Medal Of Honor Allied Assault The Command Post

[Mandy Geise]

Duringhis service in the Vietnam War while serving as an advisor to the 11th Airborne Battalion, 2d Brigade, Airborne Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam and its commander was killed, Major John J. Duffy refused to evacuate a command post that had been destroyed despite his own injuries. Duffy called in airstrikes, led evacuees out, and saved an allied soldier from falling out of a helicopter.

While serving as crew chief aboard a helicopter ambulance during rescue operations in Vietnam Specialist Five Dennis M. Fujii repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire and put the safety of other military personnel over his own safe evacuation from an area under heavy artillery assault while administering first aid to fellow soldiers despite his own injuries and taking on the responsibility for the overall defense and offense of the encampment.

Staff Sergeant Kaneshiro inserted himself into an enemy trench alone knowing that the fire from that location had to be stopped if anyone was to survive. After throwing grenades he jumped into the trench to sweep its length destroying one enemy group with rifle fire and two others with grenades. By the end of his sweep, the able-bodied survivors of the two American squads were again standing and preparing to move the dead and wounded and successfully withdraw from the village.

On March 5, 2021, the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced that Army Chaplain (Capt.) Emil J. Kapaun had been accounted for. A veteran of WWII, he continued his service in the Chaplain Corps during the Korean War. He died in a POW Camp in 1951. In September 2021 his remains will be interred at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Wichita, Kansas.

Staff Sergeant Miller became a one-man Army against an overwhelming enemy force. He was killed in action preserving the lives of 22 squad members. His Medal of Honor was presented to his parents in 2010.

Despite wounds, PFC Dias moved through unprotected areas four times, while under extreme fire, to destroy an enemy machine gun bunker that had pinned down two Marine platoons. He destroyed the bunker just as he was killed by a sniper. His actions contributed greatly to the survival of numerous men that day.

Second Lieutenant Frank Luke, Jr. was so legendary for his aerial take-downs of German observation balloons that he was given the nickname "Balloon Buster" in newspaper reports. He was killed in action in 1918 after a forced landing in a field in France.

On Feb. 23, 1945, then-Corporal Hershel "Woody" Williams, a Marine Demolition Operator, confronted a series of camouflaged, reinforced concrete pill boxes lining the outskirts of an airfield that U.S. Marines were trying to take on Iwo Jima. Over the course of four hours, armed with a flamethrower and guarded by four Marine riflemen, Williams repeatedly ran the width of the beach while under intense enemy fire to disarm and destroy seven pillboxes. His actions neutralized a considerable obstacle and created an access point for Marine Infantry units. He was the last living World War II Medal of Honor Recipient.

On November 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with the fleet. This resolution established the Continental Marines and marked the birth date of the United States Marine Corps. Serving on land and at sea, these first Marines distinguished themselves in a number of important operations, including their first amphibious raid into the Bahamas in March 1776, under the command of Captain (later Major) Samuel Nicholas. The first commissioned officer in the Continental Marines, Nicholas remained the senior Marine officer throughout the American Revolution and is considered to be the first Marine Commandant. The Treaty of Paris in April 1783 brought an end to the Revolutionary War and as the last of the Navy's ships were sold, the Continental Navy and Marines went out of existence.

Following the Revolutionary War and the formal re-establishment of the Marine Corps on 11 July 1798, Marines saw action in the quasi-war with France, landed in Santo Domingo, and took part in many operations against the Barbary pirates along the "Shores of Tripoli".

Marines took part in numerous naval operations during the War of 1812, as well as participating in the defense of Washington at Bladensburg, Maryland, and fought alongside Andrew Jackson in the defeat of the British at New Orleans.

The decades following the War of 1812 saw the Marines protecting American interests around the world, in the Caribbean, at the Falkland Islands, Sumatra and off the coast of West Africa, and also close to home in operations against the Seminole Indians in Florida.

During the Mexican War (1846-1848), Marines seized enemy seaports on both the Gulf and Pacific coasts. A battalion of Marines joined General Winfield Scott's army at Pueblo and fought all the way to the "Halls of Montezuma," Mexico City. Marines also served ashore and afloat in the Civil War (1861-1865). Although most service was with the Navy, a battalion fought at Bull Run and other units saw action with the blockading squadrons and at Cape Hatteras, New Orleans, Charleston, and Fort Fisher. The last third of the 19th century saw Marines making numerous landings throughout the world, especially in the Orient and in the Caribbean area.

Marine aviation, which dates from 1912, also played a part in the war effort, as Marine pilots flew day bomber missions over France and Belgium. More than 30,000 Marines served in France and more than a third were killed or wounded in six months of intense fighting.

During the two decades before World War II, the Marine Corps began to develop in earnest the doctrine, equipment, and organization needed for amphibious warfare. The success of this effort was proven first on Guadalcanal, then on Bougainville, Tarawa, New Britain, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Saipan, Guam, Tinian, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. By the end of the war in 1945, the Marine Corps had grown to include six divisions, five air wings, and supporting troops. Its strength in World War II peaked at 485,113. The war cost the Marines nearly 87,000 dead and wounded, and 82 Marines had earned the Medal of Honor.

While Marine units took part in the post-war occupation of Japan and North China, studies were undertaken at Quantico, Virginia, which concentrated on attaining a "vertical envelopment" capability for the Corps through the use of helicopters.

Landing at Inchon, Korea in September 1950, Marines proved that the doctrine of amphibious assault was still viable and necessary. After the recapture of Seoul, the Marines advanced to the Chosin Reservoir only to see the Chinese Communists enter the war. After years of offensives, counter-offensives, seemingly endless trench warfare, and occupation duty, the last Marine ground troops were withdrawn in March 1955. More than 25,000 Marines were killed or wounded during the Korean War.

In July 1958, a brigade-size force landed in Lebanon to restore order. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, a large amphibious force was marshaled but not landed. In April 1965, a brigade of Marines landed in the Dominican Republic to protect Americans and evacuate those who wished to leave.

The landing of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade at Da Nang in 1965 marked the beginning of large-scale Marine involvement in Vietnam. By summer 1968, after the enemy's Tet Offensive, Marine Corps strength in Vietnam rose to a peak of approximately 85,000. The Marine withdrawal began in 1969 as the South Vietnamese began to assume a larger role in the fighting; the last Marine ground forces were out of Vietnam by June 1971.

The Vietnam War, longest in the history of the Marine Corps, exacted a high cost as well with over 13,000 Marines killed and more than 88,000 wounded. In the spring of 1975, Marines evacuated embassy staffs, American citizens, and refugees in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Saigon, Republic of Vietnam. In May, Marines played an integral role in the rescue of the crew of the SS Mayaguezcaptured off the coast of Cambodia.

The mid-1970s saw the Marine Corps assume an increasingly significant role in defending NATO's northern flank as amphibious units of the 2d Marine Division participated in exercises throughout northern Europe. The Marine Corps also played a key role in the development of the Rapid Deployment Force, a multi-service organization created to insure a flexible, timely military response around the world when needed. The Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS) concept was developed to enhance this capability by prestaging equipment needed for combat in the vicinity of the designated area of operations, and reduce response time as Marines travel by air to link up with MPS assets.

The 1980s brought an increasing number of terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies around the world. Marine Security Guards, under the direction of the State Department, continued to serve with distinction in the face of this challenge. In August 1982, Marine units landed at Beirut, Lebanon, as part of the multi-national peace-keeping force. For the next 19 months these units faced the hazards of their mission with courage and professionalism. In October 1983, Marines took part in the highly successful, short-notice intervention in Grenada. As the decade of the 1980s came to a close, Marines were summoned to respond to instability in Central America. Operation Just Cause was launched in Panama in December 1989 to protect American lives and restore the democratic process in that nation.

Less than a year later, in August 1990, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait set in motion events that would lead to the largest movement of Marine Corps forces since World War II. Between August 1990 and January 1991, some 24 infantry battalions, 40 squadrons, and more than 92,000 Marines deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. Operation Desert Storm was launched 16 January 1991, the day the air campaign began.

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