Wall Note Twenty-Three: Medal of Honor Recipients on the Wall (Update One)
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WALL NOTE TWENTY-THREE: MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS ON THE WALL (UPDATE ONE) DANIEL R. ARANT [email protected] DATE OF INFORMATION: 15 FEBRUARY 2015 WHEN YOU GO HOME TELL THEM OF US AND SAY FOR YOUR TOMORROW WE GAVE OUR TODAY KOHIMA EPITAPH BRITISH 2nd DIVISION KOHIMA WAR CEMETERY 01. PURPOSE. This Wall Note lists the Medal of Honor (MOH) recipients whose names are engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (VVM) – the Wall. The list includes: (01) rank/rate held at the time of the action, (02) name, (03) service, (04) unit association at time of action, (05) date of action, and (06) Wall location. The stories of four MOH recipients are told briefly in paragraph 10. The complete list of the 159 Viet Nam conflict MOH names that are inscribed on the Wall may be found following paragraph 10. U. S. Park National Service (USNPS) Rangers/volunteers may desire to download the list (pages 20-27) for retention in their copies of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) Directory of Names. This Wall Note also lists the living Viet Nam conflict MOH recipients (pages 27-29) and the Viet Nam conflict recipients who are not inscribed on the Wall and who are not living (pages 29-31). Page 1 of 39 A. The correct name of the MOH is the Medal of Honor and NOT the Congressional Medal of Honor. The MOH is awarded by direction of the President in the name of Congress. There is a Congressional Medal of Honor Society (CMOHS), which is an organization chartered by Congress and may be a factor in the Medal of Honor’s “alternate” name. B. The date of action and the date of death for a posthumous MOH recipient may not be the same. The recipient may have died of wounds after the action. (The battle of LZ X-Ray during the 23 October-26 November 1965 Ia Drang Valley/Plei Me Campaign represents some good examples of differing dates concerning the actual date of death and the listed date of death. Most of the soldiers who were killed on 14 November 1965 are listed with a date of death of 15 November 1965 – I will explain in Wall Note Ten.) This difference in dates may be reflected in the VVMF Directory of Names. The VVMF Directory of Names lists the date of capture for a prisoner of war (POW) and not his REPORTED date of death. The reported date of death may be from National Liberation Front (NLF)/Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG) or North Vietnamese sources. Some MOH citations refer to administrative areas in Viet Nam as “Provinces” when they are not. There may be some differences in the literature regarding the basic unit level of a recipient at the time of action. For example, Army medics and Navy corpsmen may be assigned to a Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) or Headquarters and Services (H&S) Company and then detailed to a specific infantry company or platoon. An artillery forward observer’s (FO) unit may be listed as his parent artillery unit or as the infantry company to which he was assigned temporarily. C. This Wall Note updates Wall Note Eleven: Medal Of Honor Recipients on the Wall, dated 01 August 2011. 02. ANNOTATED MAPS. The annotated 1:50,000-scale Army Map Service (AMS) maps and 1:500,000 Tactical Pilotage Chart (TPC) charts are provided through the courtesy and permission of U.S. Army tanker (“C” Company, 1st Battalion, 69th Armor) Viet Nam veteran Ray Smith. 03. PHOTOGRAPHS. Photographs are provided through the courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI): http://www.usni.org. 04. VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL VOLUNTEERS WEB SITE. This site, founded and maintained by USNPS volunteer Allen McCabe, contains a wealth of textual (to include previous Wall Notes) and photographic information. Well worth a read. A. www.vietnammemorialvolunteers.com. 05. A LABOR OF LOVE. A heartfelt thanks to VVM Volunteer Jim “Polecat” Schuckler and his team, members of the Coffelt Group, and Wall family advocate Bruce Swander – all of whom provided the “nuggets” - and much more - to ease the research process and to improve this missive. 06. DISCLAIMER. This Wall Note is not an official publication of the USNPS, the VVMF, or the Department of Defense (DOD). I have cross-checked dates and figures, but sources don’t always agree. My thanks to USNPS volunteer Donald Adam for proofreading support. Any grammatical/substantive errors in this Wall Note – from whatever source - are solely mine. Questions/comments/corrections are solicited. 07. SUMMARY. A. During the Viet Nam conflict, 257 Medals of Honor were awarded for actions associated directly with Southeast Asia (Viet Nam, Laos, and Cambodia). This 257 number includes 162 posthumous awards. The names of 159 of the 162 posthumous MOH recipients are inscribed on the Wall. Three Viet Nam conflict MOH recipients died before they received their awards. They received their awards posthumously, but their names are not on the Wall since they did not die of wounds received as a result of combat action. (01) The “BOTTOM-LINE” answer to a visitor question concerning the MOH issue is that during the Viet Nam (Southeast Asia)–associated conflict, 257 Medals of Honor were awarded: 171 Army, 57 Marine Corps, 15 Page 2 of 39 Navy, and 14 Air Force. The names of 159 of the 257 MOH recipients are inscribed on the Wall: 104 Army, 44 Marine Corps, 06 Navy, and 05 Air Force. There are 54 living Viet Nam conflict MOH recipients. There are 44 Viet Nam conflict MOH recipients who are not inscribed on the Wall and who are not living. (159+54+44=257). (02) Just as with the “1959” inscription on Panel 01E, which should technically read “1956” – combat/non-combat status is irrelevant - there are “footnotes” to the MOH recipient number. For example, the interpretation of “posthumous” can be tricky. Examples of these “footnotes” follow. B. Some sources include a Navy MOH recipient who was awarded his MOH for his action in the Mediterranean Sea in 1967; this would make the total MOH count 258. Further, as a result of this Navy MOH award, sources may list the Navy MOH total as 16. (01) Cdr. William L. McGONAGLE, USN. Cdr. (retired Captain) William L. McGonagle, USN (1925-1999) was the commander of the USS Liberty (AGTR-5). USS Liberty was attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats on 08 June 1967, while the ship was operating in the Mediterranean Sea. The result was the deaths of 31 sailors, 02 Marines, and 01 civilian [a Navy reservist serving as a civilian with the National Security Agency (NSA)]; 171 personnel were wounded. Cdr. McGonagle was awarded the MOH for his actions. The name of Cdr. McGonagle is not on the Wall. If Cdr. McGonagle’s name is not counted, the total directly-associated Viet Nam conflict MOH number is 257 and the Navy number is 15. a. If anyone desires to pursue the USS Liberty issue, there are a number of articles and books written by reasoned authors who take different views (a provoked attack or an error in identification) – similarly, the same is true regarding the 04 August 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident (did it really happen). C. Three Posthumous MOH recipients are not inscribed on the Wall. Since there were 162 Posthumous Medals of Honor awarded for the Viet Nam conflict, one would assume that the names of all 162 are inscribed on the Wall. (01) Lt. Col. William Atkinson JONES, III, USAF. Lt. Col. William A. Jones, III, USAF was awarded the MOH posthumously, but his name is not on the Wall. Lt. Col. Jones was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider and assigned to the 602nd Special Operations Squadron (SOS). He was nominated to receive the MOH for his action near Dong Hoi, North Viet Nam, on 01 September 1968. Lt. Col. Jones survived his wounds and returned to the U.S. for a new assignment. On 15 November 1969, now Col. Jones was killed in the crash of a private airplane before he received his MOH. His widow received his Posthumous MOH on 06 August 1970. Thus, although Col. Jones was awarded the MOH posthumously, his name is not on the Wall. (02) Sp4 Jesus S. DURAN, USA. Sp4 Jesus Duran, USA served with “E”/2/5, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). He received his MOH for action on 10 April 1969. Jesus Duran died on 17 February 1977 from non-combat causes and received a Posthumous MOH on 18 March 2014. (03) Sgt. Candelario GARCIA, USA. Sgt. Candelario Garcia, USA served with “B”/1/2, 1st Infantry Division. He received his MOH for action on 08 December 1968. Candelario Garcia died on 10 January 2013 from non- combat causes and received a Posthumous MOH on 18 March 2014. D. Maj. Gen. Keith Lincoln WARE, USA. Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, USA is a MOH recipient and his name is inscribed on the Wall, but he received his MOH during WW II. Then Lt. Col. Keith Ware, commander of the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, received the MOH for action on 26 December 1944 in France. While in Viet Nam now Maj. Gen. Ware commanded the 1st Infantry Division. His helicopter was shot down on 13 September 1968. His name is inscribed on 44W 055. Technically, there are 160 MOH recipients on the Wall of which 159 were awarded for direct participation in the Viet Nam conflict. E. PFC (Sgt.) William David PORT, USA. PFC William D. Port, USA received his MOH for action on 12 January 1968.