Author Topic: How a Navy Seabee Was Awarded the Medal of Honor Alongside a Green Beret  (Read 612 times)

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How a Navy Seabee Was Awarded the Medal of Honor Alongside a Green Beret
 

By Matt Fratus | June 09, 2021

On June 4, 1965, a nine-man advanced element of the Seabee Technical Assistance Team 1104 was sent to the village of Dong Xoai, an American camp located about 55 miles north of Saigon. This mission was supposed to be another building job, but it ended in a 14-hour battle in which 20 Americans and approximately 400 Vietnamese allies fought a 2,000-strong Viet Cong force. The Viet Cong were armed with flamethrowers, mortars, and small arms. Two men were awarded the Medal of Honor for the battle: Army Special Forces soldier 2nd Lt. Charles Q. Williams and Construction Mechanic 3rd Class Marvin Glen Shields, the first and only Seabee to receive the award.

Just before midnight on June 9, a reinforced regiment of approximately 2,000 soldiers from the Viet Cong 9th Division launched a full-scale attack to capture the unfinished camp occupied by 11 members of a US Special Forces team from 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), the nine Seabees, and approximately 400 friendly Vietnamese troops and Montagnard tribesmen.

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