Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient. Red Cloud was a member of the Ho-Chunk tribe. When Red Cloud was 16 years old, he quit high school, and with his father's consent, joined the U.S. Marine Corps on August 11, 1941. After his training to become a Marine, Red Cloud volunteered for the elite Marine Raiders (also known as Carlson's Raiders). He would be with the Raiders during the Guadalcanal Campaign. While on Guadalcanal, Red Cloud became seriously ill and was sent back to the U.S. By 1943, he had recovered and was assigned to the 6th Marine Division. In 1945, Red Cloud, with the 6th Marines, fought on Okinawa. During the Okinawa Campaign, Red Cloud was wounded and evacuated off the island. He was discharged from the Marines at the end of World War II on November 9, 1945. At the time of his discharge, Red Cloud was a sergeant. After the war Red Cloud wrote a magazine article about the history of his tribe and had a daughter, Anita. In 1948, Red Cloud enlisted in the U.S. Army.

When the Korean War started, Red Cloud, with the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, was sent to Korea. He was at the Battles of Taejon and Pusan. On November 5, 1950, Red Cloud's company was assigned to a forward observation post. That evening Red Cloud saw a large force of enemy soldiers preparing for an attack on their position. Shortly afterwards, the attack started. During the attack Red Cloud was shot multiple times. When his company was forced to fallback, Red Cloud asked that he be tied upright to a tree so he could cover their retreat. The next morning the body of Red Cloud was found with numerous bodies of the enemy around him. Red Cloud's Medal of Honor citation reads: "The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to Cpl. Red Cloud. Cpl. Red Cloud, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. From his position on the point of a ridge immediately in front of the company command post he was the first to detect the approach of the Chinese Communist forces and give the alarm as the enemy charged from a brush-covered area less than 100 feet from him. Springing up, he delivered devastating pointblank automatic rifle fire into the advancing enemy. His accurate and intense fire checked this assault and gained time for the company to consolidate its defense. With utter fearlessness he maintained his firing position until severely wounded by enemy fire. Refusing assistance he pulled himself to his feet and, wrapping his arm around a tree, continued his deadly fire again, until he was fatally wounded. This heroic act stopped the enemy from overrunning his company's position and gained time for reorganization and evacuation of the wounded. Cpl. Red Cloud's dauntless courage and gallant self-sacrifice reflects the highest credit upon himself and upholds the esteemed traditions of the U.S. Army."