Gary L Littrell
Gary was born on the 26th of October 1944, in Henderson, Kentucky. His mother died when he was five and he went to live with his grandparents on their farm. Since they were about 90 miles from Fort Campbell, Gary’s uncle took him there when he was nine and they went to a drop zone and watched some paratroopers train. Gary recalls knowing at that point what he wanted to do and at the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Army.
After Basic Training and Airborne school, he deployed to Okinawa with the 173rd Airborne, where he met Mitsue and the two were married. Three years later, in 1965, Gary was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne two days before the 173rd received orders to deploy to Vietnam. He instead deployed with the 82nd to the Dominican Republic and when he returned, attended Ranger school. Gary graduated in 1966 and remained there as an instructor for almost three years, which was when he finally received orders to deploy to the Republic of Vietnam. It was his actions on the 4th through the 8th of April 1970, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sfc. Littrell, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Advisory Team 21, distinguished himself while serving as a Light Weapons Infantry adviser with the 23d Battalion, 2d Ranger Group, Republic of Vietnam Army, near Dak Seang. After establishing a defensive perimeter on a hill on 4 April, the battalion was subjected to an intense enemy mortar attack which killed the Vietnamese commander, one adviser, and seriously wounded all the advisers except Sfc. Littrell. During the ensuing four days, Sfc. Littrell exhibited near superhuman endurance as he singlehandedly bolstered the besieged battalion. Repeatedly abandoning positions of relative safety, he directed artillery and air support by day and marked the unit's location by night, despite the heavy, concentrated enemy fire. His dauntless will instilled in the men of the 23d Battalion a deep desire to resist. Assault after assault was repulsed as the battalion responded to the extraordinary leadership and personal example exhibited by Sfc. Littrell as he continuously moved to those points most seriously threatened by the enemy, redistributed ammunition, strengthened faltering defenses, cared for the wounded, and shouted encouragement to the Vietnamese in their own language. When the beleaguered battalion was finally ordered to withdraw, numerous ambushes were encountered. Sfc. Littrell repeatedly prevented widespread disorder by directing air strikes to within 50 meters of their position. Through his indomitable courage and complete disregard for his safety, he averted excessive loss of life and injury to the members of the battalion. The sustained extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by Sfc. Littrell over an extended period of time were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him and the U.S. Army.
By the time Gary returned to friendly forces, only 41 of the original 476 men had survived. He was informed that he had been recommended for the Medal of Honor but didn’t hear anything further, all the while watching others receive Bronze Stars for minor skirmishes. Three years later, Gary was told to report to the commanding General of the 101st Airborne, which he thought he might have been in trouble. When the General told him to have a seat on the couch, Gary was even more concerned because usually his reprimands were at the position of attention. He was then told that he was going to receive the Medal of Honor, which he did from President Nixon on the 15th of October 1973, in a ceremony at the White House. Gary recalls the ceremony being quick, simply because the ceremony took place in between the Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation.
Due to public opinion, Gary didn’t talk about the war in Vietnam, even though he remained in the Army until his retirement as a Command Sergeant Major in 1985, after 24 years of service. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1993, which is also about the time when Gary started to feel comfortable with talking about his experiences during the war. He gave talks with schools and other community groups, even traveled to Camp Liberty in Iraq several times to support the troops that were deployed there. Gary also served as the president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and he moved to Florida, where he still resides today. He and his wife had two sons, Jerry and Larry (both served as officers in the US Air Force), and his wife died on the 8th of June 2022. Gary Lee Littrell is 78 years old at the time of this recording.
