Medal of Honor

Hundreds of Marines have received the Medal of Honor since the Civil War. The very first was a corporal from New York City named John F. Mackie, who earned it during the Civil War aboard a Union ironclad on the James River in Virginia. His story begins the Marine Corps’ long line of Medal of … Read more

Second Lieutenant Terrence C. Graves was only 22 years old and less than a year out of college when he led a small reconnaissance team deep into enemy territory in Vietnam. In February 1968, his eight-man patrol came under heavy enemy attack. Wounded himself, he called in supporting fire, got most of his Marines onto … Read more

On his very first combat mission, a 22-year-old Marine fighter pilot named James E. Swett flew into a massive Japanese air raid over the Solomon Islands and came back a legend. In a single flight on April 7, 1943, he was credited with shooting down seven enemy bombers before his own damaged plane went into … Read more

In the spring of 1968, a young Marine captain from rural Georgia led his rifle company across open rice paddies and into one of the hardest fights of the Vietnam War. Captain James E. Livingston was wounded three times that day, yet he refused to leave his Marines until he knew they were safe. For … Read more