Allan J . Kellogg Allan Jay Kellogg , Jr . ( born October 1 , 1943 ) is a retired sergeant major in the United States Marine Corps . He received the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor , for his actions as a Staff Sergeant on March 11 , 1970 , during the Vietnam War . Biography . Early years . Allan Jay Kellogg , Jr . was born on October 1 , 1943 , in Bethel , Connecticut , and graduated from elementary school there in 1958 . He attended Bethel High School ( Connecticut ) | Bethel High School for two years before dropping out in 1959 . He enlisted in the U . S . Marine Corps on November 14 , 1960 , in Bridgeport , Connecticut . Marine Corps service . He received recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina and individual combat training at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina . Following graduation , he was assigned duty as a rifleman , assistant automatic rifleman , and fire team leader , consecutively , with Company K , 3rd Battalion , 2nd Marine Division , Camp Lejeune . He was promoted to Private First Class in June 1961 , to Lance Corporal in April 1962 , and to Corporal in October 1962 . From December 1962 until November 1964 , Cpl Kellogg served as squad leader with Company D , 1st Battalion , 4th Marines , 1st Marine Brigade . Upon his return to the United States , he was assigned duty as Sergeant of the Guard , Marine Air Base Squadron 31 , Marine Aircraft Group 31 at Beaufort , South Carolina . He was promoted to Sergeant on May 1 , 1965 . In March 1966 , he was ordered to the Republic of Vietnam where he served as Weapons Platoon Sergeant and later , Company Supply Non - commissioned Officer of Company F , 2nd Battalion , 9th Marines , 3rd Marine Division . He was promoted to Staff Sergeant on July 1 , 1967 . In December 1967 , SSgt Kellogg was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division , Camp Lejeune , serving as a squad leader with M - 16 Special Task Group Command , 3rd Battalion , 8th Marines and subsequently as a platoon sergeant , and later , platoon commander of Company I , 3rd Battalion , 6th Marines . Returning for his second tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam in December 1969 , SSgt Kellogg served briefly as a platoon sergeant with Company A , 1st Battalion , 26th Marines . During March 1970 , he was reassigned duty as a platoon sergeant of Company G , 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines , 1st Marine Division . His actions on March 11 , 1970 earned him the Medal of Honor . Wounded in action in Quang Nam Province on May 8 , 1970 , he was evacuated to the U . S . Naval Hospital , Yokosuka , Japan . He was released from the hospital in October 1970 and returned to duty that December , when he assumed his assignment as Instructor , Field Medical Service School , at Camp Pendleton , California . He was promoted to Gunnery Sergeant on July 1 , 1972 . In 1975 he served at Marine Barracks , Pearl Harbor , rank of Gunnery Sergeant . During the fall of Saigon while the last Marine troops were conducting the evacuation of the US Embassy in Saigon , in March and April 1975 , he brought a TV into the squad bay at Marine Barracks Pearl Harbor . He explained the historical importance of what was happening to a few Marines , his subordinates , who were off duty in the barracks at that time . He served as a role model and highly experienced leader of the Marine Security Guards he held command over at that time . He was later promoted to Sergeant Major , and retired from the Marine Corps in October 1990 . In 1984 , Kellogg designated The Unknown service member from the Vietnam War during a ceremony at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , May 17 , 1984 . The Unknown service member was later identified in 1998 as Air Force 1st Lt Michael Joseph Blassie , following mitochondrial DNA testing . Later life . After retiring from the military , Kellogg remained in Hawaii and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs as a benefit counselor at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu . Son Aaron is a Paratrooper in the U . S Army and stationed in Vicenza , Italy with the 173rd Airborne Brigade . He is a member of the elite Team 1 in the wombat platoon led by SSG Thomas Doyle . Awards and honors . A complete list of his medals and decorations includes : Medal of Honor citation . The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to GUNNERY SERGEANT ALLAN J . KELLOGG , JR . UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following CITATION :