as a child and the aunt who sold apple pies at rooster fights, the stories of Ola quietly shaped the family’s sense of identity and commitment to the nation.
David Mize carried on his cousin’s tradition of service as both a Soldier and a Civilian working at Anniston Army Depot.
He joined the Army, serving in field artillery. It was while deployed to Iraq that the significance of Ola’s Medal of Honor finally dawned on him, and it was his turn to tell the story of Ola Mize.
“While I was deployed, I was sitting around a little fire after an all-night mission with my gunnery sergeant and two of my close counterparts. We were making a pot of coffee on the fire, and he was talking about the Medal of Honor, and I was like, ‘Well, I got kinfolk who got the Medal of Honor,’” he recalled.
The Medal of Honor is the military’s highest award for valor. National Medal of Honor Day is celebrated annually on March 25 to recognize the heroism and sacrifice of all recipients, both living and deceased.
Ola Mize was assigned to defend a strategically significant hill dubbed “Outpost Harry,” near Surang-Ni, Korea, on June 10, 1953. While under heavy enemy attack, he rescued a wounded Soldier, organized a defense system that severely weakened the enemy and helped lead a counterattack.
According to the medal citation, “During his fearless actions he was blown down by artillery and grenade blasts three times.” When Ola Mize met up with his commanding officers after fighting throughout the night into the next day, they did not recognize the burned sergeant whose uniform was in pieces after repeated explosions. When he was asked to identify himself and gave his name, one of the officers responded “You’re not Mize. He’s dead.”
In an interview conducted as part of the Library of Congress’s Veterans History Project, Ola Mize said, “I didn’t know how I looked. I couldn’t recognize myself either.”
Just over a year later on Sept. 7, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower awarded the Medal of Honor, to Ola Mize at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado. In 1956, he received his commission. He served three tours of duty in Vietnam, and after a distinguished career, retired as a colonel in 1981. He died in 2014.
David Mize was honorably discharged from the Army in 2004 but continues to support the nation’s defense as the deputy director of Anniston Army Depot’s Directorate of Production Management. His son and two daughters followed in his footsteps of service and also work at the depot.
“Ola Lee Mize left a distinguished legacy of gallantry and courage above the call of duty with absolute love of team,” said David Mize.
That legacy became part of the family narrative – even for those who never met him – as an example of bravery, sacrifice and service which lives in the background of conversations and shared history across generations.