Shouldering his testicular fortitude and sucking in his chest, Howard crawled to his platoon leader and dragged them both back to friendly lines before rallying his platoon into an organized defensive formation. Crippled, confused and disoriented, Howard took cover and evaluated the situation, coming to the realization that the scattered platoon would be wiped out without guidance.
Then, the unthinkable happened: as Howard was administering air, an enemy bullet struck Howard’s ammo pouch just right, detonating several magazines of ammunition. During the initial battle, Howard and his platoon leader were hit by shrapnel from an exploding grenade, which badly wounded the pair and destroyed Howard’s weapon.Ĭompletely unarmed and unable to walk, Howard crawled through heavy gunfire to grab his fallen platoon leader, administering first aid on site. Eventually, he would find himself working with the super-secretive MACV-SOG, a multi-service special operations unit that conducted special warfare operations.Īs a platoon sergeant of the 5th Special Forces group in December of 1968, then-SFC Howard disembarked a helicopter with mission orders to rescue a missing American soldier behind enemy lines, leading a mixture of American and South Vietnamese troops.Īs the helicopter took off from the landing zone, Howard’s unit found themselves ambushed by two companies of North Vietnamese soldiers. Originally an enlisted man, the Alabama native joined in 1956 at the age of seventeen. Not only was he awarded the Medal of Honor, he was recommended for it three separate times. In total, the Vietnam War yielded 258 Congressional Medals of Honor, each for outstanding acts of bravery from America’s fighting man.Ĭolonel Robert L. From the streets of Brooklyn to the bayous of Louisiana and mountains of Colorado, ‘Nam brought on all kinds, with exceptional tales of heroism documented on a daily basis. That year, O'Malley became the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.As one of the bloodier conflicts in American history, the Vietnam War harvested its share of heroic men from the populace of Anytown, USA. Wounded three times, he gathered up his battered and wounded squad, led them to a helicopter to be flown out, and remained on the ground, and used gunfire to keep the enemy covered until all the wounded could board their helicopters. He is also credited with using a grenade to take out an enemy rocket-propelled grenade position, fighting and killing enemy soldiers, treating a number of casualties, keeping two critically wounded comrades alive through the night, and getting the wounded and dead ready to be evacuated at daylight.įellow honoree O'Malley received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Marine corporal in 1965, when he ran cross an open rice paddy in South Vietnam and charged an enemy trench.
Surrounded by superior forces and running out of supplies, McCloughan volunteered to hold a blinking strobe light in an open area to help guide in a nighttime resupply drop, exposing himself to enemy fire. The research was funded by the Irish government the Congressional Medal of Honor Society said it had no way to confirm it. Of the 3,515 Medals of Honor awarded by the United States, some 2,018 have gone to Irish-Americans, according to research cited by Patrick McDermot of Irish Veterans Post 2, created in Tampa in 2017. READ MORE: Medal of Honor recipients, convening in Tampa this October, bring message of selflessness to youth Gibbons took part in a dangerous mission to cut underwater communications cables linking the coastal Cuban city to the Spanish military command. The new exhibit also features the Medal of Honor awarded to Ireland-born Navy sailor Michael Gibbons for his actions May 11, 1898, at the Battle of Cienfuegos during the Spanish-American War. It was created in conjunction with the Congressional Medal of Honor Convention coming to Tampa Oct. Sponsored by Irish Veterans Post 2, the exhibit honors the contributions of the Irish and Irish-Americans to the nation's defense. MILITARY AFFAIRS: Read more from Tampa Bay Times military reporter Howard Altman. McCloughan, 72, and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Robert O'Malley, 75, were guests of honor at Thursday evening's opening of the Irish Veterans Congressional Medal of Honor exhibit at the Tampa History Center downtown. 2, people might not believe you if you told them, anyway."
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