Few people wear the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. But all who served — especially those who found themselves in harm’s way — can rightfully claim a place in the halls of heroes.
Tuesday, a man who wore the Medal of Honor for his service in Vietnam commended the men and women who fought in Southeast Asia.
Retired Marine Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, leaning over a lectern at the state Capitol, nodded toward 50, maybe 60, veterans of that conflict. A gold star, attached to a sky-blue ribbon, hung from his neck.
“You deserve today,” said Livingston, 74, speaking in a ceremony honoring him and 11 other Georgia natives who won the Medal of Honor while fighting in Vietnam. “We served America with heroism and dignity.”
Livingston was a Marine captain who led an assault on a Vietnamese village held by enemy forces on May 2, 1968. The attack stretched across a rice paddy, where Livingston suffered two wounds from grenade fragments. When another company faltered, Livingston rallied his forces. He was injured a third time. Unable to walk, Livingston refused to be moved until he oversaw the evacuation of other casualties. Two years later, President Richard Nixon placed the gold medal around his neck.
Livingston, recalling the final days of that war, frowned. “We overcame the enemy … in every major battle,” he said.
But the military couldn’t win public relations battles taking place at home. The war, broadcast into homes every night, grew increasingly unpopular. Livingston blamed politicians and news agencies for civilians’ eroding support.
“I hold them accountable for that,” he said.
The war accounted for 58,000 American deaths — nearly 1,600 of those casualties from Georgia. Of the 12 Medal of Honor recipients, eight were killed during service. Consider Marine Sgt. Rodney David of Macon: Under fire from attacking forces on Sept. 6, 1967, Davis dove on a grenade to protect others. He succeeded, at the cost of his life. Davis, buried in Macon, was 25.
Tuesday, his siblings recalled their older brother with sad smiles.
“He was real protective,” said Robert Davis, also of Macon. “We were his kids.”
“He got us to school every day,” added his sister, Deborah Ray. “And let me say: We had perfect attendance.”
Americans need to remember their fallen warriors, said Gov. Nathan Deal, a veteran of the Army veteran during the Vietnam era. He was a guest speaker, too.
“It is important for us to be a people who do not take sacrifice lightly, who do not simply talk numbers when we talk about those who died in combat,” he said. “It is proper for us … to understand that it is not just a slogan: Freedom is, indeed, not free.”
A dozen cadets from Westlake High School’s JROTC program, each wearing flawless green uniforms, held up black-and-white photos of Georgia’s Vietnam Medal of Honor recipients. In the photos, the medal holders looked invincible — some smiling, others serious, each committed.
The ceremony lasted an hour and ended with a group photo — the veterans, side-by-side on marble steps. They stood in formation. People took photos of the old bunch, while members of the West Atlanta-Douglas Choral Society sang fight songs from each branch of the military — “Anchors Aweigh,” “The Caisson Song,” and more.
Folks finally put away their cell-phone cameras. The singers wound up with the final, high notes of “The Marine Hymn,” more widely known as “Halls of Montezuma.” The color guard struck the flags. It was time to go.
Still, the veterans lingered. They stood in small groups and recalled moments of mud and fear and sweat and death. Like those honored Tuesday, they stood for a time, and a place, when they were called to serve.
And did, honorably, medal or not.
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