Jimmy G. Stewart

Holding his ground alone, he protected five wounded comrades

Jimmy Goethel Stewart was born at West Columbia, West Virginia, on 25 December 1942. Raised by his mother Ethel and stepfather Delmar Logan, he moved to Middleport, Ohio, as a teenager. He enlisted in the army in April 1960 and served with the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany. There he married Gertraud; they had two sons.

In November 1963 he joined the 11th Air Assault Division, which was testing the helicopter-based tactics later used by the 1st Cavalry Division. He deployed to Vietnam in August 1965 with the reorganised airmobile division and served in Company B, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry.

Before dawn on 18 May 1966, a reinforced North Vietnamese company struck the American perimeter. Five members of Stewart's six-man squad were wounded in the path of the attack. He remained to protect them rather than use a pause in the firing to withdraw.

He fired repeatedly at the advancing enemy, threw back grenades and crawled to the wounded men to recover ammunition after exhausting his own supply. He continued resisting successive assaults for hours. His defence prevented the enemy from breaking through that part of the line and gave the company time to receive reinforcements and counterattack.

He was killed during the fighting. All five wounded men whom he had protected survived. His widow received the posthumous Medal of Honor at the Pentagon on 24 August 1967, with his sons and mother also present. Stewart was buried in Riverview Cemetery at Middleport. A training field and a bridge linking Ohio and West Virginia were later named in his honour.

Official Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Early in the morning a reinforced North Vietnamese company attacked Company B, which was manning a defensive perimeter in Vietnam. The surprise onslaught wounded five members of a six-man squad caught in the direct path of the enemy's thrust. S/Sgt. Stewart became a lone defender of vital terrain, virtually one man against a hostile platoon. Refusing to take advantage of a lull in the firing which would have permitted him to withdraw, S/Sgt. Stewart elected to hold his ground to protect his fallen comrades and prevent an enemy penetration of the company perimeter. As the full force of the platoon-sized attack struck his lone position, he fought like a man possessed; emptying magazine after magazine at the determined, oncharging enemy. The enemy drove almost to his position and hurled grenades, but S/Sgt. Stewart decimated them by retrieving and throwing the grenades back. Exhausting his ammunition, he crawled, under intense fire, to his wounded team members and collected ammunition that they were unable to use. Far past the normal point of exhaustion, he held his position for four harrowing hours and through three assaults, annihilating the enemy as they approached and before they could get a foothold. As a result of his defense, the company position held until the arrival of a reinforcing platoon which counterattacked the enemy, now occupying foxholes to the left of S/Sgt. Stewart's position. After the counterattack, his body was found in a shallow enemy hole where he had advanced in order to add his fire to that of the counterattacking platoon. Eight enemy dead were found around his immediate position, with evidence that 15 others had been dragged away. The wounded whom he gave his life to protect were recovered and evacuated. S/Sgt. Stewart's indomitable courage, in the face of overwhelming odds, stands as a tribute to himself and an inspiration to all men of his unit. His actions were in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and the Armed Forces of his country.