Sergeant, United States Marine Corps
John Beal served in the United States Marine Corps and was an NCO training specialist in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Warfare(CBRN). Sergeant Beal fought in Vietnam as a door gunner on a Huey gunship, earning his Marine Corps Combat Air Crew Wings and fighting in more than 200 active combat missions and 24 major counter-insurgency operations against the North Vietnamese Army in Khe Sanh, Con Thien, Lao Bảo, Dong Ha and the A Shau Valley.
He received the Combat Action Ribbon along with 8 Air Medals for bravery and was awarded a Single Mission Air Medal with Bronze Star by President Richard Nixon for heroism during the rescue of a severely wounded Marine reconnaissance team near Hamburger Hill in the A Shau Valley on April 11, 1969. According to the citation for the award, after a serious firefight with an overwhelming force near Lao Bảo earlier in the day, Beal’s crew refueled and came upon the trapped recon team. Surrounded by enemy fire, the five man team of wounded Marines were struggling to drag themselves up the extremely steep and muddy mountain to an accessible area, but were taking fire from all sides and nearly out of strength. While engaging the enemy, a rocket warhead crashed through the windscreen, hitting the pilot and crew chief. Without hesitation, the team trapped the as yet unexploded ordnance in the cabin and kept firing. The citation continues that due to his “unwavering tenacity in the face of withering enemy fire,” all five Marines were saved.
As his unit’s Civil Affairs Response NCO, Beal was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V for Valor for his service to Vietnamese refugees near the DMZ who had fled mass genocide by the North Vietnamese Army, in recognition of his dedication in helping to build schools, provide medical care and protect the civilians, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross and Vietnam Civil Actions Medal from the government of the Republic of Vietnam. Other medals include the Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Vietnam Service Medal and RVN Vietnam Campaign Medal.
