"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
"Robert Green" wrote:
-snip-
Amen. See the tale of Corpsman Wayne Caron below.
Saw that one before. 'just another day at the office for an HM3'.
Yes, I replayed that one and confessing to missing others, especially if the
citation was very long and complex. I didn't want to **** people off with
enormous sig lines. They're all heroes. What interests me most is where
they came from, their role in the war, their age and how they "fit" into
America. The most notable fact is that they are every age, every rank,
every MOS, every city. A true sampling of America.
What happened to Emilio De La Garza in your database? I missed
him in the D's and the g's - and don't want to wait to see if he's
with the L's.
I could have sworn I listed him, but after a while, they get a little
jumbled up in my brain. I'll try to be more careful. I was really trying
to get a handle on what HBoson mentioned. How many MOH winners have
actually fallen on a live hand grenade? The answer is more than anyone
could possible imagine.
*DE LA GARZA, EMILIO A., JR.
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company E,
2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Near
Da Nang, Republic of Vietnam, 11 April 1970. Entered service at:
Chicago, 111. Born: 23 June 1949, East Chicago, Ind. Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty while serving as a machine gunner with
Company E. Returning with his squad from a night ambush operation,
L/Cpl. De La Garza joined his platoon commander and another marine in
searching for 2 enemy soldiers who had been observed fleeing for cover
toward a small pond. Moments later, he located 1 of the enemy soldiers
hiding among the reeds and brush. As the 3 marines attempted to remove
the resisting soldier from the pond, L/Cpl. De La Garza observed him
pull the pin on a grenade. Shouting a warning, L/Cpl. De La Garza
placed himself between the other 2 marines and the ensuing blast from
the grenade, thereby saving the lives of his comrades at the sacrifice
of his life. By his prompt and decisive action, and his great personal
valor in the face of almost certain death, L/Cpl. De La Garza upheld
and further enhanced the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and the
U.S. Naval Service.
xxxxxxxxxxx
What the citation doesn't say is that he was on the 10th month of his
tour. He'd only gotten to 2/1 a couple months before when 3rd
Marines went home. 2/1 was still packing and we were getting all
the guys who weren't short enough to take the boat back to the states
with the gear.
There's nothing sadder than a short-timer getting killed.
So he was a short timer with a fairly new unit. . . oh-- and he had a
19 month old daughter back home.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/l...12e66d6df.html
Very sad. Someone reminded me today that there are plenty of men that
deserved the MOH except that no one lived to tell the tale of their heroism.
Though I was in 2/1 and probably within earshot of the incident, I
never heard about it until I was reading MOH citations 25 years later.
That's spooky.
I had a very spooky experience covering the funerals of the soldiers killed
in the failed Iranian hostage attempt at Arlington. It convinced me that
there's probably something beyond the veil. Valhalla? I hope so, for many
of the 19 and 20 years old kids that won the medal posthumously. would have
likely gone on to do great things.
--
Bobby G.
*HOSKING, CHARLES ERNEST, JR. Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S.
Army, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces.
Place and date: Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, 21 March 1967.
Entered service at: Fort Dix, N.J. Born: 12 May 1924, Ramsey, N.J. He
grasped an attacking Viet Cong in a "Bear Hug" forcing the grenade against
the enemy soldier's chest. He then wrestled the Viet Cong to the ground and
covered the enemy's body with his body until the grenade detonated. The
blast instantly killed both M/Sgt. Hosking and the Viet Cong. By absorbing
the full force of the exploding grenade with his body and that of the enemy,
he saved the other members of his command group from death or serious
injury.