Valor Friday

James Stogner

Today’s Valor Friday honors former Marine Lance Corporal James Stogner and the belated recognition of his heroism some 52 years ago. This post is a bit off-nominal, as I ran across the story first and wisely shot it over to Mason, who did his usual outstanding research and write up.

Mason writes:
As I recently wrote, unwitnessed valor on the battlefield can go unrewarded. Sometimes, this recognition is merely delayed. This month, former Lance Corporal James Stogner of the United States Marine Corps was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions 52 years ago in Vietnam. As you’ll read below, his actions are well deserving of the Medal of Honor, but sadly there were too few witnesses to justify that award.

Stogner was an 18 year old Marine assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines in April, 1967. Military history buffs will know this battalion by its macabre nickname “The Walking Dead”. They earned this nickname after being engaged in combat operations for 47 months and 7 days from June, 1965 to July, 1969, with only a brief respite in late 1966. During this time the battalion, with a nominal end strength of 800 men, had 2,892 Marines and corpsmen come through. They suffered an extremely high casualty rate, seeing more than 25% killed in action.

Fifteen men of Company D, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, riding in two tracked vehicles were ambushed near Hue, Vietnam on April 5th, 1967. Holding off a reinforced company of North Vietnamese regulars, Staff Sergeant Larry Moon said the enemy “acted like they were doped up. They just kept right on coming at us even after they were hit.” They held for 30 minutes until a platoon from Company C were sent in to assist.

As the sun was setting on the 5th of April, Stogner, an ammo loader on a machine gun team, along with his machine gunner Corporal Eli Fobbs and Company C were then sent to push through a treeline into a village suspected of sheltering the North Vietnamese Army troops.

The NVA soldiers were ready for the Marines, springing an ambush on the men.

In the darkness, illumination rounds glowed overhead. Stogner shot into the enemy, killing three NVA soldiers before return fire hit his rifle, sending it back into his face, breaking his nose. Now wounded, Stogner went prone as his position came under grenade and mortar fire. As the illumination rounds fell, many of his platoon had been killed or wounded under the withering enemy fire. The company’s command group and the lead platoon took heavy casualties, including the company commander.

Seizing the initiative, the enemy crossed the field of battle, killing wounded Marines and robbing them of their equipment. Stogner watched as his machine gun team leader Cpl Fobbs, himself severely wounded, was grabbed by four enemy soldiers and dragged into the treeline. The NVA troops began torturing the Marine.

Hearing his comrade’s screams, Stogner crawled forward, armed only with his trusty Ka-Bar combat knife. He went through the brush undetected and came upon the enemy’s entrenched position where the NVA soldiers were kicking the injured Fobbs.

Hiding in the vegetation, Stogner quietly killed one soldier with his combat knife as the man moved towards where Stogner was concealed. Stogner took out another soldier the same way. With two NVA men remaining, Stogner rushed into the position, stabbing and thrusting into the men’s chest repeatedly in hand-to-hand combat.

When it was over, all four NVA troops had been killed. Stogner slung his friend over his shoulder. As if carrying a wounded Marine out of enemy held territory wasn’t enough, Stogner also had the forethought to grab the M60 machine gun (which incidentally is not a small or light piece of equipment).

Stogner brought both the man and gun back to friendly forces, running through a fusillade of enemy gunfire and grenade and mortar fire.

After the battle, Stogner’s section leader wrote down some of his heroics on a food ration box while still in the field. As happens in war, the papers were lost after the platoon commander who received the hasty write up stepped on a landmine days later. Only two months after that, Stogner said that his “entire command group was wiped out” when a rocket hit the command bunker. The Walking Dead indeed.

It wasn’t until 13 years ago, when attending a reunion event, did Stogner’s fellow Marines realize he was never recognized for his actions and launched an effort to correct that.

Put up for the Medal of Honor, the nomination lacked the requisite number of eye witnesses. Efforts to have the two eyewitness rule waived were unsuccessful. With the high casualties in his unit, the only witness to his heroics were his friend and teammate Cpl Fobbs.

The Marine Corps did award Stogner the Navy Cross. Lt Gen Frank Libutti, USMC (ret) presented Stogner with his medal on April 5th, 2019, 52 years to the day of his heroics. Libutti served with Stogner in Vietnam when he was a second lieutenant.

A contemporaneous Stars and Stripes report from April 14, 1967, quotes Lance Corporal John Collins of Company C, 1/9 Marines as saying ““One of our men (Lanes Cpl. James Stogner) killed three with his bayonet and shot another three at close range before he was wounded by a hand grenade.”

This same report notes that four Marines were KIA, 10 were WIA, and there were 12 enemy KIA. By all accounts, Lance Corporal James Stogner was personally responsible for at least six of those enemy dead. He’s humble when asked about it. Stogner told the Marine Corps Times that “I did what I could do to help save more people.” He also said, “You don’t leave nobody behind — you bring everybody out.” And he did.

NAVY CROSS
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS DURING Vietnam War
Service: Marine Corps
Battalion: 1st Battalion
Division: 3d Marine Division (Rein.) FMF
GENERAL ORDERS:
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lance Corporal James H. Stogner, United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism in action with the enemy on 5 April 1967, while serving as part of a machine gun team assigned to Company C, First Battalion, Ninth Marines, THIRD Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in the Republic of Vietnam. As Company C began to sweep to clear a hamlet, they were taken under intense enemy fire from automatic weapons, grenades, and mortars. The lead platoon and company command group sustained devastating casualties, the company commander among them. When the enemy exploited the situation and overran a portion of the company, Lance Corporal Stogner’s machine gun team leader was severely wounded. Four enemy soldiers dragged the wounded Marine and his machine gun into a nearby treeline where they began to torture him. Lance Corporal Stogner, despite his own painful wounds and with the complete disregard for his own safety, pursued the enemy into the treeline to rescue his fellow Marine. After his service rifle malfunctioned, he used his K-bar fighting knife to kill the enemy soldiers, then picked up his machine gunner and the machine gun, and carried them back to friendly lines. Lance Corporal Stogner’s bold and decisive action saved the life of his fellow Marine, and his undaunted courage and complete dedication to duty reflected great credit upon him and where in keeping with the highest tradition of the Marine Corps and the United Stated Naval Service.

Hand Salute. Ready, Two!

Category: Guest Post, Marines, The Warrior Code, Valor