On July 18, 1966, SSgt. John J. McGinty and his 32 Marines from K Co. 3/4 were under attack and outnumbered by a massive NVA Regiment who were bent on destroying the isolated unit.
With each successive human wave, McGinty rallied his men to beat off the enemy. In one bitter assault, two of the squads became separated from the remainder of the platoon.
Under intense enemy fire, he reached his men only to find that 20 were wounded and the corpsmen killed.
He quickly reloaded ammunition magazines and weapons for the wounded men and directed their fire upon the enemy. Although painfully wounded by shrapnel in his leg, back and left eye, he killed five communists at point-blank range with his pistol.
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With the enemy right on top of him, he began calling artillery and air strikes within fifty yards of his position.
Because of his courage and leadership, the attack was pushed back and the 4 hour battle ended with over 500 NVA bodies littering the battlefield.
For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. As a kicker, he got to keep his 1911 from the battle. #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #marines