thedrifter
10-19-06, 10:33 AM
NEW YORK(Oct. 18, 2006) -- In the fall of 1967, in the heart of the Gio Linh District of Quang Tri Province of Vietnam, a dazed and war-torn Capt. Joseph O’Brien added to the Marine Corps legacy of heroism. With dried blood, sweat and grime clinging to his wounds, O’Brien staggered to his feet and fearlessly plunged into battle against several enemy soldiers to save a captured, wounded Marine. The Bronx, N.Y. native’s gallant actions would eventually earn him a Navy Cross.
In 1953, young O’Brien stepped into the ranks of the Corps as a private and was introduced to combat in the Korean War. During his 35-year tenure, O’Brien shot quickly through the enlisted ranks with meritorious promotions and swiftly added the rocker of staff sergeant before gaining a meritorious commission to 2nd lieutenant.
“I always wanted to be a Marine as a youngster in High School. I knew several Marines from World War II who were friends of my brothers, and they were my guiding light. I went to Manhattan College for two years, and in my second year I decided to join,” said O’Brien in a deep, raspy voice.
“I served in all three Marine Corps Divisions during my time as an enlisted man. I served in the 1st Division in Korea, the 3rd in Japan, and the 2nd in Camp Lejeune. I made PFC pretty quickly, promoted meritoriously to corporal and sergeant, and that gave me a hitch up on staff sergeant which I made ahead of my peers. But, in the back of my mind I always wanted to be a Marine Corps officer.”
As a Marine officer, O’Brien crossed several occasions where his courage and leadership where put to the test, resulting in four purple hearts among many other awards. However, it was his extraordinary heroism in the dank jungles of Vietnam as the operations officer of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade that would earn him the Navy Cross.
“We came up on shore and attacked north into the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) principally because the North Vietnamese were infiltrating people over the DMZ and into the shore area. It looked like they were going to initiate attacks on our combat bases there. So, we got picked to go up there, find them and kill them,” said O’Brien in a grim voice.
On September 17, the first day of the then Capt. O’Brien’s mission, his amtrac hit a land mine and was swallowed by flames. Soon after, enemy artillery rained down on three more amtracs, destroying them and injuring several Marines. O’Brien, hearing the cries of the distressed and injured, sprung into action just barely making it to safety from the explosion of his amtrac. Racing from the cover he took as the showering artillery began to impact his position, O’Brien repeatedly dashed into the hail of incoming fire, hoisting Marines to safety from the flaming wreckage left of their amtracs.
A badly burned O’Brien, wincing from the hot, jagged shells lodged in his back, saw to the medical evacuation of his injured Marines. O’Brien refused evacuation for himself, turning his focus away from his painful wounds onto the mission at hand.
Days later, after a heavy fire fight raged on to contain the enemy the day before, O’Brien initiated a plan and launched an attack on the enemy in the eerie dark of the early morning jungle. The reinforced rifle company and the Alpha command post mounted LVTP-5s and rolled though the jungle into the heart of the enemy battalion. Vietnamese soldiers lurked in the shadows, and soon an intense fire fight started with rounds flying in every direction.
O’Brien pushed his men forward and engaged enemy soldiers dragging wounded Marines away. He drew his pistol and killed three soldiers instantly. Snatching an AK-47 from the ground, O’Brien killed four more that were trying to seize him. He then grabbed the wounded Marine, and while carrying him off to safety, was wounded by two enemy hand grenades.
“We attacked a battalion at about 4 a.m. and in that battle I killed 14 people. Seven earlier that day and seven later…it’s not something you think about. You operate fully on adrenaline and rely on your training. Everybody’s scared. But, as soon as it starts, the fear leaves you, and you operate on your instincts,” said O’Brien.
Again badly wounded, a blood soaked O’Brien refused medical attention and pushed his Marines forward, keeping the pressure on the enemy. He spearheaded another assault killing two with a grenade and three more with his pistol before wrestling a wounded officer to the ground. During the struggle, the enemy officer managed to pull his pistol. As the two men wrestled, a shot went off, grazing O’Brien in the back of the head. The lethal leatherneck overpowered the enemy officer and killed him. Dazed and weakened from his wounds, O’Brien collapsed to the ground and was medically evacuated.
“If the bullet would’ve been a half inch either way, I wouldn’t be here to tell this story, I was lucky. You see, everyone takes a little shrapnel. The little one you don’t worry about, you just keep moving. The big ones of course are going to lay you down, and you can’t do anything about it until some brave corpsman comes by your side and patches you up,” said O’Brien, pausing between his words as he remembers each wound.
Initially, O’Brien was awarded the Bonze star for his actions that day, but this passed summer, after further review of his records he was presented with the Navy Cross at Camp Pendleton in front of thousands, his friends, and family. Humbly he accepted the honor saying any Marine would have done the same thing.
Ellie
In 1953, young O’Brien stepped into the ranks of the Corps as a private and was introduced to combat in the Korean War. During his 35-year tenure, O’Brien shot quickly through the enlisted ranks with meritorious promotions and swiftly added the rocker of staff sergeant before gaining a meritorious commission to 2nd lieutenant.
“I always wanted to be a Marine as a youngster in High School. I knew several Marines from World War II who were friends of my brothers, and they were my guiding light. I went to Manhattan College for two years, and in my second year I decided to join,” said O’Brien in a deep, raspy voice.
“I served in all three Marine Corps Divisions during my time as an enlisted man. I served in the 1st Division in Korea, the 3rd in Japan, and the 2nd in Camp Lejeune. I made PFC pretty quickly, promoted meritoriously to corporal and sergeant, and that gave me a hitch up on staff sergeant which I made ahead of my peers. But, in the back of my mind I always wanted to be a Marine Corps officer.”
As a Marine officer, O’Brien crossed several occasions where his courage and leadership where put to the test, resulting in four purple hearts among many other awards. However, it was his extraordinary heroism in the dank jungles of Vietnam as the operations officer of 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade that would earn him the Navy Cross.
“We came up on shore and attacked north into the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) principally because the North Vietnamese were infiltrating people over the DMZ and into the shore area. It looked like they were going to initiate attacks on our combat bases there. So, we got picked to go up there, find them and kill them,” said O’Brien in a grim voice.
On September 17, the first day of the then Capt. O’Brien’s mission, his amtrac hit a land mine and was swallowed by flames. Soon after, enemy artillery rained down on three more amtracs, destroying them and injuring several Marines. O’Brien, hearing the cries of the distressed and injured, sprung into action just barely making it to safety from the explosion of his amtrac. Racing from the cover he took as the showering artillery began to impact his position, O’Brien repeatedly dashed into the hail of incoming fire, hoisting Marines to safety from the flaming wreckage left of their amtracs.
A badly burned O’Brien, wincing from the hot, jagged shells lodged in his back, saw to the medical evacuation of his injured Marines. O’Brien refused evacuation for himself, turning his focus away from his painful wounds onto the mission at hand.
Days later, after a heavy fire fight raged on to contain the enemy the day before, O’Brien initiated a plan and launched an attack on the enemy in the eerie dark of the early morning jungle. The reinforced rifle company and the Alpha command post mounted LVTP-5s and rolled though the jungle into the heart of the enemy battalion. Vietnamese soldiers lurked in the shadows, and soon an intense fire fight started with rounds flying in every direction.
O’Brien pushed his men forward and engaged enemy soldiers dragging wounded Marines away. He drew his pistol and killed three soldiers instantly. Snatching an AK-47 from the ground, O’Brien killed four more that were trying to seize him. He then grabbed the wounded Marine, and while carrying him off to safety, was wounded by two enemy hand grenades.
“We attacked a battalion at about 4 a.m. and in that battle I killed 14 people. Seven earlier that day and seven later…it’s not something you think about. You operate fully on adrenaline and rely on your training. Everybody’s scared. But, as soon as it starts, the fear leaves you, and you operate on your instincts,” said O’Brien.
Again badly wounded, a blood soaked O’Brien refused medical attention and pushed his Marines forward, keeping the pressure on the enemy. He spearheaded another assault killing two with a grenade and three more with his pistol before wrestling a wounded officer to the ground. During the struggle, the enemy officer managed to pull his pistol. As the two men wrestled, a shot went off, grazing O’Brien in the back of the head. The lethal leatherneck overpowered the enemy officer and killed him. Dazed and weakened from his wounds, O’Brien collapsed to the ground and was medically evacuated.
“If the bullet would’ve been a half inch either way, I wouldn’t be here to tell this story, I was lucky. You see, everyone takes a little shrapnel. The little one you don’t worry about, you just keep moving. The big ones of course are going to lay you down, and you can’t do anything about it until some brave corpsman comes by your side and patches you up,” said O’Brien, pausing between his words as he remembers each wound.
Initially, O’Brien was awarded the Bonze star for his actions that day, but this passed summer, after further review of his records he was presented with the Navy Cross at Camp Pendleton in front of thousands, his friends, and family. Humbly he accepted the honor saying any Marine would have done the same thing.
Ellie