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Belleville Post Office Renamed For Korean War Hero
When he was 20 years old, Private Henry Svehla charged an enemy position during a battle June 12, 1952, near Pyongony, Korea. The young rifleman “inflicted heavy casualties,” according to a narrative prepared by the Army, but didn’t emerge unscathed: a mortar round detonated nearby, causing serious wounds.
Svehla, however, kept leading the charge anyway, until he was killed when he threw himself on a grenade that had landed near his comrades.
Svehla, who was born in Newark and lived in Belleville, was recognized at the time for his bravery during the Korean War, earning a posthumous Distin…
