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Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor Recipient Home Safe and Sound

Red Wings

By now, most people know the story of “Lone Survivor.” The tale of a SEAL mission in Afghanistan gone wrong has been told in a bestselling book, a well-known movie starring Mark Wahlberg, and in countless interviews with the Lone Survivor himself, Marcus Luttrell. At the time it happened 17 years ago (hard to believe it’s been that long), it was the greatest loss of life in one day in the special operations community. We lost 11 SEALs and 8 Night Stalkers.

This piece isn’t to rehash the actions of that day back in June of 2005 but to tell the story of another day a few weeks later. It’s a much more private and seldom told story, although it did appear in the book SEAL of Honor: Operations Red Wings and the life of LT Michael P. Murphy as told by Murph’s parents, Dan and Maureen.

Medal of Honor recipient (posthumously) Michael P. Murphy. US Navy photo (RELEASED)

A Little Background

LT Micheal P. Murphy led the four-person SEAL recon element of Operation Red Wings. Murph was an honors graduate of Penn State University and had been accepted to law school when he decided to become a SEAL. At first, his father, Dan, a Navy veteran wounded in Vietnam, was against his oldest son’s decision to join the military. He did not want to see him go through the pain and suffering that he did due to combat. But, in time, the elder Murphy came around when Michael explained how it would be far worse for him to spend years behind a desk wondering, “what if? “.

After a lengthy firefight, and when every team member had been wounded and needed care, Murphy left his cover and concealment in favor of an area where he could get a clear satellite signal to call in a quick reaction force. Ever the gentleman, even while taking rounds, Murphy was sure to say “thank you” as he ended his last call.

Memorial Service and Burial

On the fourth of July, 2005, a US military recovery team found LT Murphy’s remains. He was returned to the United States. Nine days later, on the thirteenth of July, Murph was buried with full military honors at Calverton National Cemetary, Calverton, New York, Section 67, grave number 3710. This is fewer than 20 miles from his childhood home.

Murphy’s fiance Heather holds a folded American flag presented to her during Michael’s service as she is comforted by her mother (left) and his parents, Dan and Maureen (right). Screenshot from New York Daily News.

A Memorable Phone Call

It had been a long, trying day. At the end of their son’s graveside service, Dan and Maureen were walking back to their car when Maureen’s phone rang. Understandably, she wasn’t inclined to take a call just then, but something motivated her to check her phone. She picked it up and saw that she had just received a text message.

Maureen read the text: “Momma, home safe and sound. Mike”

Her hands began to tremble, and she dropped the phone. She let out an audible gasp. After composing herself, she bent over, picked up the phone, and stared at the message. She summoned her ex-husband Dan to come over and have a look. They turned to each other and managed a smile through their tears.

Over the years, Michael had gotten into the habit of calling or texting his parents whenever he arrived at a new destination after leaving a visit with them in New York. It was his way of letting them know he had arrived safely and he was OK. So Dan and Maureen chatted a little and recalled that they had not received word from Michael after he arrived at his duty station in Hawaii following his visit to New York about three months prior.

It seems that the message has just now arrived. His parents, devout Catholics, took this final message to mean that their son had arrived at his eternal home safe and sound.

Gary Beikirch, Green Beret, Medal of Honor, Dies of Cancer at 74 

Green Beret and Medal of Honor recipient Gary Beikirch has died. He was 74 years old.

His daughter Stephanie announced Beikirch died shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday following a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Special Operations community has lost two of its heroes over the Christmas weekend. SEAL Team Six’s first commander Richard ‘Dick’ Marcinko, passed away on Christmas evening at 81.

The National Medal of Honor Museum released a statement on Beikirch’s passing.

“Gary was a true American hero. He displayed extraordinary courage on the battlefields of Vietnam and dedicated his life to encouraging and inspiring generations of Americans. As a counselor and man of deep faith, Gary touched and changed thousands of lives. The impact of his uplifting influence will be felt for years to come as his goodness lives on in those who know him. We offer our deepest sympathies to his family as they, together with America and the Medal of Honor community, grieve an amazing man.”

Beikirch with President Nixon and his mom at the MOH ceremony. US Army photo

On April 1, 1970, Beikirch showed incredible bravery during an attack on his Dak Seang A-Camp. He was exposing himself repeatedly to enemy fire to treat wounded comrades, despite his own serious wounds that President Nixon eventually awarded him the Medal of Honor. But his wartime service would haunt him upon returning home to the United States.

Beikirch was born on August 29, 1947, in Rochester, New York. After successfully completing two years of college, he withdrew from school to enlist in the Army to become a Special Forces trooper and go to Vietnam.

In August of 1967, he attended and successfully completed Basic and Advanced Infantry Training at Ft. Dix, NJ. That was followed by the Airborne Course at Ft. Benning, Ga. Beikirch then attended the Special Forces Qualification Course at Ft. Bragg, NC. After that, he completed the Special Forces Medical Sergeant Course and was shipped to Vietnam.

Beikirch deployed to Kontum Province, Vietnam, in July 1969. During his deployment, he was the medic for Detachment B-24 of the 5th Special Forces Group, assigned to the remote Montagnard village of Dak Seang in the central highlands of Vietnam. The camp was very remote, about 3 miles from the Laos border.

Beikirch, in an interview later, said that due to his affinity to the Montagnard people, he “went native,” living with the mountain people, and went days at a time without speaking any English. The SF A-Team with 12 men had about 500 Montagnard “strikers” who the Green Berets trained. The remainder of about 2300 personnel in the camp were civilians, mostly families of the men who were being trained and led by the Americans.

It was a strategy that worked well for the Americans Special Forces A-Teams. The Montagnard strikers fought much harder when their families were inside the isolated A-camps.

Beikirch in an official Army portrait. US Army photo

On April 1, 1970, three regiments of North Vietnamese troops numbering 10,000 began shelling Camp Dak Seang, intent on taking the camp. The North Vietnamese artillery pounded the camp, and Beikirch was wounded when shrapnel from a 122 mm rocket bruised his spinal column, he could not stand or walk.

The NVA artillery rounds hitting the camp had caused several casualties among the camp’s defenders. Unable to move on his own, Beikirch had his two Montagnard medical assistants carry him around the camp under heavy, intense fire to treat the wounded American and Vietnamese defenders.

Beikirch, with complete disregard for his own safety, moved out into the open while everyone else around him was ducking and hiding from the artillery. The “Bac-Si,” or doc as the tribesman called him, went down to the aid station where he assisted the other American medic until he collapsed.

Coming to, he urged the medic to help him up, where his Montagnard medics carried him from place to place in the compound. He then would help them get to the aid station. His love for and loyalty to his Montagnard partners was reciprocated. One of his tribesmen medics,  Dao, covered Beikirch with his own body at one point during the shelling getting killed in the process. He was just 15 years old.

Beikirch again refused treatment and continued searching for other casualties until he collapsed again. He said the last thing he remembered was the sight of a helicopter coming in. “And then I remember these hands, picking me up and throwing me into the chopper,” he said. The medics onboard the helicopter immediately stuck IVs in Beikirch, telling him he would be okay.

He was taken to Pleiku, then to Japan, and then finally to the Valley Forge Medical Center, where he remained for six months, recovering from his injuries. He exited the army and went back to college, majoring in pre-med after his experience, but the country wasn’t a great place for Vietnam veterans, especially the college campuses.

Spat on and called a baby killer, Beikirch had enough. He took off for the White Mountains in New Hampshire. His hair grew long, halfway down his back. He was living in a cave on Mount Washington as a hermit when he came down into town for supplies. He was told to wait for a call that evening.

“Is this Gary Beikirch who served with the 5th Special Forces in Vietnam?” the person asked. When Beikirch said that it was, he was told that he was being awarded the Medal of Honor. “It was things I was trying to forget,” he said. “It all came back.”

For his gallantry during the battle of Dak Seang, President Nixon awarded Sgt. Beikirch the Medal of Honor in 1973. He didn’t go out to celebrate that night. He stayed in his hotel room. The feelings of unworthiness and the horror of war flooded back to him. For many years, Beikirch didn’t participate in many of the other events that veterans and other Medal of Honor recipients participated in.

Beikirch in later years conducting an interview with the American Legion. YouTube photo

But as time passed, he became more at peace with it and frequently said that the Medal isn’t about him or anything that he did but represents men and women who value something so strongly that they are willing to die for it and be willing to defend our country for it. He became a counselor and helped thousands of others in his later life. 

It is, he said, a valuing of something greater than self.

Beikirch’s other awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star Medal; Bronze Star Medal; Purple Heart Medal with one oak leaf cluster; Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Vietnam Campaign Medal; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star; Combat Medic Badge; Parachutist Badge; and Vietnamese jump wings.

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, Sgt. Beikirch, medical aidman, Detachment B-24, Company B, distinguished himself during the defense of Camp Dak Seang.

The allied defenders suffered a number of casualties as a result of an intense, devastating attack launched by the enemy from well-concealed positions surrounding the camp. Sgt. Beikirch, with complete disregard for his personal safety, moved unhesitatingly through the withering enemy fire to his fallen comrades, applied first aid to their wounds, and assisted them to the medical aid station.

When informed that a seriously injured American officer was lying in an exposed position, Sgt. Beikirch ran immediately through the hail of fire. Although he was wounded seriously by fragments from an exploding enemy mortar shell, Sgt. Beikirch carried the officer to a medical aid station. Ignoring his own serious injuries, Sgt. Beikirch left the relative safety of the medical bunker to search for and evacuate other men who had been injured. He was again wounded as he dragged a critically injured Vietnamese soldier to the medical bunker while simultaneously applying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to sustain his life.

Sgt. Beikirch again refused treatment and continued his search for other casualties until he collapsed. Only then did he permit himself to be treated. Sgt. Beikirch’s complete devotion to the welfare of his comrades, at the risk of his life, is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit on him, his unit, and the US Army.

Beikirch’s interview with the Medal of Honor Society can be seen here:

Sergeant First Class Alwyn Cashe, Two Special Operations Soldiers To Receive Long Delayed Medal of Honor

SFC Alwyn Cashe Will Finally Recieve The Congressional Medal Of Honor

The Biden administration is expected to award the Medal of Honor to three Army soldiers for valor during the Global War on Terror (GWOT), according to a story by the Washington Post. 

The three soldiers, SFC Alwyn Cashe, SFC Christopher Celiz, and MSG Earl Plumlee are expected to be honored at the White House by President Biden. Cashe and Celiz died as a result of wounds that resulted from their selfless actions. They will be represented by family members. Plumlee is expected to attend. 

The award for SFC Alwyn Cashe has been considered the one award that has been the longest in coming. On October 17, 2005, Cashe, was on a combat patrol in Samarra, Iraq. As an Alpha Company platoon sergeant from Forward Operating Base (FOB) McKenzie, adjacent to Diyala, SFC Cashe was in the lead Bradley Fighting Vehicle when it struck a roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED). 

The vehicle’s fuel cell ruptured, instantly covering Cashe in fuel. The vehicle came to a stop and immediately erupted in flames. While under intense small arms fire, SFC Cache managed to escape through the gunner’s hatch and assisted the driver out of the vehicle to safety. The flames burning his fuel-soaked uniform quickly spread all over his body. 

SFC Alwyn Cashe (right) in Iraq. US Army photo

Despite Horrible Burns, Cashe Insisted That Other Wounded Soldiers Be Evacuated First

Despite his terrible burns Cashe placed the injured driver on the ground and extinguished his burning clothes. He returned to the burning vehicle to retrieve another burning soldier. All the while, he was still on fire. Then he moved to the back of the Bradley to pull more of his soldiers out from the flames inside. In all, Cashe pulled six troops and an Iraqi interpreter to safety. 

Sgt. Gary Mills was on fire, his hands so badly burned that he couldn’t open the rear troop door to free himself and other soldiers trapped inside the flaming vehicle. Cashe opened the door from outside. A powerful hand grabbed Mills and yanked him to safety. Within seconds, Cashe ran back to the flames and crawled into the vehicle to haul out the platoon’s critically burned medic.

SFC Cashe kept going back into that vehicle even after his uniform had ignited, and flames had severely burned most of his body. He got all of his soldiers out. 

When help arrived from the Forward Operating Base(FOB) about four kilometers away they set up an aid station in a ditch, but a dust storm prevented helicopters from evacuating the men by air; instead, they had to be taken to the FOB by vehicle. Cashe refused help until everyone else had been carried to the medevac, but would not allow himself to be carried by his comrades.

With some help, he walked to the medevac flight. 

 

SFC Cashe Did Not Survive His Injuries

When Cashe arrived at the U.S. Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base in Iraq, he was still fully conscious. Alisha Turner, then an Air Force medic, was part of the team that treated Cashe and three of his wounded comrades. Cashe, she remembered, was the fourth casualty through the door. He was burned badly. What remained of his uniform was melted to his skin. Turner’s team rushed Cashe into the ER, where he tried to get off the gurney and return to duty. “He just kept saying, ‘I’m good, I’m good, take care of my guys,’ Turner said. “He wanted us to focus on everyone else. It was as if they were his children.”

Cashe died a few weeks later on November 8 at the Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, in San Antonio, Texas. He was 35 years old.

He was immediately awarded a Silver Star but after his Battalion Commander, now LTG Gary Brito learned the details of his heroism, he led the fight to get Cashe’s award upgraded to the Medal of Honor. The fight to get this Silver Star upgraded went up the line all the way to Congress which in November 2020, approved legislation that would pave the way for Cashe’s family to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for him posthumously, and then all progress ground to a halt for 13 months. 

Cashe will be the first African-American to be awarded the Medal of Honor during the Global War on Terror, and the seventh award of the MOH during the war in Iraq.

 

Rangers Lead The Way

SFC Celiz was a mortar platoon sergeant in Company D, 1st Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment who was on his fifth deployment during the GWOT. 

On July 12, 2018, in the Paktiya province of Afghanistan SFC Celiz and his Rangers were providing security for an incoming MEDEVAC flight that was under heavy fire by Taliban insurgent forces when he was shot. Celiz was then medically evacuated to the nearest medical facility, but there he died of his wounds. 

SFC Christopher Celiz, from the 1st Ranger Bn. US Army photo

The Rangers were assisting CIA personnel who were involved in a secret program that was targeting insurgent leaders for capture or being killed. This operation took place in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktiya province in July 2018. 

As the medevac helicopter was preparing to take off, Celiz moved from a covered position and placed himself between the Taliban and the helicopter to deliver covering fire. But then he was wounded. Crew members saw him hit and the pilots went back to pick him up. 

“My aircraft would have been critically damaged if it weren’t for Chris, and we owed him our lives.” Captain Ben Krzeczowski, the pilot of the medevac said. Although the aircraft was heavily damaged in the battle to evacuate the wounded, the crew flew to a much further medical location in an attempt to save Celiz, but he died of his wounds. The Blackhawk helicopter was so damaged that it never flew again. 

 

MSG Plumlee Single-Handedly Stopped A Taliban Attack

MSG Plumlee was on FOB Ghazni in Afghanistan in August 2013, when the Taliban detonated a 400-lb car bomb outside the compound, which blew a hole in the wall of the base which insurgents then rushed through equipped with weapons, RPGs, and suicide vests. 

According to several eyewitness reports, Plumlee nearly single-handedly stopped the Taliban’s attack on the base.  One of the Special Forces soldiers present that day, SSG Michael Ollis used his own body to shield a Polish soldier on the base and was himself killed. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. 

Plumlee raced toward the breach and used a pistol, rifle, and hand grenades to kill three Taliban fighters and wound a fourth, possibly several more.

MSG, then-SFC Earl Plumlee being awarded the Silver Star. US Army photo

“There was another tremendous explosion that knocked both of us back into a wall, and I got hit in the chest right across the buttstock with about three-quarters of a human arm,” Plumlee said in an interview with the Washington Post, describing his and SFC Andrew Busic’s actions as some Taliban members blew themselves up with suicide vests right in front of them. 

Plumlee was put in by his commanders for the Medal of Honor but it was immediately downgraded two levels to a Silver Star. 

But due to a controversial DOD Inspector General’s report, Plumlee’s actions were once again looked at and it too was finally approved for the MOH. In that report, one redacted member said that since Plumlee was a “leader” and not just “a soldier”, that his actions didn’t warrant the Medal of Honor. 

The nation will honor all three men next week, but the timing has not yet been announced. 

SOFREP has followed the story of Alywin Cashe and the quest to see him awarded the Medal of Honor since September 2020.  You can read that first story, here.

Melvin Morris Exemplified What It Means to Leave No Man Behind

Melvin Morris was a Green Beret in the 5th Special Forces Group who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions against Communist forces in Vietnam on September 17, 1969. 

Originally awarded a Distinguished Service Cross, the Defense Authorization Act mandated that the military look at the actions of African-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and other minority veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War to ensure that no prejudice was shown to those deserving the Medal of Honor. Morris’s award was therefore upgraded to the Medal of Honor.

Morris was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, on January 7, 1942. In an interview with American Battlefield Trust, Morris described the limited opportunities available to him back in those days. 

“I come from Oklahoma, a place called Okmulgee, capital of the Creek Nation. There wasn’t much going on there in the ’50s, no work to speak of. My first was job was working at the bowling alley; I think I made 65 cents an hour. I said, ‘No, this isn’t going to cut it.’ And my brother and I both went into the military because the National Guard was recruiting minorities.”

After a year in the National Guard, Morris switched to the active-duty Army in 1960, volunteered for Airborne duty, and then joined Special Forces in 1961. 

 

The Mike Forces

In September 1969, Morris, then a staff sergeant, was the commander of the Third Company, Third Battalion of the IV Mobile Strike Force near Chi Lang.

The Mobile Strike Force, known as the “Mike Force,” was created and advised by Special Forces troops as well as Australian SAS. The Mike Forces were staffed with indigenous peoples, pulled from the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), and Nungs, people of Chinese descent. At its height, Mike Forces consisted of Bahnar, Hmong, Nung, Jarai, Khmer Krom minorities, and other members of the Degar peoples, also known as Montagnards.

Melvin Morris Vietnam
SSG Melvin Morris (left) with a fellow soldier in Vietnam in 1969. (U.S. Army)

The Mike Force companies mission was to act as a country-wide quick reaction force for securing, reinforcing, and recapturing CIDG  Special Forces “A Camps,” as well as for conducting special reconnaissance patrols. Search and rescue, and search and destroy RT missions were also assigned to the units. 

 

No Man Left Behind

On September 17, 1969, Morris’s combined Special Forces/Mike Force team was supporting South Vietnamese troops near Chi Lang when they discovered a large cache of food and weapons the North Vietnamese Communists had smuggled over the Cambodian border.

Defending the cache was a large number of North Vietnamese Army (NVA) troops who quickly opened fire. Another Green Beret team leader was killed while assaulting an enemy bunker. When informed of this by radio Melvin Morris immediately moved his men forward and, with two volunteers, crawled through a minefield to recover his fallen comrade.

They had just reached the killed SF soldier when the NVA hit them with intense, accurate fire. The two men with him were immediately wounded. Under heavy fire, Morris aided the two wounded troops back to a defensive position. He gathered up 20 hand grenades, ran back into the heavy enemy fire, and set about neutralizing the Vietnamese strong points. Morris destroyed four enemy bunkers with grenades and recovered the killed Green Beret before returning for a map case containing classified information. 

During the pitched fighting, Melvin Morris was wounded three times in his chest and right arm. He took cover behind a tree and was pinned down for over two hours. Eventually, a helicopter dropping explosives on the enemy distracted them long enough for Morris to make it back to his unit. 

“There was automatic weapons fire. I can’t remember too many human voices,” Morris said in an interview with the Army’s website. “I remember looking at my watch once and the next time I looked at it, it was in the evening. This started in the morning.”

Melvin Morris 5th Special Forces Group
SFC Melvin Morris and other members of the 5th Special Forces Group. (U.S. Army)

After spending a week in a field hospital, he was flown to Japan, where he was hospitalized for three months before returning to the United States. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for valor in the U.S. military in April 1970. A month after receiving the DSC, Morris returned to Vietnam for a subsequent tour of duty. He retired from the Army in 1985 as a sergeant first class.

In 2013, Morris was informed that a lengthy review of recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross had determined that he should have received the Medal of Honor instead.

In March 2014, President Obama awarded the Medal of Honor to Melvin Morris as well as Jose Rodela another Green Beret from Vietnam. 

In the interview with the American Battlefield Trust, Morris reflected on the day he was at the White House and the responsibility he feels in educating American youth. 

“On March 18, 2014, I went to the White House and received the Medal of Honor from President Obama. And it was an exhilarating feeling, I just can’t describe,” he said. “But I told myself that now, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me because I have a message to share. Young children need to know that people are out there putting their lives on the line for them every day.” 

“That’s what I do today; I go out and I give living history. I talk to students and the people about our heritage, about our military, and about why they should learn about history. We have to honor our heroes, regardless of their race, color, creed, ethnicity. I have made educating the people my life’s task.”

 

Melvin Morris’s Medal of Honor Citation

Melvin Morris Medal of Honor award Obama
Melvin Morris received the Medal of Honor by President Obama in 2014. (Voice of America)

“Staff Sergeant Melvin Morris distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Commander of a Strike Force drawn from Company D, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, during combat operations against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Chi Lang, the Republic of Vietnam on September 17, 1969.

On that afternoon, Staff Sergeant Morris’ affiliated companies encountered an extensive enemy minefield and were subsequently engaged by a hostile force. Staff Sergeant Morris learned by radio that a fellow team commander had been killed near an enemy bunker and he immediately reorganized his men into an effective assault posture before advancing forward and splitting off with two men to recover the team commander’s body.

Observing the maneuver, the hostile force concentrated its fire on Staff Sergeant Morris’ three-man element and successfully wounded both men accompanying him. After assisting the two wounded men back to his forces’ lines, Staff Sergeant Morris charged forward into the withering enemy fire with only his men’s suppressive fire as cover.

While enemy machine gun emplacements continuously directed strafing fusillades against him, Staff Sergeant Morris destroyed the positions with hand grenades and continued his assault, ultimately eliminating four bunkers.

Upon reaching the bunker nearest the fallen team commander, Staff Sergeant Morris repulsed the enemy, retrieved his comrade, and began the arduous trek back to friendly lines. He was wounded three times as he struggled forward but ultimately succeeded in returning his fallen comrade to a friendly position.

Staff Sergeant Morris’ extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”

Have You Attempted the “Murph Challenge” Yet? Now is the Time

For any of our aspiring Special Operations Forces candidates and anyone else that is constantly looking for a way to push yourself and test your limits, I submit to you the “Murph Challenge”.

Lt. Michael Murphy was well-known in the Navy SEAL community for his fitness and physical toughness. He was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor for his selfless actions during Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005.

From the Lt. Michael P. Murphy Foundation:  

Murphy was the officer-in-charge of a four-man SEAL element, tasked with finding a key anti-coalition militia commander near Asadabad, Afghanistan. Shortly after inserting into the objective area, the SEALs were spotted by three goat herders who were initially detained and then released. It is believed the goat herders immediately reported the SEALs’ presence to Taliban fighters.

A fierce gun battle ensued on the steep face of the mountain between the SEALs and a much larger enemy force. Despite the intensity of the firefight and suffering grave gunshot wounds himself, Murphy is credited with risking his own life to save the lives of his teammates. Murphy, intent on making contact with headquarters, but realizing this would be impossible in the extreme terrain where they were fighting, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his own life moved into the open, where he could gain a better position to transmit a call to get help for his men.

Moving away from the protective mountain rocks, he knowingly exposed himself to increased enemy gunfire. This deliberate and heroic act deprived him of cover and made him a target for the enemy. While continuing to be fired upon, Murphy made contact with the SOF Quick Reaction Force at Bagram Air Base and requested assistance. He calmly provided his unit’s location and the size of the enemy force while requesting immediate support for his team. At one point, he was shot in the back causing him to drop the transmitter. Murphy picked it back up, completed the call and continued firing at the enemy who was closing in. Severely wounded, LT. Murphy returned to his cover position with his men and continued the battle. Murphy fought on, allowing one member of his team (Marcus Luttrell) to escape before he was killed.

The Murph Challenge is a simple but ass-kicking workout that isn’t for the faint of heart. It is supposed to be done wearing a 20-lb vest, however, unless you are in outstanding shape, and we stress the word outstanding… then try to do it and finish without it.

One Mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Pushups
300 Air Squats
One Mile Run

On the leaderboard for the Murph Challenge someone named Jennifer Rottkamp completed the entire challenge in 19:53 which is ridiculously fast and gets a huge amount of respect here.  Congratulations.

It was nice to see Hollywood action stars John Krasinski (13 Hours, Jack Ryan) and Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World) get behind the challenge and offer to take part in it. They both posted on Social Media.

“We got a big group of people doing The Murph Challenge this year to celebrate Memorial Day and to memorialize our fallen heroes, especially Lieutenant Michael Murphy,” Pratt said.

Pratt also thanked Murphy for his brave sacrifice and service. “Thank you to Lt. Michael P Murphy and the millions of soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We live this life because you laid down yours, gratitude and prayers for all of you,” Pratt added.

“On Monday, remember to stop at some point in your day, think and say, ‘thank you,’ to all the brave men and women who laid down their lives for you,” Krasinski said. “If you want to do something a little extra special on Monday, or before then, take the Murph Challenge.”

As we mentioned above, the challenge isn’t for the faint of heart, I didn’t need a stopwatch for my own time, but a calendar may have come in handier.

Kidding aside, much respect to Lt. Michael Murphy, RIP as on Memorial Day we paid homage to you and every other serviceman and woman who gave selflessly gave their lives for the rest of us in our country.

And if you’re looking for the next challenge, log-on to the Murph Challenge website and donate to the foundation and post your times. It is for a worthwhile cause.

Photo: US Navy

On This Day in 1942, Gen. Douglas MacArthur Gives the “I Shall Return” Speech

In the early, dark days of World War II, the United States military in the Pacific theater was reeling. After the disastrous sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, the Japanese forces began a series of invasions across the Pacific and extended their empire nearly to the edges of Hawaii.

American and Filipino forces were under siege in the Philippines. The Japanese invaded soon after the Pearl Harbor attack. By early March 1942, they had bottled up the U.S. and Filipinos on the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor.

President Roosevelt, fearful of one of America’s most successful and well-known generals being taken captive by the Japanese if Corregidor fell was too bitter a conclusion to contemplate. He ordered MacArthur to escape to Australia to take charge of Allied forces there. He left the Philippines on March 11.

However, contrary to public belief, MacArthur’s statement, “I Shall Return” was not given on the shores of the Philippines, but at an Australian train station, 10 days later.

Early Career:

MacArthur came from a military family, his father Arthur, was a Lieutenant General and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his service in the Civil War. The younger MacArthur graduated the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1903 at the top of his class.

During his early military career, he served as an aide to his father and to President Theodore Roosevelt. During World War I, he commanded the 84th Brigade of the famous 42nd (Rainbow) Division. He also was the Commandant of Cadets at West Point as well as the Army’s Chief of Staff.

MacArthur retired from active duty in 1937 and was given a commission as a Field Marshall in the Philippine Army, raising the level of training for the Filipino conscripts so that when the U.S. granted them independence, (slated for 1946), they’d be capable of defending their home islands.

He was recalled from retirement in July 1941 to become commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) at 61 and united the Philippine and United States forces under one command.

World War II Starts for the U.S.:

After the Japanese invaded, MacArthur, per pre-planning, declared Manila an open city and moved his forces to the Bataan Peninsula and to the island of Corregidor. His wife Jean and son Arthur IV remained with him on Corregidor.

Most of the surviving navy moved south, MacArthur had at his disposal on a submarine tender and sub rescue ship, three small gunboats, three minesweepers, five tugs and the PT boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three under the command of LTJG John D. Bulkeley. With the swift Japanese victories rolling into one another, the men of Bataan and MacArthur resonated with the American public, looking for heroes in those dark days of defeat after defeat for the Allies.

On February 23, Secretary of War Harry Stimson and Chief of Staff George Marshall sent MacArthur a message ordering him to leave the Philippines for Australia.

The President directs that you make arrangements to leave and proceed to Mindanao. You are directed to make this change as quickly as possible … From Mindanao you will proceed to Australia where you will assume command of all United States troops … Instructions will be given from here at your request for the movement of submarine or plane or both to enable you to carry out the foregoing instructions. You are authorized to take your chief of staff General Sutherland.

The original plan was for MacArthur to depart Corregidor by submarine, but he ended up changing his mind and going by surface ships in PT boats. The small PT boats were in need of an overhaul as they’d been in constant combat operations since the war began, Bulkeley did the best he could with spare parts at a premium since the loss of the Subic Bay naval base. Each PT boat would carry twenty 55-gallon drums of additional fuel on the deck. This would reduce the top speed of the boats to about 30 knots (56 kilometers per hour; 35 miles per hour).

And to make room for MacArthur’s family and staff that he was bringing with him, the so-called “Bataan Gang”, Bulkeley had to leave 32 of his sailors behind. They were turned into infantry troops on Bataan.

There would be four PT boats assigned to get MacArthur, his staff and his family out of Corregidor. PT-41 commanded by Bulkeley, would have MacArthur, Jean MacArthur, Arthur MacArthur IV, Ah Cheu, Major General Richard K. Sutherland, Captain Herbert J. Ray, Lieutenant Colonel Sidney L. Huff, Major Charles H. Morhouse on board.

PT-32 commanded by LT JG Vince Schumacher had Brigadier General Spencer B. Akin, Brigadier General Hugh J. Casey, Brigadier General William F. Marquat, Brigadier General Harold H. George, Lieutenant Colonel Joe R. Sherr, Major Curtis L. Lambert on his boat.

PT-34 commanded by LT Robert B. Kelly, carried Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, Brigadier General Richard J. Marshall, Colonel Charles P. Stivers, Captain Joseph McMicking on board.

PT-35 commanded by Ensign Anthony Akers had Colonel Charles A. Willoughby, Lieutenant Colonel LeGrande A. Diller, Lieutenant Colonel Francis H. Wilson, Master Sergeant Paul P. Rogers on his boat. Rogers was the only enlisted man taken from MacArthur’s command because he was the command’s stenographer. Many of the enlisted men gave Rogers letters to mail for them.

MacArthur left Corregidor on March 11 at 19:45 and rendezvoused with the other three boats which left from Bataan 15 minutes later. During the night, the seas got rough and the four PT boats were separated.

They reached their first point, a cove on Tagauayan Island, the next morning. That night they made their way to Mindanao where MacArthur was hoping to catch air transport. Since PT-32 didn’t have the fuel to reach Mindanao, her passengers were then split on PT-41 and PT-34.

Due to the high seas, the PT boats didn’t make it to Mindanao until broad daylight where they would have been sitting ducks for Japanese aircraft that were known to overfly the area constantly.

The PT boats pulled up the wharf at Mindanao and MacArthur made clear his appreciation at the men who dared the mission to rescue him and his staff. He said to Bulkeley “I’m giving every officer and man here the Silver Star for gallantry. You’ve taken me out of the jaws of death, and I won’t forget it.”

Three hours later PT-35 arrived with her crew and passengers.

After a day on Mindanao while staying at the guest house, MacArthur sent off a message to Gen. Marshall in Washington as Admiral Herbert F. Leary had turned down their request for B-17s to fly them to Australia. Leary heard from Washington and the on March 17, they left in two B-17s at 01:30. Eight hours later they approached Darwin, Australia, but the Japanese were conducting an air raid so the planes were diverted to Batchelor Airfield arriving at 09:30.

There MacArthur boarded a DC-3 which finally took him to Alice Springs. He then boarded a special train. It was at Terowie Train Station where he uttered the famous phrase “I came through and I shall return“.

The reaction from the American and Filipino troops on Bataan was mixed. Some felt like MacArthur had betrayed them. He left LTG Jonathan Wainwright in command and even many officers in the remaining staff felt they’d been abandoned.

Bulkeley remained on Mindanao until he was flown out on April 13, as MacArthur put a high priority on getting the PT boat crews out. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt in the White House on August 4, 1942. He retired as a Vice Admiral after 55 years of service. His story was made into a book and a film in 1945, “They Were Expendable” starring Robert Montgomery, John Wayne, and Donna Reed.

MacArthur’s “Bataan Gang” served as the staff of the GHQ of the Southwest Pacific Area. He and his staff would indeed return to the Philippines and would land on Corregidor three years later on four PT boats.

Photos: US Archives

Remembering SP4 Robert D. Law, MOH, February 22, 1969

Robert D. Law was a member of I Company, Rangers, 75th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in the Republic of Vietnam. On February 22, 1969, the LRRP Team ( Long-range reconnaissance patrol) that he was a part of, got into a firefight with elements of the Viet Cong and Law’s selfless, heroic actions on that day would be the cause for him to be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

Law was born on September 15, 1944, in Ft. Worth, Texas. He joined the Army in October 1967 via Dallas. By early 1969, during the Vietnamese “Tet” holiday, he was a member of the I Company Ranger LRRP Teams near Song Be in South Vietnam. A heavy enemy movement had been reported in the area and the Ranger LRRP teams were assigned to perform reconnaissance and gather as much intelligence as possible.

The Rangers had been making contact with Viet Cong (VC) guerrillas in the area. One patrol had two Rangers get seriously wounded, causing them to be medevaced on February 20.

I Company’s commander asked for volunteers to replace the team that had to be extracted along with the two men who were seriously wounded. The Team Leader (TL) was SGT Danny Wiggins and they put together a composite team consisting of Wiggins, Mike Cannon, Bob Law, Bill Powell, Bob Roossiene and Ray Cervantes. While all of the men had worked with one another on different missions throughout their tour in Vietnam, this was the first time, they’d ever functioned as a complete unit together. But their experience and Ranger SOPs would serve them well on this mission.

After an overflight of the area, the team selected their primary and secondary landing zones and infiltrated back into the area on the afternoon of February 20. After landing in an LZ unopposed, the team moved out with Law on point, Cannon was the next in the formation, followed by the Wiggins and Powell, his RTO, Roossiene was the M-79 gunner and Cervantes was the team’s rear security. After moving about 1000 meters, Law on the point came face-to-face with a VC in the dense jungle.

He immediately fired and the team, conducting an immediate action drill broke contact and moved off 100 meters, receiving only sporadic and light return fire. Wiggins, as was SOP, and having the area, pre-plotted for artillery fire, called in a fire mission and walked the rounds back into the area where they had made contact.

After considering the mission compromised, Wiggins asked for extraction. However, due to the time of day, extraction couldn’t be done until after dark, permission was denied and the team was ordered to find a suitable overnight position (RON) and continue the mission the next day.

After an uneasy night where the team didn’t have any further contact with the Viet Cong, they decided to continue on with their mission.

The next morning the team moved back out to continue their recon of the area. After about two clicks, they came upon a large stream and adjacent trail that showed a lot of recent activity. The team moved adjacent to the stream where they found a log footbridge over the stream. Moving to positions where they could monitor the area and remain undetected.

The team set up a kill zone with Claymore mines and two Rangers Cervantes and Cannon were placed up on the stream banks, hidden in the dense underbrush around the trees while the rest of the team positioned themselves in the stream bed, hidden.

After a short time, the team saw three VC moving to their front. As the VC were moving toward the bridge, one of them stopped and turned to peer down the stream bed. Apparently seeing one of the team, he tried to get his AK-47 into firing position. Both Law and Powell, emptied their magazines into the VC before he could fire.

The Claymores were detonated directly in front of the third VC who was carrying a machine gun across his shoulders. He was killed instantly. Then the other team members fired on the second Viet Cong with M-16s and M-79 grenades. The two remaining VC, badly wounded, tried to lob grenades at the American patrol, but they didn’t reach their position.

Wiggins called for artillery strikes which dropped down extremely close to their positions. Suddenly, another VC grenade came over the stream bed bank and rolled down directly between Wiggins, Powell, and Law. Law was closest and could have leaped out of the stream bed and over the edge to safety. Instead, he leaped on the grenade shielding his teammates from the blast but at the cost of his own life.

Wiggins called for a medevac, but for Law, it was too late. As the team awaited extraction, Cobra gunships raked the area, but no further contact was had with the enemy.  The remainder of the team was safely exfiltrated to Lai Khe. It was only then that Wiggins and Powell learned that although Law had saved their lives, both received minor wounds from the shrapnel of the grenade that he had protected them from.

For a great detailed look at the mission, read Danny Wiggins account here:

Photos: Wikipedia

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. SP4 Law distinguished himself while serving with Company I. While on a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Tinh Phuoc Thanh province, SP4 Law and 5 comrades made contact with a small enemy patrol. As the opposing elements exchanged intense fire, he maneuvered to a perilously exposed position flanking his comrades and began placing suppressive fire on the hostile troops.

Although his team was hindered by a low supply of ammunition and suffered from an unidentified irritating gas in the air, SP4 Law’s spirited defense and challenging counterassault rallied his fellow soldiers against the well-equipped hostile troops.

When an enemy grenade landed in his team’s position, SP4 Law, instead of diving into the safety of a stream behind him, threw himself on the grenade to save the lives of his comrades. SP4 Law’s extraordinary courage and profound concern for his fellow soldiers were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Remembering SFC Eugene Ashley, MOH, SF A-Camp at Lang Vei

During the battle on February 6-7, 1968 at the Special Forces A-Camp at Lang Vei, NVA troops used armor for the first time against American and South Vietnamese positions. Lang Vei had to be taken before the NVA unleashed 40,000 troops against the Marine base at Khe Sanh.

During the battle, as the SF camp was being overrun, SFC Eugene Ashley of Company C, of the 5th Special Forces Group, led five different counterattacks trying to rescue his fellow American SF comrades. On the fifth and final assault, he was killed by artillery fire. His family was presented with his posthumous Medal of Honor by Vice President Spiro Agnew.

Early Life and Military Career:

Ashley was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on October 12, 1931. Shortly after he was born, his family moved to New York City where he attended Alexander Hamilton High School. Ashley joined the U.S. Army in 1950 and served in the Korean War with the 187th Regimental Combat Team.

He held a variety of different jobs in the Army including infantryman, ambulance driver, anti-aircraft ammunition handler, and specialist in heavy weapons and parachute repair. He served as in the cavalry and armored battle group as a squad leader and company sergeant with an airborne battalion.

He joined Special Forces and at the time of the battle in Lang Vei was an Intelligence Sergeant in Company C, the 5th Special Forces Group. He was remembered by his comrades at that time as a “professional NCO who took care of his troops” and as a “fatherly figure” for his many years of service and experience.

Background to the Battle:

The Special Forces camp at Lang Vei was occupied by an A-Team, Detachment A-101 commanded by Captain Frank Willoughby was a 12-man detachment with 14 South Vietnamese SF, and had about 280 Montagnard CIDG strikers. They were augmented by another Special Forces A-Team with 161 Hre tribesman of the Mobile Strike Force, commanded by LT Paul Longgrear.

But the NVA was throwing a regiment from the 304th Division and a battalion from the 325th Division. Reinforcing the NVA was a company of PT-76 light amphibious tanks part of the 198th Tank Battalion, 203rd Armored Regiment.

Prior to the battle, the NVA had made its intentions well-known by taking the nearby Khe Sanh village and Ban Houei Sane on January 23, which housed a Laotian unit that had been monitoring the Ho Chi Minh trail. Thousands of civilian refugees streamed into Lang Vei, where the Special Forces team placed them in their older A-Camp which they’d abandoned for a better built one, 1000 meters to the east.

No Quarter Battle:

On the night of February 6-7, 1968 the SF team could hear engine noises emanating from the jungle approaching the camp. Then about 2330 hours, the NVA began pounding the camp with concentrated artillery fire.

From the camp’s observation point above their tactical operations HQs. SFC Nicholas Fragos gave the report, “Tanks in the wire!” Willoughby called for artillery support and reinforcement from the Marine base. The request was denied as the Marines refused to believe that the NVA had tanks. However, artillery and air strikes from Air Force C-119 gunships took a toll on the NVA massing in the area right outside the camp perimeter.

SFC James Holt, manning a 106mm recoilless rifle, one of only two in the camp, knocked out three of the PT-76 tanks, but several others easily rolled over the wire and penetrated the camp’s perimeter. The SF troops had a very early version of the M-72 LAW rocket but these proved to be mainly worthless. Many of them jammed or didn’t fire.

The NVA by 0230 had pushed the Americans back thru most of the camp. Willoughby, seven other American SF, 3 South Vietnamese SF, and 26 CIDG strikers were trapped underground in the tactical operations HQs.

The NVA threw grenades, explosives and tear gas grenades down into the bunker. A voice in English immediately ordered the Americans to surrender. The three South Vietnamese ran out to surrender and were immediately gunned down. After another verbal exchange where the Americans refused to surrender, the NVA attempted to blast them out with explosives.

Meanwhile, SFC Ashley at dawn rallied a force of Laotian troops who were not in any mood to take on the NVA. But Ashley was intent on rescuing the Americans trapped in the camp. His first assault with the timid Laotians was driven back by heavy, concentrated machine gun fire.

Accompanied by two SF Medics, Ashley reformed his Laotian troops and then was joined by SFC William T. Craig and SSG Tiroch who had escaped from the Lang Vei. They illuminated the camp with mortar rounds and pounded the NVA while calling in artillery and air strikes. During his fourth assault, Ashley called in air strikes on the NVA that was nearly on top of his own position.

He was severely wounded in the chest during the fifth assault but refused to be evacuated and continued to lead his combined US/Laotian assault team but he finally lost consciousness only 30 yards from the command bunker. While being taken to the rear, an NVA artillery shell landed nearby and killed Ashley. His surviving SF comrades said, without his counterattacks, none of the men inside the bunker would have survived.

With the situation desperate, Willoughby and the surviving SF men broke out of the bunker and made it to the old SF camp 1000 meters away. There they were rescued by a combined SF/Marine force that had been ordered by General Westmoreland, commander of US troops in Vietnam after he’d been briefed on the attack at Lang Vei.

The combined Montagnard and South Vietnamese CIDG took heavy casualties: 309 killed, 64 wounded, and 122 captured. Of the original 24 Americans at Lang Vei, seven were killed in action, 11 were wounded, and three were captured.

Ashley’s family was presented with his posthumous Medal of Honor by VP Spiro Agnew in November of 1969. He is buried in Rockfish Memorial Park, Fayetteville, NC. In 2001, the Eugene Ashley Jr. High School, located south of Wilmington near Carolina Beach was dedicated in his honor.

Medal of Honor Citation:

SFC Ashley, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving with Detachment A-101, Company C. SFC Ashley was the senior special forces Advisor of a hastily organized assault force whose mission was to rescue entrapped U.S. special forces advisors at Camp Lang Vei.

During the initial attack on the special forces camp by North Vietnamese army forces, SFC Ashley supported the camp with high explosive and illumination mortar rounds. When communications were lost with the main camp, he assumed the additional responsibility of directing air strikes and artillery support.

SFC Ashley organized and equipped a small assault force composed of local friendly personnel. During the ensuing battle, SFC Ashley led a total of 5 vigorous assaults against the enemy, continuously exposing himself to a voluminous hail of enemy grenades, machine gun, and automatic weapons fire. Throughout these assaults, he was plagued by numerous booby-trapped satchel charges in all bunkers on his avenue of approach.

During his fifth and final assault, he adjusted air strikes nearly on top of his assault element, forcing the enemy to withdraw and resulting in friendly control of the summit of the hill. While exposing himself to intense enemy fire, he was seriously wounded by machine gun fire but continued his mission without regard for his personal safety. After the fifth assault, he lost consciousness and was carried from the summit by his comrades only to suffer a fatal wound when an enemy artillery round landed in the area.

SFC Ashley displayed extraordinary heroism in risking his life in an attempt to save the lives of his entrapped comrades and commanding officer. His total disregard for his personal safety while exposed to enemy observation and automatic weapons fire was an inspiration to all men committed to the assault. The resolute valor with which he led 5 gallant charges placed critical diversionary pressure on the attacking enemy and his valiant efforts carved a channel in the overpowering enemy forces and weapons positions through which the survivors of Camp Lang Vei eventually escaped to freedom.

SFC Ashley’s bravery at the cost of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Photos: Hall of Heroes, JFK SWC, Guardians of the Green Beret

Remembering Gordon Yntema, 5th SFG(A), Medal of Honor, 18 Jan. 1968

Gordon Yntema was just 22 years old at the time of his death, but he was a Green Beret assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, ODA-431 and was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery while fighting in Vietnam in 1968. The enlisted men’s club was named in his honor on Ft. Bragg.

Yntema was born on June 26, 1945, in Bethesda, MD. He graduated high school from Holland, MI and entered the United States Army on July 10, 1963, in Detroit, MI. He volunteered for and passed the Special Forces Qualification Course. In October of 1967, he was assigned to Vietnam as part of Company D, 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, 5th SFG(A) and stationed with ODA-431 at Camp Cai Cai, in the Plain of Reeds as an Operations and Intelligence Sergeant.

Camp Cai Cai was a frequent target of Vietcong mortars and artillery since it opened in April of 1965. The camp also flooded twice in 1965 and 1966 and was rebuilt as a floating camp. On January 16 and just prior to the Tet Offensive, Yntema was an American advisor accompanying to companies of CIDG (Civilian Irregular Defense Group) strikers as they became embroiled in a two-day firefight with Viet Cong troops.

The senior American and South Vietnamese commander were wounded in the fighting. Yntema took over as the CIDG strikers tried to conduct blocking positions east of Thong Binh. Under heavy fire from Viet Cong bunkers, Yntema advanced the strikers to within 50 meters of the bunkers before being forced to withdraw to a trench line.

The Viet Cong deployed a company to the flanks, taking the strikers on three sides with intense fire, which included accurate mortar fire which caused several casualties. The strikers began to pull back. Yntema, already seriously wounded himself, refused to abandon his wounded commanders. He carried them to a gully about 50 meters away to shield them from enemy fire.

With his ammunition gone, the Cong tried to take him as a prisoner. But Yntema was going to be captured.  He turned his rifle around like a club and took on the 15 Viet Cong who were attempting to capture him. So intense was his fighting the Viet Cong were forced to shoot him.

His body was returned home to the U.S. and he was buried at Pilgrim Home Cemetery in Holland, MI. He left behind his young wife Peggy and two young daughters.

Gordon’s decorations include the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star, two (2) Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantry’s Badge, and the Parachutist’s Badge.

Gordon is honored on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 34e, Line 73.

A 1966 Army video of the camp at Cai Cai and the camp’s defenses are shown here:

An interesting side note about Cai Cai, Sean Linnane wrote an interesting blog post about Martha Raye, the entertainer who would visit the SF troops in Vietnam in places most entertainers would never venture in.

Colonel Maggie was visiting the A and B camps of D Co in the Delta and the S-4 Air Ops was assigned to be her escort officer. She had visited Cai Cai A-431 and moved on to RON somewhere else. They were hit that night. When she heard the news the next day, she ORDERED her slick to go back to Cai Cai so she could see if they needed her. She was a qualified nurse. The escort radioed back for instructions and IIRC, the CO (Colonel Bob Hassinger) said HE wasn’t going to countermand Maggie and he didn’t think it would be a good idea for anyone else to try either. She ALWAYS put the men first.

Medal of Honor Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life and above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Yntema, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while assigned to Detachment A-431, Company D.

As part of a larger force of civilian irregulars from Camp Cai Cai, he accompanied 2 platoons to a blocking position east of the village of Thong Binh, where they became heavily engaged in a small-arms firefight with the Viet Cong.

Assuming control of the force when the Vietnamese commander was seriously wounded, he advanced his troops to within 50 meters of the enemy bunkers. After a fierce 30-minute firefight, the enemy forced Sgt. Yntema to withdraw his men to a trench in order to afford them protection and still perform their assigned blocking mission.

Under cover of machinegun fire, approximately 1 company of Viet Cong maneuvered into a position which pinned down the friendly platoons from 3 sides. A dwindling ammunition supply, coupled with a Viet Cong mortar barrage which inflicted heavy losses on the exposed friendly troops, caused many of the irregulars to withdraw.

Seriously wounded and ordered to withdraw himself, Sgt. Yntema refused to leave his fallen comrades. Under withering small arms and machinegun fire, he carried the wounded Vietnamese commander and a mortally wounded American Special Forces advisor to a small gully 50 meters away in order to shield them from the enemy fire. Sgt. Yntema then continued to repulse the attacking Viet Cong attempting to overrun his position until, out of ammunition and surrounded, he was offered the opportunity to surrender. Refusing, Sgt. Yntema stood his ground, using his rifle as a club to fight the approximately 15 Viet Cong attempting his capture. His resistance was so fierce that the Viet Cong were forced to shoot in order to overcome him.

Sgt. Yntema’s personal bravery in the face of insurmountable odds and supreme self-sacrifice were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect the utmost credit upon himself, the 1st Special Forces, and the U.S. Army.

Photos: Hall of Heroes, JFK SWC, Virtual Wall

Michael E. Thornton, SEAL, MOH Oct. 31, 1972

Michael Thornton was a Navy SEAL and was awarded the U.S. military’s highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the war in Vietnam. He was decorated for saving the life of his senior officer, Lieutenant Thomas R. Norris, who also a recipient of the Medal of Honor in another combat action in Vietnam.

Thornton was born in Greenville, SC and graduated from high school in 1967 and immediately joined the U.S. Navy. He was trained as a gunner’s mate and served on a destroyer until he volunteered for Naval Special Warfare. Thornton graduated from Class 49 Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training in Coronado, CA in November 1968 and was assigned to SEAL Team One and served in several tours in Vietnam between 1969 and 1972.

He was a member of MACVSOG (Military Assistance Command Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group), the Special Operations Forces joint command in Vietnam. During the final year of the U.S. involvement in Vietnam during 1972, only a handful of Navy SEALs remained in Vietnam. But the combat didn’t lessen for those who were there. And Thornton, now a Petty Officer would see some horrific combat where he’d be awarded the nation’s highest honor.

Quang Tri Mission:

Thornton and Lt. Thomas Norris would accompany three South Vietnamese troops on a mission on October 31, 1972, to gather intelligence and capture enemy personnel. The three Vietnamese were members of their Special Forces and they had worked extensively with the two SEALs in the past.

They boarded Vietnamese junks and then after dark took rubber boats ashore near the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The five men slipped around several North Vietnamese encampments and began their reconnoiter.

Realizing too late they had actually landed in North Vietnam, they scouted several bunkers and large amounts of NVA troops. Moving back toward the shore, they scouted two NVA troops which they would attempt to capture.

When one of the NVA troops broke towards the jungle, Thornton chased him to prevent him from alerting the others. That is when all hell broke loose. All of a sudden, 50 NVA troops were turning the tables on Thornton and firing at him. He moved from position to position trying to link back up with his small team as he was taking fire.

Thornton was constantly moving about, giving the NVA troops the impression there were many more Americans on the ground than they thought. He called for Naval gunfire from two destroyers nearby but they had been driven off by shore fire from several North Vietnamese artillery batteries.

The tiny band of five men held off a force of about 150 NVA for the next four hours. One of the South Vietnamese junks had a mortar on board and Thornton called for them to come in and lend some indirect fire support but the destroyers wouldn’t allow them to get close enough.

Near dawn, Norris had the men withdraw towards the beach, but bounding while he covered them from the rear. He called in a fire for effect mission from the cruiser USS Newport News (CA-148) to cover their withdrawal. As he was attempting to fire a LAW rocket to suppress the enemy. He was shot thru the head. The South Vietnamese assumed he was dead.

When they told Thornton, he raced to Norris’ position to recover his body. To his shock, Norris was alive but “the whole side of his head was completely gone.”  He took down several NVA who tried to overrun their position. He then hoisted Norris over his shoulders despite having suffered a wound in his back from grenade shrapnel, he ran to the beach.

Just then the first shells from Newport News hit the beach. The concussion threw both Thornton and Norris 20 feet into the air. He then dragged the barely alive Lieutenant into the surf and began swimming out to sea. One of the South Vietnamese was shot thru his hip and into his butt and couldn’t swim. Thornton pushed, pulled both he and Norris out to sea as bullets rained around them. The Newport News left believing the team was dead.

One of the other South Vietnamese reached a junk and reported the rest of the team had been killed. Despite this, Thornton bandaged Norris’ head as best he could and then fired his AK-47 to draw the attention of the junks. They were finally picked up and transported to the Newport News. Thornton carried his SEAL Lt to the operating room. The doctor there told him that there was no way that Norris would survive.

But he did and Norris was the guest of President Gerald Ford on March 6, 1976, at the White House as he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his rescue of Air Force LTC Iceal Hambleton in the famous “BAT 21” story.

Thornton would receive the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon at the White House on October 15, 1973, nearly one year from the action that took place. In doing so, he became the first man ever to receive the Medal of Honor for rescuing another man who was a fellow MOH awardee.  Thornton also was awarded a Silver Star, Bronze Star with “V” device with two oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He later served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. 

After the war in Vietnam, Thornton would continue to serve in the SEALs and from 1974 -1977, Thornton served as a BUD/S instructor at NAB Coronado. In 1978 he was selected to serve two years with the British Royal Marines’ Special Boat Squadron (SBS) in an exchange program. In 1980, the Navy was putting together SEAL Team Six, which was the Navy’s first Counter-Terrorism Force. Thornton was personally chosen by the first Commander, Richard Marcinko to be a founding member of the team.

Thornton later became a commissioned officer in June 1982 and retired as a Lieutenant in 1992.

Under heavy gunfire from dozens of North Vietnamese soldiers, Navy SEAL Mike Thornton lifted critically injured fellow SEAL Tom Norris onto his shoulders and carried him in the darkness down the beach into the South China Sea surf.  (Navy SEAL Museum)

Medal of Honor citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while participating in a daring operation against enemy forces. PO Thornton, as Assistant U.S. Navy Advisor, along with a U.S. Navy lieutenant serving as Senior Advisor, accompanied a 3-man Vietnamese Navy SEAL patrol on an intelligence gathering and prisoner capture operation against an enemy-occupied naval river base.

Launched from a Vietnamese Navy junk in a rubber boat, the patrol reached land and was continuing on foot toward its objective when it suddenly came under heavy fire from a numerically superior force. The patrol called in naval gunfire support and then engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight, accounting for many enemy casualties before moving back to the waterline to prevent encirclement.

Upon learning that the Senior Advisor had been hit by enemy fire and was believed to be dead, PO Thornton returned through a hail of fire to the lieutenant’s last position; quickly disposed of 2 enemy soldiers about to overrun the position, and succeeded in removing the seriously wounded and unconscious Senior Naval Advisor to the water’s edge. He then inflated the lieutenant’s lifejacket and towed him seaward for approximately 2 hours until picked up by support craft.

By his extraordinary courage and perseverance, PO Thornton was directly responsible for saving the life of his superior officer and enabling the safe extraction of all patrol members, thereby upholding the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service

Photos: Michael Thornton (right) and LT Tom Norris, US Navy