MEN AT WAR: Medal-of-Honor Man

Although persistent rumors brought back by liberated prisoners of war indicated that he might still be alive and a prisoner in North Korea, there was still no certain information about the fate of Major General William F. Dean. The last time Big Bill Dean had been definitely reported present was in late July when he was seen ministering to wounded G.I.s of his 24th Division in the thick of the heavy fighting around Taejon (TIME, July 31).

Last week President Truman awarded the long-missing officer the first Congressional Medal of Honor of the Korean war. General Dean, said the President, “substantially contributed to the surge of heroism and devotion which swept through the ranks of the embattled infantrymen of those early days in Korea, and enabled them to make their magnificent stand against the overwhelming forces opposing them.”