Korean War Medal of Honor Recipient. His family received the award posthumously on February 1, 1952 by President Harry S. Truman for his actions as a sergeant in Company M, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, US Army, on February 12, 1951 near Hoengsong, Korea. After graduating form high school in 1941, he joined the US Army and during World War II he served in Europe and saw action in the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944–1945. Following the war, he remained in the US Army Reserve until being recalled to active duty at the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. In the early morning hours of February 12, 1951, on Hill 300, he was acting as a forward observer for the company's mortar when they came under attack by a numerically superior force, and he was killed at the age of 27. He was also awarded the Purple Heart. His Medal of Honor citation reads" "Sgt. Long, a member of Company M, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an armed enemy of the United Nations. When Company M, in a defensive perimeter on Hill 300, was viciously attacked by a numerically superior hostile force at approximately 0300 hours and ordered to withdraw, Sgt. Long, a forward observer for the mortar platoon, voluntarily remained at his post to provide cover by directing mortar fire on the enemy. Maintaining radio contact with his platoon, Sgt. Long coolly directed accurate mortar fire on the advancing foe. He continued firing his carbine and throwing hand grenades until his position was surrounded and he was mortally wounded. Sgt. Long's inspirational, valorous action halted the onslaught, exacted a heavy toll of enemy casualties, and enabled his company to withdraw, reorganize, counterattack, and regain the hill strongpoint. His unflinching courage and noble self-sacrifice reflect the highest credit on himself and are in keeping with the honored traditions of the military service"