Capt. John McGinty III: 'Leadership, devotion and a bold fighting spirit'
Four hours into battle, Staff Sgt. John James McGinty III's men were wounded, separated and outnumbered in a Vietnamese jungle.
He reloaded weapons for the wounded and directed their fire toward the enemy.
He killed five enemy soldiers at point-blank range with his pistol as they attempted to outflank his men's position.
And finally, he made a decision that both went against and was a shining example of all his training as a Marine.
He called in an artillery strike on his own position.
"The enemy was that close," said fellow Marine and longtime friend Chuck Countryman.
The combat that day left McGinty, 26, with shrapnel in his left eye. Years later, it had to be removed, leaving McGinty with an eye patch.
That strike -- on July 18, 1966 -- routed the enemy and allowed McGinty to bring dozens of his men home safely from the war.
Less than two years later, McGinty was shaking hands with President Lyndon B. Johnson as he received the Medal of Honor, the military's highest decoration.
The medal's citation heralded his "personal heroism, indomitable leadership, selfless devotion to duty and bold fighting spirit."
While the medal made him a well-known war hero -- one that let him meet movie stars, professional athletes and every president from Johnson through Bill Clinton -- its design would later clash with his beliefs.
McGinty returned from the war to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, where he had completed his recruit training years earlier. He served as a drill instructor for just a few days before being promoted to second lieutenant.
Bernie Eveler, who served as a drill instructor with McGinty several years before his service in Vietnam, said he was not surprised to hear McGinty had earned the nation's highest military honor.
"That's the Marine he was. Honor, courage and commitment, those were his three middle names," Eveler said. "I remember him being a very intense drill instructor, to put it mildly. Between the two of us and our leader, I think we put out one of the best platoons."
Even in retirement, McGinty stayed involved with the military and became especially active in the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
He helped care for older recipients such as John Finn and Mitchell Paige, who received the awards for their service in World War II. He responded to the sometimes pounds of mail he received each week. And he made appearances on the Lawrence Welk and Ed Sullivan shows.
Much later, he even made several trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the troops.
"John would have done anything for the troops, not just the Marine Corps," Countryman said. "He even was in a helicopter (during one of those trips) that got shot at several times, but that's just what he did."
While McGinty understood the significance of the honor, he did have an issue that the medal featured a Greek goddess. It conflicted with his Irish Catholic upbringing, Countryman said. He asked if he could get the medal from one of the other branches that didn't have a goddess on it.
"But the Marine Corps just said, 'Nope, this is what you get,' but he just figured he had to ask," Countryman said. "But he never refused to wear it and never wanted to give it back."
Friends and fellow Marines described McGinty as an imposing man -- he stood over 6 feet tall -- who was upfront and outspoken. He was a man of his word and had a big heart, they said.
He kept the fighting spirit that earned him the medal until his death in 2014at 73 from bone cancer. He had remained in Beaufort after retiring, living with his son, Michael.
His funeral at the Beaufort National Cemetery was a sea of dress blues, a handful of brass, a full band and, in the sky, fighter jets performing the missing man formation -- an aerial salute reserved for prominent individuals to show love, respect and camaraderie.
"There is being buried with full military honors, and then there is full military honors," said Jack Kolste, who had McGinty as a drill instructor for 10 days.
McGinty would not have liked all the "pomp and circumstance" of the burial, his son said at the funeral. Humble about his accomplishments, McGinty had to be talked into planning a funeral with full military honors.
But he did get one thing he wanted: a simple unlaquered, solid wood coffin reminiscent of old Westerns.
"He went out the way he wanted to go out, and he was buried in a cowboy casket," Countryman said. "He thoroughly enjoyed life."
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This story was originally published May 20, 2014 at 3:24 PM with the headline "Capt. John McGinty III: 'Leadership, devotion and a bold fighting spirit'."