Trump Awards Medal Of Honor To A Marine For His Incredible Bravery During The Vietnam War

USA Today- Marine Sgt. Maj. John Canley’s astounding heroism in Vietnam 50 years ago speaks for itself, so loudly that Wednesday he was awardedthe Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump at a White House ceremony.

Canley’s daughter Patricia Sargent knows how her father took command of the undermanned Company A, First Battalion, First Marines despite shrapnel wounds during the bloody battle of Hue in 1968. How he set up a base while caught in a “deadly crossfire,” drew fire by darting into the open so his Marines could seize a building and carried wounded Marines to safety while exposing himself to the enemy.

“Despite sustaining serious injuries – very, very serious injuries – he continued to face down the enemy with no thought for his own safety,” Trump said.

The battle for control of Hue was one of the bloodiest of the war. North Vietnamese soldiers and guerrillas had overrun the provincial capital during the Tet Offensive. Canley and his Marines, outnumbered and outgunned, were sent to retake the city. After the battle, legendary for its bloody house-to-house fighting, Canley received the Navy Cross, two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. 

To Canley, the young Marines who served in Vietnam are heroes. Heroes who suffered from bad leadership, shoddy packs and belts, and a lack of relevant training. Canley, who is African-American, said race wasn’t an issue.

“We didn’t have a race problem,” he said. “We had a leadership problem. Period.”

The Medal of Honor is fucking awesome. It’s the highest honor that a member of the military can receive. Since its creation, the medal has been awarded 3,521 times, with almost half of those going to soldiers in the Civil War. There are now 74 living recipients of the award, and 623 medals have been awarded posthumously to recipient’s next-of-kin. Every time the medal is awarded, I read the story because they’re not given out lightly. Usually, for someone to even be in contention for the MOH, he/she has to have done something insanely heroic (there has been one woman recipient of the medal–Mary Edwards Walker, a surgeon during the Civil War).

Sgt. Maj. John Canley used his brother’s ID to sign up for military service when he was 15. During the Battle of Hue in 1968, Canley’s undermanned battalion was taking heavy sniper fire as they went house-to-house. Canley ran into the open and drew fire so that his fellow marines could seize a building, then carried wounded marines to safety despite sustaining injuries himself. He is credited with saving over 20 lives.

From reading lots of MOH citations, it seems that putting oneself in the line of fire to save the lives of others is a common theme. If you’re turned on stories of bravery, I’d encourage you to read the citation for former US Senator Bob Kerrey, among others.

Recipients of the MOH are granted special privileges, some of which are actually pretty cool. The children of recipients can be admitted to the service academies without regard to the nomination and quota requirements. It’s not an automatic admission, but I can’t imagine a scenario where the son/daughter of a MOH recipient was denied admission.

They also receive a 10% increase in retired pay, as well as a supplemental pension beyond any/all military pensions they currently receive. Recipients have an open invitation to all presidential inaugurations and balls, and members of the military are encouraged to salute the recipients regardless of rank. It’s one of the few times where a member of the military will receive salutes from higher-ranking members.

Couple other cool facts: Teddy Roosevelt and his son, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., are one of two pairs of father and son to be awarded the medal (the other pair was Generals Arthur MacArthur and his son, Douglas MacArthur).

If you like Vietnam history, check out Ken Burns’ amazing docuseries “The Vietnam War” on Netflix. Also, quick book recommendation: Matterhorn, by Karl Marlantes, is probably my favorite military book that I’ve read. Tim Obrien’s The Things They Carried a close second.

Congratulations to Sgt. Maj. John Canley, and thank you, as ever, for your heroic service.