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Marine Corps Capt. James Everett Livingston received the Medal of Honor in 1970 for actions he took during battle in Vietnam in 1968.
Episode 2709 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Vietnam Vet Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Livingston and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Livingston. It was submitted by Katie Lange, a writer for DOD News.
Lange, in her story, reported that according to DoD documents, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Everett Livingston became a trusted commander during his more than three decades in the service. He learned leadership skills early in his career and put them to good use in 1968 when he helped liberate a Vietnamese village and save stranded Marines. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Lange also reported that Livingston was born on Jan. 12, 1940, in rural Towns, Georgia. He and his brother, Donald, were raised on a 3,000-acre farm which they helped their parents, Myret and Ruth Livingston, work as much as possible.
Livingston received his draft notice during his junior year of college. He said he nearly joined the Army before meeting a Marine Corps recruiter who convinced him to join the Marines instead. So, in June 1962, after graduating with a civil engineering degree, Livingston was commissioned as a Marine second lieutenant.
By late April 1968, Livingston was serving as the commanding officer of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade. The battalion was positioned to the east of Dong Ha Combat Base.
A lot of Marines were lost during the Battle of Dai Do, but Livingston was one of the lucky ones. He was evacuated by helicopter to Hawaii and spent several months in a hospital. When he got back to his battalion in Okinawa, he learned that he had been nominated for the Navy Cross for their actions at Dai Do. Later, however, both nominations were upgraded to Medals of Honor.
Listen to episode 2709 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Livingston and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
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