Just a quick story, but my uncle had a friend named James H. Monroe. He was a good friend of my uncle, and in June of 1966 he was drafted into the US Army. My uncle lost contact with Monroe while he was in Vietnam and never knew what happened to him only that he was killed in action. One day a couple of years ago while he was visiting us in Kentucky (my uncle lives in New Jersey) we began talking about James Monroe. I went to the computer and typed down the words "james h. monroe vietnam." And it turns out James Monroe was posthumously given the medal of honor for his actions which got him killed. In the citation it said the following: " For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. His platoon was deployed in a night ambush when the position was suddenly subjected to an intense and accurate grenade attack, and 1 foxhole was hit immediately. Responding without hesitation to the calls for help from the wounded men Pfc. Monroe moved forward through heavy small-arms fire to the foxhole but found that all of the men had expired. He turned immediately and crawled back through the deadly hail of fire toward other calls for aid. He moved to the platoon sergeant's position where he found the radio operator bleeding profusely from fragmentation and bullet wounds. Ignoring the continuing enemy attack, Pfc. Monroe began treating the wounded man when he saw a live grenade fall directly in front of the position. He shouted a warning to all those nearby, pushed the wounded radio operator and the platoon sergeant to one side, and lunged forward to smother the grenade's blast with his body. Through his valorous actions, performed in a flash of inspired selflessness, Pfc. Monroe saved the lives of 2 of his comrades and prevented the probable injury of several others. His gallantry and intrepidity were in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army, and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country." My uncle never knew this until I told him about it. Come to find out, there is a school named after him and has his Medal of Honor on display in the school. I tell this story now because today is the day, 48 years ago, he was killed in action. I have found James H. Monroe's name on the Vietnam Wall and my uncle has visited the school that bears his friends name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Monroe
Thanks for posting this story about PFC James H. Monroe, Smiley. I really like the phrase used in the citation, "... performed in a flash of inspired selflessness...". God bless, PFC Monroe.
My uncle told me that when they were giving the school a name, they handed out several names including James Monroe's to the students. A lot of them were at first confused because of the 5th president who was also James Monroe. Eventually it was explained who this James Monroe was, but he said initially some of them were confused. Thought that was a little interesting story.
I agree with you, it is a nice phrase. Kind of inspiring in a way. My uncle had a trouble finding the name on the wall. Although I can understand why, because I almost missed it myself since it is very high up on the wall. If it had been any higher than it was I might not have been able to get an etching for him. I guess that is a perk of being 6 foot . But I'm glad my uncle finally knows the circumstances in which his best friend died.
http://www.cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3367/monroe-james-h.php A link to his citation and a painting of his action on CMOH website.
