EIU Veterans Day Observance to Recognize University's Only Known Medal of Honor Recipient

Eastern Illinois University will pay tribute to America’s veterans during a November 11 Veterans Day event in Old Main on its Charleston campus. The University also will acknowledge Eastern's only known Medal of Honor recipient, Major Carlos C. Ogden, who earned the nation's highest award for military valor for his actions in World War II.

EIU Vice President for Enrollment Management and United States Air Force veteran Josh Norman will deliver remarks at the event, where Ogden will be remembered and honored alongside others in EIU’s Veterans Day Ceremony. The ceremony itself will take place beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 11, in Old Main’s Cougill Foyer. The ROTC Panther Battalion will post the colors and render a three-volley salute, and members of the EIU Department of Music will perform the National Anthem and the playing of taps.

EIU’s only known Medal of Honor recipient, Major Carlos C. Ogden, was born May 9, 1917, and raised in Fairmount, Illinois by his parents, Ray and Myrtle Ogden. He had two younger siblings, a sister named June and a brother, Robert. After high school, Ogden attended Eastern Illinois University, where he was a standout on the Panthers’ football and basketball teams in the late 1930s.

By the spring of 1941, as the threat of World War II loomed, Ogden was drafted into the Army. While commanding an infantry company near Cherbourg, France, on the morning of June 25, 1944 , Ogden single-handedly eliminated one heavy enemy gun and two machine gun emplacements aimed at his command. Despite being seriously wounded in the process, Ogden did not stop until he accomplished his mission. The Presidential Citation awarded to him in conjunction with the Medal of Honor noted Ogden’s “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity involving risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.” Ogden remained in the Army for two more years, reaching the rank of major before leaving the service in 1947.

After the war, Ogden married Louise Sanford, with whom he had four sons. Ogden spent much of his post-war life participating in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and a variety of youth sports leagues, but never forgot his military roots. In 1956, he went to France as a member of the official U.S. delegation to attend the dedication of the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Two years later, at the invitation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, he served as an honorary pallbearer at the internment of the World War II and Korea Unknown service members at Arlington National Cemetery. Ogden was also invited in 1964 to serve as one of 15 people from the U.S. to attend France's 20th anniversary commemoration of the Invasion of Normandy. Ogden died on April 2, 2001, in Palo Alto, California, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was posthumously recognized as a Distinguished Alumni Award recipient by the EIU Alumni Association in 2004, being represented at the ceremony by his wife Louise.

EIU has historically been recognized as a military- and veteran-friendly institution, thanks in part to its Army ROTC Program. For more than 40 years, the Alumni of the Panther Battalion have used their leadership skills in influencing, motivating, and inspiring their organizations all over the world. In EIU’s Army ROTC, students learn to become leaders by example and exit the program as a commissioned officer. Graduates of the program participate in full military dress during EIU’s annual spring commencement ceremony.

EIU prepares students to accomplish their life goals through a combination of quality academics, personal relationships, and both on-campus and online learning opportunities. For more information about Eastern Illinois University, including its broad array of academic and career readiness programs, or any of EIU’s other community-based services and opportunities, visit eiu.edu or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.