On the night of June 15, 1966, SSgt. Jimmy Howard and his 18 Marines from C. Co 1st Recon, 1st MarDiv were set up on a hill deep behind enemy lines in order to observe troop movements when they came under attack from an entire NVA battalion.
With no one coming to the rescue, Howard pulled his men into a tight circle 20 yards in diameter and began the fight of their lives.
The NVA attacked them with grenades, mortars, MGs and rifle fire. Every defender was wounded. Four were killed. Hand to hand combat ensued which pushed the enemy back temporarily.
From the valley below the NVA shouted, “Marines, you die in an hour!” When the attacks began again, the Marines started laughing, and the attacks stopped.
“I think it had a chilling effect on them. They must have known we were terribly outnumbered, but here we were laughing at them.”
For five hours, the NVA pressed on with no luck. Howard was then hit in the back by a grenade and couldn’t move his legs, but continued to drag himself around the perimeter, encouraging his men and fighting off the enemy.
When the Marines ran out of grenades, they began to throw rocks.
At dawn helicopters began arriving. By then the survivors had only eight rounds of ammunition—total.
Howard waved off the first helicopter, one of which was shot down. It took five hours for a relief force to fight its way from the base of the hill to Howard and secure the top. Only 3 of his men could walk to evacuation helicopters without assistance. Six of the 18 were killed. The hill was covered with over 200 enemy dead.
Three Marines and 1 corpsman were awarded Navy Crosses, and 13 defenders received Silver Stars. Howard would receive the Medal of Honor.
Howard and his men became the most decorated platoon in Marine Corps history. #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #vietnamwar #recon
