This Vietnam War biography recounts the story of an American soldier who heroically gave his life to save his comrades.
Private 1st Class Douglas E. Dickey was just twenty years old when he dove onto a grenade, saving the lives of four men, including his platoon leader. The young Marine's actions on Easter Sunday 1967 won him a posthumous Medal of Honor.
Dickey grew up in Ohio and enlisted in the Marine Corps with four of his high school friends. After he was deployed to Vietnam, he took part in Operation Deckhouse VI, a landing in Quang Ngai, then Operation Beacon Hill, which led him and his comrades into a devastating ambush. During the ensuing battle-one that nearly wiped out the entire platoon-a grenade landed in their midst. Without hesitation, Dickey took action.
This biography grounds Dickey's final, valiant act in the context of his life and the lives of his comrades and family. It is based on over a decade of research, including interviews with family members and Dickey's letters home. A tribute to a true hero, A Final Valiant Act also includes the most detailed account of Operation Beacon Hill ever written.
Autorentext
Lt. Col. John B. Lang is a native of Monterey, California, and a graduate of the US Naval Academy. He spent most of his adult life in the Marine Corps, and is a veteran of three combat operations. Lang retired from the Marine Corps in 2004 with more than twenty-two years of commissioned service. He has more than twenty-seven military awards and decorations, and was the Marine Corps intelligence officer of the year in 1996.
Inhalt
Prologue: No Words
PART I: THE BEST OF THEIR GENERATION
1 An American Family
2 A Distant War
3 The Buddy Program
4 Platoon 394
PART II: WARRIORS
5 I Corps: "Marineland"
6 1st Battalion, 4th Marines: God, Country, Duty, Corps
7 Norman
8 Company C
9 Okinawa
10 The Special Landing Force
11 HMM-363: "The Lucky Red Lions"
12 Two Brothers
13 Exercise Mud Puppy III
14 Operation Deckhouse VI
15 Subic
16 A Purple Heart
17 Operation Beacon Hill
PART III: THE BATTLE
18 Easter Sunday
19 The Gold Star
20 A Marine Hero is Honored
PART IV: HEALING
21 Veterans
22 Rally Point
23 A Brotherhood
24 The Last Casualty
25 A Living Memorial
26 The Legacy
Appendix: Douglas E. Dickey's Medal of Honor Citation
Sources
Endnotes