On the evening of March 11, 1970, Company G, 2d Battalion, 5th Marines engaged the enemy in Quang Nam province. As they tried to evacuate a badly wounded Marine, the enemy counter attacked. One enemy soldier broke through the lines, throwing a grenade into the middle of the group evacuating their comrade.S/Sgt Allan Jay Kellogg, Jr. stomped the grenade deep into the mud, and then dove on top of it. He saved his team. He also survived, though wounded himself, and fought on, getting his badly-wounded friend to the medevac chopper. For this, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Uncommon valor. He had a lot to live for, but did it anyway:
At the time of the action which earned him the Medal of Honor, Sergeant Major Kellogg was married to the former Carol Diane Haviland of Queens City, New York, and had one daughter, two step-daughters, a brother, and three sisters.That's not why I'm posting this, although it's a lot. The comrade he saved is a friend of mine.
Sgt. Kellogg, in the unlikely event you ever see this, thank you for your service, but especially thank you for saving Patrick. He's a good man (as you know), and a danged good Internet Security guy - Lord knows we need more of them.
But mostly, he's a friend. "Thank you" seems such a small thing to offer in return.
Great story.
ReplyDeleteI'm something of a "MoH" admirer/student, & looked up S/M Kellogg (he retired as a Sgt. Major)in my references.
Originally from CT, as of 2006 he lived in Hawaii. He'll be 66 years old in October.
"When it comes to war, I'd rather fight on the enemy's court than the home court."- Allen J. Kellogg, Jr.
Patrick was a lucky man to have such a man of valor in his presence.
Amen, Doubletrouble.
ReplyDeleteTed, DT,
ReplyDeleteYou probably know this already, but the Corps doesn't give out the MoH lightly. Look up the story of Sgt. Brad Kasal -- even he didn't get an MoH for all he did in Fallujah. Sgt. Kasal "only" received a Navy Cross.
Fully one third of all USMC WW2 Medals of Honor were awarded on Iwo Jima. Kind of brings the statement "uncommon valor was a common virtue" into perspective.
Brad, that's pretty humbling.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Sgt Bellavia wasn't awarded the MoH for what he did in Fallujah, either. I have a link to his book "House to House" on the sidebar - it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.