thedrifter
11-29-07, 07:41 AM
Medal of Honor recipient praises all on battlefield
By Charmain Z. Brackett | Correspondent
Thursday, November 29, 2007
On Feb. 22, 1969, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Wes Fox fought in a bloody battle in Vietnam.
His executive officer was killed, and 1st Lt. Fox was wounded twice. He refused medical care as he organized his troops and redesigned a battle plan.
He made sure the wounded were taken care of, and he led an attack against the Vietnamese.
"His indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger inspired his Marines to such aggressive action that they overcame all enemy resistance and destroyed a large bunker complex," according to the citation for the Medal of Honor, which he received in 1971 as a captain, according to www.medalofhonor.com.
As he recounted that day to a group of military leaders at Fort Gordon's Alexander Hall on Nov. 16, the retired colonel focused on what other leaders did that day to make a difference.
He told of one of his platoon commanders who died.
The platoon commander led his Marines by example. The young lieutenant called the troops "my Marines."
"It set in people's minds that they were accepted," Mr. Fox said.
Mr. Fox spent 51 years in the Marine Corps, serving on active duty for 43 years and the remainder of his time as the commandant of the ROTC program at Virginia Tech.
Though he received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day, he said he wasn't alone when it came to acts of heroism above and beyond the call of duty.
"In my mind, there were a number of my Marines who deserved the Medal of Honor. The problem was you needed two eyewitnesses," he said.
Many of those witnesses perished on the battlefield, and others couldn't see what transpired because of the thick jungle, he said.
Mr. Fox was the sixth Medal of Honor recipient to visit Fort Gordon.
Retired Maj. Gen. Perry Smith is the secretary of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and arranges the heroes' visits each year.
He announced that next year's speaker will be Sammy Davis, whose acts of heroism were depicted in the film Forrest Gump. The scene in which President Lyndon B. Johnson bestows the medal on Tom Hanks' character is actual footage of Mr. Davis' ceremony.
Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.
Ellie
By Charmain Z. Brackett | Correspondent
Thursday, November 29, 2007
On Feb. 22, 1969, Marine Corps 1st Lt. Wes Fox fought in a bloody battle in Vietnam.
His executive officer was killed, and 1st Lt. Fox was wounded twice. He refused medical care as he organized his troops and redesigned a battle plan.
He made sure the wounded were taken care of, and he led an attack against the Vietnamese.
"His indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger inspired his Marines to such aggressive action that they overcame all enemy resistance and destroyed a large bunker complex," according to the citation for the Medal of Honor, which he received in 1971 as a captain, according to www.medalofhonor.com.
As he recounted that day to a group of military leaders at Fort Gordon's Alexander Hall on Nov. 16, the retired colonel focused on what other leaders did that day to make a difference.
He told of one of his platoon commanders who died.
The platoon commander led his Marines by example. The young lieutenant called the troops "my Marines."
"It set in people's minds that they were accepted," Mr. Fox said.
Mr. Fox spent 51 years in the Marine Corps, serving on active duty for 43 years and the remainder of his time as the commandant of the ROTC program at Virginia Tech.
Though he received the Medal of Honor for his actions that day, he said he wasn't alone when it came to acts of heroism above and beyond the call of duty.
"In my mind, there were a number of my Marines who deserved the Medal of Honor. The problem was you needed two eyewitnesses," he said.
Many of those witnesses perished on the battlefield, and others couldn't see what transpired because of the thick jungle, he said.
Mr. Fox was the sixth Medal of Honor recipient to visit Fort Gordon.
Retired Maj. Gen. Perry Smith is the secretary of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and arranges the heroes' visits each year.
He announced that next year's speaker will be Sammy Davis, whose acts of heroism were depicted in the film Forrest Gump. The scene in which President Lyndon B. Johnson bestows the medal on Tom Hanks' character is actual footage of Mr. Davis' ceremony.
Reach Charmain Brackett at czbrackett@hotmail.com.
Ellie