(Leatherneck will pay $25 for the Sound Off Letter of the Month.)
Out of 700 plus casualties that 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment incurred in 1968, 46 percent of those men were only 18 years old. I checked them in, trained with them and went to Vietnam with them. Quite a few were held on Okinawa until their 18th birthday, and within a few days, they would be with us in combat. The honor of being a Marine is without words. To see those young Marines in combat, functioning as if they had been doing this all their lives, bestowed more honor on me there than can ever happen. They shall never be forgotten.
Sgt James A. May, USMC (Ret)
B/1/27
Springdale, Ark.
• Sergeant May was belatedly awarded the Silver Star in 2003 for his gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a squad leader with 2d Platoon, Company B, 1/27 on April 13, 1968, in Vietnam. When his platoon leader was killed and the unit was under heavy fire from three sides, he moved from one defensive position to another, directing and controlling suppressive fire. He risked his life to move wounded Marines and, although wounded himself, maintained effective control over the platoon, enabling them to repulse repeated enemy assaults. His story “Sgt May and His Platoon Walked Into an NVA Hq and Shot Their Way Out” was featured in the column “In the Highest Tradition,” Leatherneck, July 2004, page 52.—Sound Off Ed.
Have a question or feel like sounding off? CLICK HERE to send a letter via e-mail or address your letters to: Sound Off Editor, Leatherneck Magazine, P.O. Box 1775, Quantico, VA 22134. All e-mails must contain complete names and postal mailing addresses, and all letters must be signed. Leatherneck will pay $25 for the Sound Off Letter of the Month.
