Remarks Upon Presenting the Medal of Honor to Gunnery Sgt. Jimmie E. Howard, USMC

Sergeant Howard and members of the Howard family, Secretary Baird, General Greene, distinguished Members of the Congress, ladies and gentlemen:

Once again, one of America's sons has earned his country's highest award, for heroic leadership on the field of battle.

Gunnery Sergeant Jimmie E. Howard musters now with the bravest of this Nation's brave.

But his own towering valor illuminates a quality which is shared by all of America's men-at-arms, and has always been.

For 200 years, men like Sergeant Howard have stood watch in our defense. Such men as he:

--endured the terrible winter at Valley Forge that tested our determination to be free;

--preserved our Union in the agony of a civil War where brother was fighting brother a century ago;

--stormed the Normandy beaches, and fought beside John Kennedy in the Pacific; and

--faced a new aggression in the hills and the mountains of Korea.

Such men man the outposts and the flight lines in Vietnam today. The war they fight is complex and bitter. Its stakes are very high--but its objectives are very limited: to stop aggression, to assure a small and struggling nation the chance to chart its own future in freedom.

To win those objectives, but to keep the conflict limited, will demand both determination and restraint.

Our men in Vietnam are fighting this kind of war with a skill and a devotion that is unsurpassed in American history.

Sergeant Jimmie Howard is a professional marine who already wore the Silver Star for gallantry on his breast, when he embarked for Vietnam. He carried into a new combat all the qualities that mark the professional soldier: pride in himself, pride in his service, pride in his country; skill with arms, and judgment under fire; but above all, the readiness to risk his life for his men and for his mission.

We honor the professionals of our society--those who commit their lives to healing our sick, to educating our young, and to preserving our rule of law.

We honor no less the men who commit their lives to defend that work of healing, and that work of teaching, and that work of lawgiving. They endure the savage heat of battle abroad--so that their countrymen may walk in peace here at home.

Secretary Baird will now read Sergeant Howard's citation.

[Text of citation read by Under Secretary of the Navy Baird]

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to

GUNNERY SET JIMMIE E. HOWARD
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Platoon Leader with Company C, First Reconnaissance Battalion, First Marine Division, in the Republic of Vietnam. Gunnery Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Howard and his eighteen man platoon were occupying an observation post deep within enemy-controlled territory. Shortly after midnight on 16 June 1966, a Viet Cong force of estimated battalion size approached the Marines' position and launched a vicious attack with small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire. Reacting swiftly and fearlessly in the face of the overwhelming odds, Gunnery Sergeant Howard skillfully organized his small but determined force into a tight perimeter defense and calmly moved from position to position to direct his men's fire. Throughout the night, during assault after assault, his courageous example and firm leadership inspired and motivated his men to withstand the unrelenting fury of the hostile fire in the seemingly hopeless situation. He constantly shouted encouragement to his men and exhibited imagination and resourcefulness in directing their return fire. When fragments of an exploding enemy grenade wounded him severely and prevented him from moving his legs, he distributed his ammunition to the remaining members of his platoon and proceeded to maintain radio communications and direct air strikes on the enemy with uncanny accuracy. At dawn, despite the fact that five men were killed and all but one wounded, his beleaguered platoon was still in command of its position. When evacuation helicopters approached his position, Gunnery Sergeant Howard warned them away and called for additional air strikes and directed devastating small arms fire and air strikes against enemy automatic weapons positions in order to make the landing zone as secure as possible. Through his extraordinary courage and resolute fighting spirit, Gunnery Sergeant Howard was largely responsible for preventing the loss of his entire platoon. His valiant leadership and courageous fighting spirit served to inspire the men of his platoon to heroic endeavor in the face of overwhelming odds, and reflect the highest credit upon Gunnery Sergeant Howard, the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON