Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr.

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Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr.

Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. (born on 2. July 1948 in Dayton , Ohio , died on 2. June 1969 in Quang Nam , Vietnam ) was a veteran of the United States Army . He was the last of only three members of the military forces of the United States (the others were Desmond Doss and Thomas William Bennett ) that the armed service refused, and the Medal of Honor were awarded. The award was given to him posthumously. Most recently, he served as Specialist Four in the 17th Cavalry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division .

Life

Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. was born on July 2, 1948 in Dayton, Ohio. He was raised a Baptist by his parents and was a believer all his life. After graduating from Northridge High School , he moved to Clayton to work as a postman. LaPointe was a passionate hiker and wanted to work for the National Park Service after his military service .

In 1968 he was called up for military service and refused to work with the weapon for religious reasons. Like Thomas William Bennett , he was trained as a medic at the Army Medical Training Center Fort Sam Houston in Texas . While in college, he married his wife, Cindy Failor, at Englewood First Baptist Church . In November 1968 he was sent to Vietnam, where he served in the 2nd Squadron of the 17th Cavalry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War .

On April 12, 1969, he ran through heavy artillery fire without cover to help 17 wounded soldiers. For this act he was awarded the Silver Star . On June 2nd of the same year LaPointe died trying to save two comrades of his platoon. His unit was ambushed while on patrol at Hill 376 in Quảng Nam Province after two members of the platoon attempted to catch a chicken. Both were badly wounded and LaPointe Jr. tried to rescue them. He protected both of them with his body and was shot twice in the process. Eventually all three were killed by an enemy shell.

For the courage he had shown in the unsuccessful attempt to help his comrades, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by Vice President Spiro T. Agnew on December 16, 1971 . The award was presented to his wife and son, whom he had never met.

Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. was buried in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in Dayton, Ohio.

Honors

Medal of Honor Award Certificate
Beginning of the Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. Memorial Highway

Military honors

Further honors

Various objects were named after him in his honor:

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Danae Tuley: "The Courage of their Convictions: Three Conscientious Objectors and the Heroism that earned them the Medal of Honor" , at www.sss.gov, accessed April 26, 2017
  2. ^ A b Dale Huffman: "Flag ceremony recalls medic's sacrifice 40 years ago" ( Memento from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), www.daytondailynews.com
  3. ↑ Information on Joseph G. LaPointe jr. (English), from www.militarytimes.com, accessed April 26, 2017
  4. ↑ Dr. Vivian Blevins: "A war widow's story" ( Memento from April 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (English), on www.harlandaily.com on March 17, 2017, accessed on April 26, 2017
  5. ↑ Information on J. LaPointe Jr.'s last resting place , at www.findagrave.com, accessed April 26, 2017
personal data
SURNAME LaPointe, Joseph Guy Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES LaPointe, Joseph G. Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American soldier, Medal of Honor holder
DATE OF BIRTH July 2, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Dayton , Ohio
DATE OF DEATH 2nd June 1969
Place of death Quảng Nam , Vietnam