Joe Hooper (Medal of Honor)

Joe Ronnie Hooper

Joe R. Hooper, Medal of Honor Recipient
Born (1938-08-08)August 8, 1938
Piedmont, South Carolina
Died May 6, 1979(1979-05-06) (aged 40)
Louisville, Kentucky
Place of burial Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance United States United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
United States Army
Years of service 1956 - 1959 (US Navy)
1960 - 1978 (US Army)
Rank Petty Officer 3rd Class (Navy)
Captain (Army)
Unit 2nd Battalion,
501st Airborne Infantry,
101st Airborne Division
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Awards Medal of Honor
Silver Star (2)
Bronze Star (6) w/ "V" Device
Purple Heart (8)
Air Medal
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/ Palm

Joe Ronnie Hooper (August 8, 1938 May 6, 1979) was an American who served in both the United States Navy and United States Army where he finished his career there as a captain. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Army staff sergeant on February 21, 1968 during the Vietnam War. He was one of the most decorated soldiers of the war and was wounded in action eight times.

Biography

Joe Ronnie Hooper was born on August 8, 1938 in Piedmont, South Carolina. His family moved when he was a child to Moses Lake, Washington where he attended Moses Lake High School.

U.S. Navy

Hooper enlisted in the United States Navy in December 1956. After graduation from boot camp at San Diego, California he served as an Airman aboard USS Wasp (CV-18) and USS Hancock (CV-19). He was honorably discharged in July 1959, shortly after being promoted to Petty Officer 3rd Class.

U.S. Army

Hooper enlisted in the United States Army in May 1960 as a private first class, and attended Basic Training at Fort Ord, California. After graduation, he volunteered for Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia and then was assigned to Company C, 1st Airborne Battle Group, 325th Infantry , 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and was promoted to corporal during his assignment. He then served a tour of duty in South Korea with the 20th Infantry in October 1961 and shortly after arriving he was promoted to sergeant and was made an infantry company platoon squad leader. He left Korea in November 1963 and was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas for a year as a squad leader and then became a squad leader with Company D, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. He was promoted to staff sergeant in September 1966 and volunteered for service in South Vietnam. Instead he was assigned as infantry company platoon sergeant in Panama with the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 508th Infantry, first with HQ Company and later with Company B.

Hooper couldn’t stay out of trouble and suffered several Article 15 hearings, being reduced to the rank of corporal in July 1967. He was promoted once again to sergeant in October 1967, and was assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell and deployed with the division to Vietnam in December as a squad leader. During his tour of duty with Delta Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 501st Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, he was recommended for the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on February 21, 1968 outside of Hue.

He returned from Vietnam and was discharged in June 1968. He reenlisted in the Army the following September, and served as a public relations specialist. On March 7, 1969, he was presented the Medal of Honor by President Richard Nixon during a ceremony in the White House. From July 1969 to August 1970, he served as a platoon sergeant with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry in Panama. He managed to finagle a second tour in Vietnam; from April to June 1970, he served as a pathfinder with the 101st Aviation Group, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile), and from June to December 1970, he served as a platoon sergeant with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile). In December 1970, he received a direct commission to second lieutenant and served as a platoon leader with Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) until April 1971.

Upon his return to the United States, he attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning and was then assigned as an instructor at Fort Polk, Louisiana. Despite wanting to serve twenty years in the Army, Hooper was made to retire in February 1974 as a first lieutenant, mainly because he had a GED, and took only a handful of college courses. As soon as he was released from active duty, he joined a unit of the Army Reserve's 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Washington state, as a Company Executive Officer. In February 1976, he transferred to the 104th Division (Training), also based in Washington. He was promoted to captain in March 1977. He attended drills only intermittently and was separated from the service in September 1978.

For his service in Vietnam, the U.S. Army also awarded him: two Silver Stars, six Bronze Stars, eight Purple Hearts, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Service Medal with six campaign stars, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. He is credited with 115 enemy killed in ground combat, 22 of which occurred on February 21, 1968. He became one of the most decorated soldiers in the Vietnam War, and was one of three soldiers who were wounded in action eight times in the war.

Death

Rumors persist that he became distressed by the anti-war politics of the time and took to excessive drinking which contributed to his death.[1] He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Louisville, Kentucky on May 6, 1979, at the age of 40.

Hooper is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 46, adjacent to the Memorial Amphitheater.

Military awards

Hooper's military decorations and awards include:

  Medal of Honor
  Silver Star with one bronze oak leaf cluster
  Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and one silver oak leaf cluster
  Purple Heart with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters
  Air Medal
  Army Commendation Medal
  Army and Air Force Presidential Unit Citation
  Army Good Conduct Medal
  Navy Good Conduct Medal
  National Defense Service Medal
  Vietnam Service Medal with one silver and one bronze campaign star
  Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with palm
  Republic of Vietnam Presidential Unit Citation
  Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with palm and frame
  Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation with palm and frame
  Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960- device
  Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal
  Combat Infantryman Badge
  Master Parachutist Badge

Medal of Honor citation

Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Near Hue, Republic of Vietnam, February 21, 1968. Entered service at: Los Angeles, Calif. Born: August 8, 1938, Piedmont, S.C.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Staff Sergeant (then Sgt.) Hooper, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as squad leader with Company D. Company D was assaulting a heavily defended enemy position along a river bank when it encountered a withering hail of fire from rockets, machine guns and automatic weapons. S/Sgt. Hooper rallied several men and stormed across the river, overrunning several bunkers on the opposite shore. Thus inspired, the rest of the company moved to the attack. With utter disregard for his own safety, he moved out under the intense fire again and pulled back the wounded, moving them to safety. During this act S/Sgt. Hooper was seriously wounded, but he refused medical aid and returned to his men. With the relentless enemy fire disrupting the attack, he single-handedly stormed 3 enemy bunkers, destroying them with hand grenade and rifle fire, and shot 2 enemy soldiers who had attacked and wounded the Chaplain. Leading his men forward in a sweep of the area, S/Sgt. Hooper destroyed 3 buildings housing enemy riflemen. At this point he was attacked by a North Vietnamese officer whom he fatally wounded with his bayonet. Finding his men under heavy fire from a house to the front, he proceeded alone to the building, killing its occupants with rifle fire and grenades. By now his initial body wound had been compounded by grenade fragments, yet despite the multiple wounds and loss of blood, he continued to lead his men against the intense enemy fire. As his squad reached the final line of enemy resistance, it received devastating fire from 4 bunkers in line on its left flank. S/Sgt. Hooper gathered several hand grenades and raced down a small trench which ran the length of the bunker line, tossing grenades into each bunker as he passed by, killing all but 2 of the occupants. With these positions destroyed, he concentrated on the last bunkers facing his men, destroying the first with an incendiary grenade and neutralizing 2 more by rifle fire. He then raced across an open field, still under enemy fire, to rescue a wounded man who was trapped in a trench. Upon reaching the man, he was faced by an armed enemy soldier whom he killed with a pistol. Moving his comrade to safety and returning to his men, he neutralized the final pocket of enemy resistance by fatally wounding 3 North Vietnamese officers with rifle fire. S/Sgt. Hooper then established a final line and reorganized his men, not accepting treatment until this was accomplished and not consenting to evacuation until the following morning. His supreme valor, inspiring leadership and heroic self-sacrifice were directly responsible for the company's success and provided a lasting example in personal courage for every man on the field. S/Sgt. Hooper's actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. Anderson, Rick (April 10, 2003). "A Crippled Home Front". Seattle Weekly. Article posted on Captain Hooper's Arlington National Cemetery profile. Accessed on 2006-07-10.
  2. "Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients". Medal of Honor citations. United States Army Center of Military History. August 3, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2010.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Hooper.
Wikisource has original works on the topic: Joe Hooper
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.