FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Gary W Martini ~ 9-09 April 2018

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Gary W. Martini

Info from here.

           

Private First Class Gary Wayne Martini (September 21, 1948 - April 21, 1967) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism in April 1967 during the Vietnam War.

Martini was born on September 21, 1948, in Lexington, Virginia. His early education was completed in Frankford, West Virginia, where he participated in intramural sports. After moving with his parents to Charleston, West Virginia, he attended Stonewall Jackson High School through the 11th grade. His family then moved temporarily to Portland, Oregon, and Gary attended David Douglas High School until February 1966.

On March 3, 1966, Gary Martini enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in Portland, Oregon and was ordered to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California. He received recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, and upon graduation in May, was transferred to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, where he underwent individual combat training with the 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Training Regiment.

He attended the Battalion Infantry Training School at Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, for one month prior to being transferred to Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in July 1966. After his arrival at Camp Lejeune, he was assigned duty as a rifleman with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division. While serving in this capacity, he was promoted to private first class in September 1966.

Transferred to the Far East in the Republic of Vietnam in December 1966, PFC Martini joined Company F, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. During Operation Union at Binh Son, Da Nang, on April 21, 1967, he was mortally wounded when he went to the aid of his wounded comrades.

His medals and decorations include: the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze star, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.

Martini Hall (Building #622) at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego is named in honor of PFC Gary W. Martini. Martini completed his recruit training at MCRD San Diego in 1966.

Gary Wayne Martini's name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial ("The Wall") on Panel 8E, 61.

Martini Hall at Camp Horno in Camp Pendleton, CA is a chowhall named in honor of PFC Gary W. Martini.

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS GARY W. MARTINI 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 Rifleman, Company F, Second Battalion, First Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam. On 21 April 1967, during Operation UNION, elements of Company F, conducting offensive operations at Binh Son, encountered a firmly entrenched enemy force and immediately deployed to engage them. The Marines in Private Martini's platoon assaulted across an open rice paddy to within twenty meters of the enemy trench line where they were suddenly struck by hand grenades, intense small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire. The enemy onslaught killed 14 and wounded 18 Marines, pinning the remainder of the platoon down behind a low paddy dike. In the face of imminent danger, Private Martini immediately crawled over the dike to a forward open area within 15 meters of the enemy position where, continuously exposed to the hostile fire, he hurled hand grenades, killing several of the enemy. Crawling back through the intense fire, he rejoined his platoon which had moved to the relative safety of a trench line. From this position he observed several of his wounded comrades lying helpless in the fire swept paddy. Although he knew that one man had been killed, attempting to assist the wounded, Private Martini raced through the open area and dragged a comrade back to the friendly position. In spite of a serious wound received during this first daring rescue, he again braved the unrelenting fury of the enemy fire to aid another companion lying wounded only twenty meters in front of the enemy trench line. As he reached the fallen Marine, he received a mortal wound, but disregarding his own condition, he began to drag the Marine toward his platoon's position. Observing men from his unit attempting to leave the security of their position to aid him, concerned only for their safety, he called to them to remain under cover and through a final supreme effort, moved his injured comrade to where he could be pulled to safety, before he fell, succumbing to his wounds. Stouthearted and indomitable, Private Martini unhesitatingly yielded his own life to save two of his comrades and insure the safety of the remainder of his platoon. His outstanding courage, valiant fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty reflected the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

/S/ LYNDON B. JOHNSON

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission! 

 

[Kathy in Alaska]

God bless all that serve and those that stand by them in the wake.

Well said, my, well said.

[luvie]

Your weather is CRAZY! And all the snow falling around the country. That’s just nuts for the middle of April!

I did want it,l but I over-clicked thinking that one didn’t “take”. LOL!

[radu]

I’ve been watching “Grumpier Old Men” but switched over to the Nashville news for a sec to get the weather report. They’re saying we could get a little snow here tonight! Good grief!
Tues. is supposed to be back up around 70 degrees.

I was not eeeeeeven paying attention because of the movie. Just love it! Made that 50 easy pickin’s tonight. LOL

[mylife]

Heh I love those movies!

Don’t make me break this up!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Some things are very hard to relive and talk about....

[mylife]

https://www.bing.com/search?q=del+mcoury+nashville+cats&form=EDGTCT&qs=PF&cvid=39cb5b033d294553a8cf3f7e3c2ff26e&refig=7a02f3dd12aa4485aab0e31cff52e2cc&cc=US&setlang=en-US

this weekend was way short

have a great week

[mylife]

Its all good

Yer Pop went through the wringer

[left that other site]

Freezing rain and snow all day here. (sigh) Blue is still at Bro’s.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...hope you are starting to dry out. Is the rain finally over?

We sort of puttered away the day. Laundry done. Peg made burritos, and we are going to watch a movie in minutes. Back later.

[radu]

I love ‘em, too, and was happy to find they were playing back-to-back tonight. It’s been a while since I’d seen them.

[radu]

So the weekend was short to you, too, huh?
It seemed to zip by here, for sure.

[radu]

It looked a bit ugly up there on the radar. One of these days it’s going to stop and you’ll be able to get Blue back home again.

Don’t feel bad. The north isn’t the only area dealing with snow. It won’t stick here but we’re supposed to get a little snow tonight. *sigh*

[radu]

The rain stopped this morning and it was windy and cold all day. Had a shower a little while ago but I’d already brought the rain gauge in because I thought it was over.
Now we’re looking at a little snow before morning.
THEN we get to dry out for a little while.

Sounds like y’all had a good day. Got things done at a leisurely pace. And now a movie. Enjoy!

[left that other site]

Oh well, I may not have gotten Blue back this weekend, but I danced, hiked, and played some Rock’n’Roll.

[radu]

Heck, it sounds like you had a pretty good time of it even though you weren’t able to get Blue. Playing rock ‘n’ roll and dancing is a great combination!

[luvie]

That was a funny movie! I know you enjoyed it. I should put it on my list of movies to watch sometime.

I hope they’re wrong about the snow in your area, radu. I think y’all have had quite enough!

There was a post on FB from my DIL: “Piper was bitten by a dog earlier today. Please pray for it to heal. Pray for the dog. Also: pray for the owners of the dog. Praise the police found them (dog up to date on rabies shots) because Piper is so smart and familiar with our apartment complex. She knew what address they lived at practically.”

[radu]

They played both movies back-to-back and that made it even better. They’re both so good.

There’s stuff on the radar now so I expect to get a little something more tonight. I should put the rain gauge back out I suppose and keep an eye on the temp. I brought it in earlier thinking we were through with the wet stuff and I didn’t want to leave it out in freezing weather. Not freezing yet.

Thank goodness that dog was up to date on its rabies shots! Piper won’t have to go through the shots ordeal and the dog won’t be put down to test its head. But it sounds like the neighbors need to stop letting the dog go out unattended.

[luvie]

That had to be almost too much of a good thing. LOL! Walter Matthau was such a character!

Maybe this is the last hurrah for the nasty cold weather. Got to hope so anyway. Hard to get anything done when you never know what it’s going to be like.

I’m relieved by that, too. I would have hated for her to have to be put through that horror! Plus, she would have been devastated at a dog being killed because of her. She loves animals. This had better be a lesson for the owners.

[radu]

It was just the right dose. Great cast, lots of laughs, and the out takes at the ends were hilarious. You wanna talk about a character, Burgess Meredith was it. LOL!

We sure hope this is the last hurrah but we’ve hoped that every time it’s gotten cold the past few weeks. And the hits just keep a-comin’. I’m worried about the wheat. We thought Dusty had sprayed it with Round-Up to kill it off to be plowed under to fertilize the fields. Turns out he sprayed fertilizer because he plans to harvest it this year. It’s gone to seed now and it would totally suck if the cold damages the seeds.

I certainly hope those people learned a lesson with their dog. If it bites someone else, they might not have a choice but to put it down.

[luvie]

I think farmers all across the country are worried because of this stupid roller coaster. I know our cotton farmers are! No rain means no planting. The ground is like cement!

I’d better go for tonight. Getting up early has taken the starch out of me...like you last night. :) See ya mañana!