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Marine Corps Cpl patrick Lacunato and 1st Lt. Harvey C. “Barney” Barnum Jr. pose for a photo while serving in Vietnam. (U.S. Navy)
Streamers are shot in the air as a future U.S. Navy destroyer bearing the name of Medal of Honor recipient Barney Barnum is christened at Bath Iron Works on Saturday, July 29, 2023, in Bath, Maine, (AP Photo/David Sharp)
Episode 2571 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Harvey C. Barnum, the U.S. Marine who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam and then subsequently had a Navy destroyed named in his honor. The featured story in the episode comes from the Military.com website and is titled: The Navy’s Newest Destroyer Is Named for a Marine Who Saved His Company from Annihilation
The story was submitted by Blake Stilwell. He is a former Air Force combat photographer with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations and Middle Eastern Affairs. Instead of using those, he (eventually) became a writer. His work has appeared on Business Insider, Military Times, We Are The Mighty, Fox News, and others. Blake is based in Los. [Email: Blake.Stilwell@Military.com]
In his story Stilwell describes the events that resulted in Barnum being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. It all started only days after the young artillery forward observed arrived in Vietnam on Dec. 18, 1965. He was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines on a search and destroy mission near the village of Ky Phu.
Barnum’s unit was attacked by entrenched NVA forces soon after its arrival on the battlefield. After the company commander, Capt. Paul Gormley, was killed, Barnum took command of the unit and after hours of hard fighting he was able to get his unit to safety. In 2016, he learned he would be the namesake of a guided missile destroyer in 2016.
Barnum said this about his award: “I’ve worn this Medal in Honor of those great Marines and corpsmen who fought with me on the battlefield that day who didn’t walk off, or walked off seriously wounded. There were no superstars, but I happened to be the quarterback calling the plays.”
Listen to episode 2571 and discover more about Harvey C. Barnum, the U.S. Marine who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam and then subsequently had a Navy destroyed named in his honor
