Valor Friday

Captain Riley Pitts

When Captain Riley Pitts’ posthumous Medal of Honor was presented to his widow Eula Mae, President Lyndon Johnson said,

What this man did in an hour of incredible courage will live in the story of America as long as America endures – as he will live in the hearts and memories of those who loved him. He was a brave man and a leader of men. No greater thing could be said of any man.

Pitts was born in the tiny town of Fallis, Oklahoma. Fallis covers less than a half-mile of the Oklahoma plains and had a population of 21 people as of the 2020 census. Pitts attended Wichita State University, graduating with a journalism degree in 1960. He’d participated in the ROTC program there (which I think was still largely compulsory at the time), after which he was commissioned an infantry officer in the Army. He also worked as a tool and die maker for Boeing in Wichita while going to school.

His ROTC commanding officer noted that Pitts was an excellent cadet, and said, “He has outstanding ability and will be above average value to the service.” For a man who would earn the nation’s highest award just a few years later, the words of Captain William Prescott would be downright understated.

After completing all his Army initial training, and making a trip through Fort Benning to learn how to leap out of perfectly good airplanes, Pitts was assigned to service in US Army Europe. He was then sent to Vietnam in December 1966. He commanded Company C, 27th Infantry, which was part of the 25th Infantry Division.

Pitts would earn a Silver Star for actions on 1 July 1967, but the award wasn’t made before he was killed in action months later. The award citation reads;

Captain Pitts distinguished himself by heroic actions on 1 July 1967, in Hau Nghia Province, Republic of Vietnam. Captain Pitts was then commanding Company C, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry which was engaged in an aerial assault against a firmly entrenched Viet Cong force. Captain Pitts’ aircraft landed under heavy enemy fire which continued while the troops were set aground. The critical situation necessitated decisive action in order to avoid heavy casualties being inflicted on the element. Captain Pitts, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, directed his small group to provide suppressive fire upon the various enemy positions and issued orders for the movement of other units while placing accurate fire into the enemy with his own weapon. Although wounded, Captain Pitts continued to lead his men in the assault of the enemy positions until the battle subsided. Throughout the encounter, Captain Pitts remained exposed to the enemy fire as he skillfully maneuvered his troops to overcome the advantages held by the Viet Cong. His outstanding leadership and personal courage served to inspire the soldiers of his element to rout the enemy force and successfully complete the mission. Captain Pitts’ heroic actions, aggressiveness, and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, the 25th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.

Pitts met his fate on 31 October 1967, about a month before he was scheduled to rotate back home. His Medal of Honor citation reads;

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Captain (Infantry) Riley Leroy Pitts (ASN: 0-96787), United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company C, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, in action against enemy aggressor forces at Ap Dong, Republic of Vietnam, on 31 October 1967. Immediately after Captain Pitts’ company landed in the area, several Viet Cong opened fire with automatic weapons. Despite the enemy fire, Captain Pitts forcefully led an assault which overran the enemy positions. Shortly thereafter, Captain Pitts was ordered to move his unit to the north to reinforce another company heavily engaged against a strong enemy force. As Captain Pitts’ company moved forward to engage the enemy, intense fire was received from three directions, including fire from four enemy bunkers, two of which were within 15 meters of Captain Pitts’ position. The severity of the incoming fire prevented Captain Pitts from maneuvering his company. His rifle fire proving ineffective against the enemy due to the dense jungle foliage, he picked up an M-79 grenade launcher and began pinpointing the targets. Seizing a Chinese Communist grenade which had been taken from a captured Viet Cong’s web gear, Captain Pitts lobbed the grenade at a bunker to his front, but it hit the dense jungle foliage and rebounded. Without hesitation, Captain Pitts threw himself on top of the grenade which, fortunately, failed to explode. Captain Pitts then directed the repositioning of the company to permit friendly artillery to be fired. Upon completion of the artillery fire mission, Captain Pitts again led his men toward the enemy positions, personally killing at least one more Viet Cong. The jungle growth still prevented effective fire to be placed on the enemy bunkers. Captain Pitts, displaying complete disregard for his life and personal safety, quickly moved to a position which permitted him to place effective fire on the enemy. He maintained a continuous fire, pinpointing the enemy’s fortified positions, while at the same time directing and urging his men forward, until he was mortally wounded. Captain Pitts’ conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the Armed Forces of his country.

After being recommended for a MoH, a somewhat lengthy process is initiated. Much like the Vatican spending ages to look into claims of miracles, so too does the Army spend ages properly vetting MoH cases. As part of this, written statements were taken from 14 men who served alongside Captain Pitts in that final battle. To a man, they all testify that Pitts was an indomitable leader who met every enemy contact head on with his men.

Leading from the front, he personally engaged the enemy at the thrust of every point of contact with the Viet Cong, and claimed the first enemy casualties himself. Those closest to him in his final moments all spoke of how, with his company pinned down to the point that they were all afraid to move, that Pitts rose in full view of the enemy to attempt to take out the opposing bunkers. He fought until he ran out of ammunition, and died while pointing out enemy locations he wanted his men to target and calling for more ammunition so he could continue to lead the charge.

3rd Platoon squad leader Sergeant Joseph LeClerc said, “I have never seen a man as aggressive as [Captain Pitts] was in the face of enemy fire…For myself Captain Pitts gave me courage to go on.”

Pitts also received a meritorious Bronze Star Medal for the entirety of his Vietnam tour. For both of the above listed actions, he was awarded a Purple Heart.

Just a few weeks before his death, Pitts was due for his performance review. He was very nearly given a perfect score. On a scale of 0-100, he was rated 95 by both his superior officers. He was described as “a truly brave officer” who “has the potential of performing in a truly outstanding manner.” This was written just six weeks before he earned the Medal of Honor when killed in action. Once again, his raters’ exceedingly high praise seems to fall short of the man that Riley Pitts was.

During his Army career, Pitts would receive consistently high praise from his superiors. His lowest score in the preceding few years on that 0-100 scale was 89, and that was the outlier, with only one rater scoring him that low.

Category: Army, Historical, Medal of Honor, Valor, Vietnam, We Remember