Medal of Honor history: Lemon and Beikirch
40 years ago, SP4 Peter Lemon and Sgt. Gary Beikirch earned the Medal of Honor in two separate incidents in Vietnam.
When Fire Support Base Illingworth came under attack, Lemon – a native Canadian and one of the youngest Medal recipients – engaged a numerically-superior enemy with his weapons until they both malfunctioned. Then Lemon used hand grenades to defend against an intense attack, killing all but one soldier – whom he chased down and dispatched during hand-to-hand combat. He rescued team mates, fought off further assaults with grenades, machine gun, and hand-to-hand fighting before collapsing from his multiple wounds. Read Lemon’s citation.
During the defense of Camp Dak Seang, Beikirch moved through withering fire to rescued and treated numerous soldiers after a devastating assault. Although Beikirch received multiple, serious wounds himself, he refused treatment and continued searching for wounded teammates before collapsing from his wounds. Read Beikirch’s citation.
In: Uncategorized · Tagged with: Gary B. Beikirch, Medal of Honor, Peter C. Lemon, Vietnam War
Medal of Honor History: Hagemeister and McNerney
Just days from separating from the Army, Charles Hagemeister learned that he would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Binh Dinh province of Vietnam on 20 Mar 1967. While Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Hagemeister he asked, “How long do you have left in the service, son?” Hagemeister smiled and replied, “Seventy-two hours, sir.” The president turned to a member of the brass and said, “I want you to talk to this young man after we’re done here and change his mind.”
It must have worked. Hagemeister retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1990.
David McNerney was serving his third tour in Vietnam on 22 Mar 1967. While looking for a missing reconnaissance unit near Polei Doc, Vietnam, his unit came under heavy fire from a numerically-superior North Vietnamese Army. His officers were killed, so McNerney took command, calling in artillery withing 65 feet of his own men. The fighting was so intense that McNerney climbed a tree in full view of the enemy in order to identify their location to friendly aircraft. When helicopters were needed to evacuate the wounded, McNerney moved through a fusillade of fire to obtain demolition charges from abandoned rucksacks outside the perimeter.
McNerney would later volunteer for another tour – his fourth.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Charles C. Hagemeister, David H. McNerney, Medal of Honor, Vietnam War
Caught shaving
South Vietnam, July, 1965: A fire mission caught Sgt. Homer Charnock of Bravo Battery, 319th Artillery, in the middle of shaving, so he dropped his razor and rushed into position to man his gunsight. (Bernard Carmichael/Stars and Stripes )
In: Images, Military · Tagged with: Vietnam War
Today in Medal of Honor history: Allan J. Kellogg
40 years ago in the Quang Nam Province of Vietnam, SSgt. Kellogg was leading a 14-man blocking force for a company of Marines trying to force the enemy in their direction. Unable to find the enemy, Kellogg was about to pull out his men when a Marine tripped on a howitzer shell which caused it to explode, killing one and seriously wounding three.
Kellogg called for a helicopter (the radio operator was among the wounded) to extract the casualties, the enemy force began to close in. The Marines moved to the extraction site with columns of Viet Cong soldiers in pursuit. When Kellogg crossed a narrow, rickety footbridge through a hail of gun fire, an enemy grenade hit him in the chest, which he stomped into the mud and then covered with his body to shield his teammates from the explosion.
Although seriously injured from the grenade blast, Kellogg resumed command of the unit and lead them to safety. While he was recovering in the hospital, a corpsman informed him that he would receive the Navy Cross (later upgraded to the Medal of Honor). Kellogg reportedly shot back, “Just get me out of here, and we’ll call it even.” Kellogg’s Medal of Honor citation can be viewed here.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Allan J. Kellogg Jr., Medal of Honor, Vietnam War
Today in Medal of Honor history: Bernard F. Fisher
44 years ago, the US was evacuating personnel from a special operations camp in the Battle of A Shau. As Major Bernard F. Fisher and other pilots from the 1st Air Commando Squadron were attacking targets in support of the withdrawal, a A1-E Skyraider flown by Maj. Dafford “Jump” Myers was hit by enemy fire, forcing Myers to crash-land on the base’s airstrip. Fisher landed his plane and rescued Myers before the 2,000-strong enemy force could capture or kill him. The Skyraider flown by Fisher was restored and is now on display at the Air Force Museum, which I highly recommend everyone take a few days to visit.
Fisher’s actions made him the Air Force’s first Medal of Honor recipient (the Air Force was formed in 1947). His citation can be viewed here.
Interestingly enough, a similar event took place during World War II: when flying over Romania, flak damaged Capt. Richard “Dick” Willsie’s P-38 Lighting and forced the pilot to crash land. But before enemy soldiers could capture the pilot, Flight Officer Dick Andrews landed his Lightning and rescued Willsie. Remarkably, both Willsie and Andrews were involved in the A Shau rescue.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Medal of Honor, Vietnam War
This Week in American Military History
From W. Thomas Smith, Jr.’s series at Human Events:
Mar. 8, 1965: The lead elements of 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines begin coming ashore at Da Nang, South Vietnam. Within hours, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines will arrive aboard transport aircraft at the nearby airbase. The Marines of 3/9 and 1/3 – both part of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade – are the first of America’s ground-combat forces destined for offensive operations against the enemy in Southeast Asia, once again putting teeth in the Marine Corps’ claim that it is “first to fight.”
Mar. 9, 1847: Thousands of American soldiers and a company-sized force of Marines (though referred to as a battalion) under the overall command of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott and “Home Squadron” Commodore David E. Conner begin landing at Collado Beach, Mexico, just south of Vera Cruz.
In what will prove to be “a model” for future amphibious operations, the landings are unprecedented: The largest American amphibious operation to date, conducted in less than five hours without a single loss of life.
A portion of Conner’s dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy reads:
“Gen. Scott has now with him upwards of 11,000 men. At his request, I permitted the Marines of the squadron, under Capt. [Alvin] Edson, to join him, as a part of the 3rd Regiment of artillery. The general-in-chief landed this morning, and the army put itself in motion at an early hour, to form its lines around the city. There has been some distant firing of shot and shells from the town and castle upon the troops as they advanced, but without result.”
Though the landings are bloodless, grim fighting will continue in the Mexican-American War.
(more…)
In: Military History · Tagged with: American Revolution, Civil War, Flying Tigers, Mexican-American War, US Marine Corps, US Navy, Vietnam War, W. Thomas Smith Jr.
This Week in American Military History
Feb. 10, 1763: The Treaty of Paris is signed ending the Seven Years War, known as the French and Indian War in the North American colonies. For America – militarily speaking – the war strengthens Great Britain’s territorial dominance and strategic supremacy in North America. The war also serves as the conflict prior to the American Revolution in which many future Continental Army commanders cut their teeth.
Feb. 10, 1962: In a dramatic Cold War prisoner swap between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolph Ivanovich Abel on the Glienecker Bridge between West Berlin and Potsdam in East Germany.
Powers is a former U.S. Air Force officer who had been flying U-2s for the CIA when he was shot down over the Soviet Union and captured in May 1960. Abel, a KGB colonel, had been arrested in New York in 1957 and convicted of espionage activities against the United States.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Adm. William F. "Bull" Halsey, Civil War, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Francis Gary Powers, French and Indian War, Guadalcanal, Medal of Honor, USS Batfish, Vietnam War, W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Medal of Honor history: Lewis Millett
war·rior (noun) - see Lewis Millett
If there is a picture of someone next to the word “warrior” in the dictionary, it would be Lewis Millett.
The man joined the Army in 1940 to fight the fascists in Europe, but left the service when he figured out that the U.S. wouldn’t enter the war. But instead of deserting to run from battle, Millett did so to run to battle, joining the Canadian armed forces, where he fought in England.
When the U.S. joined the war in 1942, Millet was able to transfer back to the American Army. Joining the 1st Armored Division, Millett earned the Silver Star – the nation’s third-highest award for valor – for his actions in North Africa. He also fought at Salerno and Anzio, but paperwork suggesting he had “deserted” in 1940 (by going to Canada) caught up to Millett. He was court-martialed, demoted to private, and fined $52.
However following his punishment, Millett received a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant and a Bronze Star.
In his second war, Millett was the Company Commander in the 27th Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. On February 7, 1951 on Hill 180 (present-day Osan Air Base in South Korea), he led an incredibly daring assault in what is believed to be the last bayonet charge in American military history. And it is worth noting that the CO that Millett replaced also was awarded the Medal of Honor, but posthumously.
After the Korean War, Gen. William Westmoreland picked Millett to command the Recondo school, which produced some of the world’s finest jungle warriors.
The man took something as tame as retirement and kicked it up a notch: Millett retired in 1971 because he felt the U.S. no longer wanted to win in Vietnam. He took up work as a sheriff’s deputy.
There is so much more to the warrior, who unfortunately passed away in November. Please read the other posts about Col. Millett here.
In: Military History · Tagged with: "Wolfhounds", 27th Infantry Regiment, Korean War, Lewis Millett, Medal of Honor, Recondo, US Army, Vietnam War
Today in Medal of Honor History: Ingman and Kinsman
Today in Medal of Honor history:
Feb. 6, 1968: While on a reconnaisance-in-force mission near Vinh Long, Vietnam, Army Private First Class Thomas J. Kinsman dove on a grenade to shield his comrades from the blast. His actions saved seven of his teammates, and he was able to recover from his injuries.
Multiple servicemen have used their bodies to shield comrades from injuries in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and hardly any have been recognized with the Medal of Honor.
Feb. 6, 1951: When enemy fire pinned down the two leading squads of the company’s assault platoon in Maltari, Korea, Army Corporal Einar H. Ingman, Jr. reorganized the squads and led them on a charge against the enemy. He single-handedly charged two enemy machine gun positions, killing the enemy with grenades, rifle fire, and his bayonet before collapsing from his severe wounds. Ingman’s actions resulted in over 100 enemy troops fleeing the battle, and his squad went on to secure the objective.
Links to the Medal of Honor citations for both men are found by clicking their names above.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Einar H. Ingman Jr., Korean War, Medal of Honor, Thomas J. Kinsman, US Army, Vietnam War
Military Milestones from Archie Henderson to Audie Murphy
From W. Thomas Smith, Jr.’s This Week in American Military History Series:
Jan. 26, 1945: U.S. Army 2nd Lt. Audie L. Murphy’s B Company, 15th Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division is positioned on the outskirts of Holtzwihr, France, when suddenly the company is attacked by six tanks and at least 250 snow-white camouflaged German infantrymen – members of the elite 2nd Gebirgsjaeger (Mountain Hunter) Division.
Murphy, the ranking officer (previous fighting had decimated the officer ranks), immediately orders his men to fall back. He remains forward on the command post telephone directing artillery fire against the enemy. When an officer on the other line asks how close the advancing enemy is to Murphy’s position. Murphy replies, “If you just hold the phone a minute, I’ll let you talk to one of the bastards.”
According to his subsequent citation for the Medal of Honor, “With the enemy tanks abreast of his position, 2nd Lt. Murphy climbed on the burning tank destroyer [the tank destroyer located behind Murphy which had just taken a direct hit], which was in danger of blowing up at any moment, and employed its .50 caliber machine gun against the enemy. He was alone and exposed to German fire from three sides, but his deadly fire killed dozens of Germans and caused their infantry attack to waver.”
The fighting continues for at least an hour. Murphy is wounded. At one point the Germans close to within 10 yards of his position. When his ammunition is exhausted, Murphy leaps off the tank destroyer (the vehicle explodes shortly thereafter), limps and crawls back to his company, organizes a counterattack, and drives the remaining enemy from the field.
For his actions, Murphy is awarded the Medal of Honor. That and previous decorations make him one of the most-decorated American soldiers in history (He is widely recognized as “the most decorated American soldier of World War II.”). Murphy becomes a post-war Hollywood film star, and is killed in a plane crash in 1971.
In: Military History · Tagged with: Audie L. Murphy, Tet Offensive, Vietnam War, W. Thomas Smith Jr., World War II
