KB
01-30-2007, 08:58 PM
IIRC LtGen Brandtner was Sen. James Webb's company commander in D/1/5.
Lore of the Corps
Vietnam captain earned 2 Navy Crosses in 8 days
By Keith A. Milks - Special to the Times
Posted : February 05, 2007
Marine recruits learn that Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is the only Marine in the Corps’ history to have earned five Navy Crosses, the nation’s second-highest award for battlefield valor.
Lesser known are the dozens of Marines who earned the Navy Cross not just once, but twice or more. One such Marine was Martin Brandtner, whose battlefield prowess in Vietnam produced two Navy Crosses for separate actions within an eight-day period in the fall of 1968.
Brandtner, a native of Minneapolis, entered the Corps in 1961. He had already served a yearlong tour in country when he received orders to return to South Vietnam in July 1968 as a company commander with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, in volatile Quang Nam Province.
On Sept. 3, 1968, then-Capt. Brandtner’s Company D was on a reconnaissance mission in force near Lan Phouc village when his lead platoon triggered an ambush by North Vietnamese army troops.
As Brandtner moved forward to join the fight, an enemy grenade peppered him with shrapnel. Ignoring his injuries, Brandtner tossed his own grenade and killed the enemy grenadier.
The fight became a short-range grenade duel between the Marines and North Vietnamese troops. While directing his men’s fire, Brandtner sprinted through their positions, scooping up enemy grenades and hurling them back toward the North Vietnamese.
When a grenade landed in one fire team’s position, Brandtner plucked up the explosive and tossed it away. He pushed two of the men to the ground and flung himself atop them, absorbing the grenade’s shrapnel in his own flak vest. He then turned his attention back to the growing firefight and consolidated his unit’s position even as he coordinated artillery strikes against the enemy force.
Eventually, the enemy melted away and Brandtner allowed corpsmen to tend his wounds.
Eight days later, on Sept. 11, Brandtner and his company were settling into nighttime defensive and ambush positions near the village of My Binh when they were attacked by a battalion-sized force.
Enemy mortar, machine-gun and rocket fire slammed the Marines, and Brandtner moved to an exposed position to better direct the defense.
Brandtner moved from position to position, directing his Marines’ fire, reorganizing the defense and inspiring his men. Seeing the enemy gather for a second push, Brandtner called artillery onto the North Vietnamese, the shells landing as close as 200 meters from his own lines.
Over the next two hours, the enemy launched three more attacks and was thrown back with severe losses each time. Eventually, the North Vietnamese withdrew, leaving 67 dead behind and evacuating an indeterminable number of dead and wounded.
Brandtner’s quick thinking and decisive action led to the enemy’s defeat and kept his own company’s losses down to one dead and 14 wounded.
These two actions resulted in Brandtner receiving two Navy Crosses and the distinction of being one of only two Marines in Vietnam to earn the medal twice.
Brandtner remained in the Corps for 24 more years, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant general before his retirement June 1, 1993.
The writer is a gunnery sergeant. He can be reached at kambtp@aol.com.
Lore of the Corps
Vietnam captain earned 2 Navy Crosses in 8 days
By Keith A. Milks - Special to the Times
Posted : February 05, 2007
Marine recruits learn that Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller is the only Marine in the Corps’ history to have earned five Navy Crosses, the nation’s second-highest award for battlefield valor.
Lesser known are the dozens of Marines who earned the Navy Cross not just once, but twice or more. One such Marine was Martin Brandtner, whose battlefield prowess in Vietnam produced two Navy Crosses for separate actions within an eight-day period in the fall of 1968.
Brandtner, a native of Minneapolis, entered the Corps in 1961. He had already served a yearlong tour in country when he received orders to return to South Vietnam in July 1968 as a company commander with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, in volatile Quang Nam Province.
On Sept. 3, 1968, then-Capt. Brandtner’s Company D was on a reconnaissance mission in force near Lan Phouc village when his lead platoon triggered an ambush by North Vietnamese army troops.
As Brandtner moved forward to join the fight, an enemy grenade peppered him with shrapnel. Ignoring his injuries, Brandtner tossed his own grenade and killed the enemy grenadier.
The fight became a short-range grenade duel between the Marines and North Vietnamese troops. While directing his men’s fire, Brandtner sprinted through their positions, scooping up enemy grenades and hurling them back toward the North Vietnamese.
When a grenade landed in one fire team’s position, Brandtner plucked up the explosive and tossed it away. He pushed two of the men to the ground and flung himself atop them, absorbing the grenade’s shrapnel in his own flak vest. He then turned his attention back to the growing firefight and consolidated his unit’s position even as he coordinated artillery strikes against the enemy force.
Eventually, the enemy melted away and Brandtner allowed corpsmen to tend his wounds.
Eight days later, on Sept. 11, Brandtner and his company were settling into nighttime defensive and ambush positions near the village of My Binh when they were attacked by a battalion-sized force.
Enemy mortar, machine-gun and rocket fire slammed the Marines, and Brandtner moved to an exposed position to better direct the defense.
Brandtner moved from position to position, directing his Marines’ fire, reorganizing the defense and inspiring his men. Seeing the enemy gather for a second push, Brandtner called artillery onto the North Vietnamese, the shells landing as close as 200 meters from his own lines.
Over the next two hours, the enemy launched three more attacks and was thrown back with severe losses each time. Eventually, the North Vietnamese withdrew, leaving 67 dead behind and evacuating an indeterminable number of dead and wounded.
Brandtner’s quick thinking and decisive action led to the enemy’s defeat and kept his own company’s losses down to one dead and 14 wounded.
These two actions resulted in Brandtner receiving two Navy Crosses and the distinction of being one of only two Marines in Vietnam to earn the medal twice.
Brandtner remained in the Corps for 24 more years, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant general before his retirement June 1, 1993.
The writer is a gunnery sergeant. He can be reached at kambtp@aol.com.