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thedrifter
11-28-06, 04:17 PM
The Lore of the Corps
Sen.-elect Webb earned Navy Cross in Vietnam

By Keith A. Milks
Special to the Times

Former Marine James Webb burst into mainstream American consciousness in April when he announced his candidacy for one of Virginia's two U.S. Senate seats. While Webb's life unfolded for most Americans during his campaign, he has long been one of the best-known Marines of the Vietnam era.

Born Feb. 9, 1946, in Saint Joseph, Mo., the son of a career Air Force officer continued his family's military tradition by entering the Naval Academy in 1968.

Opting for a Marine commission, Webb was trained as an infantry officer and promptly sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and found himself in the volatile An Hoa Basin. For months, Webb and his Marines fought the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong in some of the most brutal combat of the war.

Webb racked up an impressive combat résumé in Vietnam, earning a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts and, most notably, the Navy Cross. Although most Marines know of Webb's Navy Cross, few know the details of how he earned the nation's second-highest award for battlefield valor.

It was July 10, 1969, and Webb was leading his platoon on a search-and-destroy operation when they stumbled upon a well-camouflaged string of enemy bunkers.

Although the bunkers appeared abandoned, Webb placed his men in a defensive posture and carefully approached the first with his pistol drawn. Without warning, three Viet Cong fighters leapt from the position.

Webb acted without hesitation and grabbed one of the fighters. The other two surrendered after looking down the barrel of his .45-caliber pistol. Turning over the prisoners to his men, Webb and one of his Marines cautiously approached a second bunker containing two Viet Cong soldiers.

As Webb approached, the Viet Cong tossed a grenade at him. Webb responded with a claymore mine that obliterated the bunker and its occupants. Webb quickly searched the bunker and connecting tunnel for items of intelligence value and then turned his attention to the third bunker.

As Webb and another Marine prepared to assault the bunker, an enemy hand grenade spiraled out of the position and landed at their feet. Webb slammed a few well-placed shots into the Viet Cong soldier; then, he shoved his Marine away from the grenade, placing himself in the path of the resulting explosion.

Shrapnel sliced into Webb, who ignored his numerous wounds and tossed a grenade into the bunker, eliminating the threat.

After Vietnam, Webb served as an instructor at Officer Candidates School and on the Navy secretary's staff. He left the Corps in 1972 as a result of the wounds sustained in Vietnam - shrapnel is still embedded in one of his kidneys and at the base of his skull - and worked as a lawyer and Emmy award-winning journalist. He later served as the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs and, eventually, as Navy secretary during the Reagan administration.

The outspoken 60-year-old won his bid for the Virginia Senate seat after a long, hard-fought campaign undertaken while wearing his Marine son Jim's combat boots.

The writer is a gunnery sergeant. He can be reached at kambtp@aol.com.

rhino1delta
11-28-06, 06:10 PM
Thanks for that great update, Drifter.
Semper Fi.