A good friend of mine (holding helmet) was with Alpha Company, 1/1 during the Hue battle ...
Semper Fi ...
Posted on 07/21/2018 1:39:43 AM PDT by GonzoII
Fifty years after the Battle of Hue, one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War, a Marine is being recognized for his brave actions.
Retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley received a phone call from President Donald Trump earlier this month in his home in Oxnard, California. Trump told Canley that he was receiving the Medal of Honor for his work in early 1968.
The White House will be making an official announcement once the date for presenting the award is confirmed.
Canley has previously received the Navy Cross, two Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart for his heroism.
In his Navy Cross citation, according to Stars and Stripes, Canley was a gunnery sergeant with 1st Battalion and 1st Marines who showed “extraordinary leadership and selflessness during the Battle of Hue.”
During the battle, his commander was seriously wounded, and Canley stepped up and helped lead his fellow Marines. During a week-long siege, Canley led his men to successfully neutralize enemy combatants and brought Marines who were injured to safety, while he himself had several shrapnel injuries.
(Excerpt) Read more at westernjournal.com ...
“I still remember hippies spitting on wounded soldiers as they came through O’Hare..”
Nothing like that ever happened around the town I grew up in. Quite the opposite.
There was a restaurant that, for the duration of the war, refused to let service members pay for their meals. It was the bus companies lunch stop so it saw plenty of military in transit.
They also had a table with a sign reading “Reserved for Active Duty Military”.
Until they went out of business in 1995 they wouldn’t accept payment from any service member with the Vietnam tab on their uniforms.
This was the real America.
Of course the media wouldn’t cover the thousands of small businesses that supported our troops.
Outstanding.
United Way is the umbrella over the Red Cross. I don’t give to them either.
Well done and Semper Fi brother Marine. You make us all proud.
yes sir, and that’s why I never donate to the Red Cross.
Mark Bowden, who wrote “Blackhawk Down”, also wrote “Hue 1968” which is an excellent history of the battle.
BATTLEFIELD - Vietnam: from Dien Bien Phu to Peace with Honor! [3 DVD] Set!
Thanks.
Great pic!
Kudos to Representative Julia Brownley, who was instrumental in making this happen. Bravo Zulu, sar’major.
How does a man’s decoration submission sit in the Awards Branch’s inbox for fifty years before someone decides to approve it?
Boggles the mind, it does.
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Sometimes reading the actual story has been known to answer mind boggling questions.
Can someone answer this: if someone wins a silver star for the same action, do they rescind the silver star and award to MOH? Or do they retain the Lower award?
I often wondered about this.
A friend who was in Vietnam told of being spit on but then strangers and businesses randomly paid for their meals and drinks.
I believe our extreme political divide and political hatred started then.
Ping for Marine Vietnam veteran Retired Sgt. Maj. John Canley to receive Medal of Honor.
My Dad had a similar experience in 1946. Red Cross charged him a nickel for a candy bar, that came from a box that said NOT FOR SALE, FREE DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. SERVICE MEN, ONLY. On the other hand, with four kids, he was necessarily tight with a buck, but he always threw some change in the Salvation Army kettle.
Hand Salute.
My experience as an army chaplain was similar with both ARC & AER. They were quick to give loans and slow to give grants. I regularly had to advise soldiers to go for grants or take nothing at all. And the loans would happen no matter how much the soldier already was in debt.
Some will frown at soldiers being in debt, but young marrieds with kids barely scraped by. It took really disciplined families to stay out of debt.
We were stationed at Barbers Point, HI in the early ‘70s. In 1972 I returned via commercial air to Honolulu from WESTPAC for some additional training. As soon as I set foot in the terminal there was a small mob of Krishnas making their noise. I was in uniform, and one of them spit on me. He was surprised when I hit him in the gut. Last I saw of him he was in the fetal position. It felt good. (It’s the only time I’ve ever punched another human being, if you can call him that....)
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