John J. McGinty III

He held a wounded platoon together through repeated attacks.

John James McGinty III was born in Boston on 21 January 1940 and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in February 1957 and entered the Regular Marine Corps in March 1958. His early service included Kodiak, Alaska, infantry duties with the 5th Marines, guard assignments in Norfolk and work as a drill instructor at Parris Island. He became a sergeant in 1962.

In April 1966 he joined the 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, in Vietnam. On 18 July, during Operation Hastings in Quang Tri Province, his platoon was providing rear security for a battalion withdrawal. An estimated enemy regiment attacked with small arms, machine guns and mortars. McGinty moved between isolated groups to organize their defence despite his own wounds. Twenty of his thirty-two men were wounded, and their corpsman had been killed.

He repeatedly exposed himself to bring ammunition and medical supplies to the casualties and direct fire against the attackers. When enemy soldiers reached close quarters he used his pistol to stop them. He coordinated supporting artillery and air attacks near his own position, keeping the platoon together through approximately four hours of fighting. His leadership enabled the survivors to resist the repeated assaults rather than be overrun.

After returning to the United States in May 1967, he resumed duty at Parris Island. He was commissioned a second lieutenant that August. President Lyndon B. Johnson presented his Medal of Honor at the White House on 12 March 1968, in the same ceremony as Robert Modrzejewski's award. McGinty continued his Marine career and retired as a captain in October 1976. He died of bone cancer on 17 January 2014 and was buried in Beaufort National Cemetery, South Carolina.

Official Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 2d Lt. McGinty's platoon, which was providing rear security to protect the withdrawal of the battalion from a position which had been under attack for three days, came under heavy small-arms, automatic-weapons, and mortar fire from an estimated enemy regiment. With each successive human wave which assaulted his 32-man platoon during the four-hour battle, 2d Lt. 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. With complete disregard for his safety, 2d Lt. McGinty charged through intense automatic-weapons and mortar fire to their position. Finding 20 men wounded and the medical corpsman killed, he quickly reloaded ammunition magazines and weapons for the wounded men and directed their fire upon the enemy. Although he was painfully wounded as he moved to care for the disabled men, he continued to shout encouragement to his troops and to direct their fire so effectively that the attacking hordes were beaten off. When the enemy tried to out-flank his position, he killed five of them at point-blank range with his pistol. When they again seemed on the verge of overrunning the small force, he skillfully adjusted artillery and air strikes within 50 yards of his position. This destructive firepower routed the enemy, who left an estimated 500 bodies on the battlefield. 2d Lt. McGinty's personal heroism, indomitable leadership, selfless devotion to duty, and bold fighting spirit inspired his men to resist the repeated attacks by a fanatical enemy, reflected great credit upon himself, and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service.