Medal of Honor: Joseph X. Grant – Vietnam War – November 13, 1966

Name: Joseph Xavier Grant
Rank: Captain (then First Lieutenant)
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division
Place and Date: Republic of Vietnam – 13 November 1966
Entered Service At: Boston, Massachusetts
Born: March 28, 1940 – Cambridge, Massachusetts
Departed: Killed in Action, November 13, 1966
Accredited to: Massachusetts

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Summary of Action

During a search-and-destroy mission in the jungles of Vietnam, Company A suddenly made contact with a heavily fortified enemy force. As the lead platoon became pinned down in a violent firefight, Captain Joseph X. Grant was ordered to maneuver the remaining platoons to outflank and destroy the enemy.

Before he could complete the maneuver, intense automatic weapons and mortar fire erupted from the front and flank, trapping his company in a deadly kill zone. When the enemy launched repeated “human wave” assaults, trying to crush the defense through sheer numbers, Grant moved along the thin, hastily formed perimeter, personally filling gaps, repositioning soldiers, and rallying his outnumbered men to hold the line.

Spotting a wounded platoon leader lying exposed under the heaviest fire, Grant sprinted forward, pulling him to safety despite being shot in the shoulder. Refusing treatment, he returned to the fight. When an enemy machine gun pinned down another wounded soldier, Grant crawled forward with grenades, braving a torrent of fire to destroy the gun and drag the man to safety.

Hearing that more wounded lay trapped beyond the perimeter, Grant gathered five volunteers and led them across open ground — fully exposed to enemy fire — to rescue them. As he returned to the company’s defensive line with the last of the wounded, a sudden, devastating mortar barrage struck. Captain Grant was killed instantly.

By the time the battle ended, his courage had saved numerous lives and inspired his men to repel the enemy’s assaults. Captain Joseph Xavier Grant’s final day was one of relentless bravery — the kind of leadership that changes the course of battles and lives on in the soldiers who survived because of him.

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Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Captain (then 1st Lt.), U.S. Army, Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.

Entered service at: Boston, Mass.

G.O. No.: 4, 29 January 1968.

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Company A was participating in a search and destroy operation when the leading platoon made contact with the enemy and a fierce fire-fight ensued. Capt. Grant was ordered to disengage the 2 remaining platoons and to maneuver them to envelop and destroy the enemy. After beginning their movement, the platoons encountered intense enemy automatic weapons and mortar fire from the front and flank. Capt. Grant was ordered to deploy the platoons in a defensive position. As this action was underway, the enemy attacked, using “human wave” assaults, in an attempt to literally overwhelm Capt. Grant’s force. In a magnificent display of courage and leadership, Capt. Grant moved under intense fire along the hastily formed defensive line repositioning soldiers to fill gaps created by the mounting casualties and inspiring and directing the efforts of his men to successfully repel the determined enemy onslaught. Seeing a platoon leader wounded, Capt. Grant hastened to his aid, in the face of the mass of fire of the entire enemy force, and moved him to a more secure position. During this action, Capt. Grant was wounded in the shoulder. Refusing medical treatment, he returned to the forward part of the perimeter, where he continued to lead and to inspire his men by his own indomitable example. While attempting to evacuate a wounded soldier, he was pinned down by fire from an enemy machine gun. With a supply of hand grenades, he crawled forward under a withering hail of fire and knocked out the machine gun, killing the crew, after which he moved the wounded man to safety. Learning that several other wounded men were pinned down by enemy fire forward of his position, Capt. Grant disregarded his painful wound and led 5 men across the fire-swept open ground to effect a rescue. Following return of the wounded men to the perimeter, a concentration of mortar fire landed in their midst and Capt. Grant was killed instantly. His heroic actions saved the lives of a number of his comrades and enabled the task force to repulse the vicious assaults and defeat the enemy. Capt. Grant’s actions reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Army.