John J . McGinty III Captain John James McGinty III ( born January 21 , 1940 ) is a retired United States Marine Corps officer who received the United States militaries ' highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for heroism during July 1966 in the Vietnam War . Early life and education . John McGinty was born on January 21 , 1940 in Boston , Massachusetts . He completed grammar school in Louisville , Kentucky in 1955 , and attended high school in Louisville for a year and a half prior to enlisting in the United States Marine Corps Reserve on February 19 , 1957 . Military service . Upon Discharging from the Marine Corps Reserve , he enlisted in the Marine Corps as active duty on March 3 , 1958 . He completed recruit training with the 3rd Recruit Training Battalion , Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina . He then went to advanced infantry combat training with Company M , 3rd Battalion , 1st Infantry Training Regiment , Camp Lejeune , North Carolina . He was promoted to private first class in September 1957 , and was transferred to the 7th Infantry Company , USMCR , Louisville , Kentucky , to serve as a rifleman until March 1958 . Private First Class McGinty completed the Noncommissioned Officers Leadership School , Camp Pendleton , California in May 1958 . He was then ordered to Marine Barracks , U . S . Naval Station , Kodiak , Alaska until May 1959 . While stationed in Alaska , he was promoted to Corporal in September 1958 . Transferred to the 1st Marine Division in June 1959 , he saw duty as a rifleman leader , and later , squad leader with Company I , 3rd Battalion , 5th Marines . Upon his return to the United States , he served as Guard / Company Police Sergeant , H & S Battalion , FMF , Atlantic , at Norfolk , Virginia , until March 1962 . From there , he was ordered to Marine Corps Recruit Depot , Parris Island , South Carolina , and assigned duty as Drill Instructor , 2nd Recruit Training Battalion . He was promoted to Sergeant in August 1962 . From November 1964 until December 1965 , Sgt McGinty saw duty as Assistant Brig Warden , Marine Barracks , U . S . Naval Base , Norfolk , Virginia . Sergeant McGinty was ordered to the West Coast for transfer to the Far East . Joining the 4th Marines , 3rd Marine Division , in the Republic of Vietnam in April 1966 , he served successively as a platoon sergeant and platoon commander , Company K , 3rd Battalion , as S - 2 Officer and Operation Chief , H & S Company , 3rd Battalion , and as Operations Chief , with Headquarters Company , 4th Marines . It was in 1966 , during Operation Hastings , that McGinty distinguished himself in the actions for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor . Upon his return to the United States in May 1967 , he reported to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot , Parris Island , South Carolina . He served as a drill instructor until his promotion to second lieutenant on August 8 , 1967 . The following day , he assumed his assignment as Series Officer , 1st Recruit Battalion , at the Recruit Depot , Parris Island . On March 12 , 1968 , President Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to 2ndLt McGinty in a ceremony at the White House in which fellow Marine Robert J . Modrzejewski was also honored . Captain McGinty retired from the Marine Corps in October 1976 . Later life . In the 1980s McGinty felt that there was a conflict between wearing his Medal of Honor ( which bears the image of the Roman goddess Minerva ) and his new - found Christian faith . Some news agencies reported that McGinty wanted to return his Medal of Honor . McGinty now resides in Chula Vista , California . Pistol stolen and later returned . McGinty ' s USMC M1911 pistol , mentioned in his Medal of Honor citation , was stolen from a display in 1978 . In 2011 , history buff George Berry purchased the pistol from an auction . Curious about the name engraved on the pistol , Berry contacted McGinty and subsequently returned the pistol to its rightful owner . McGinty sent back another M1911 pistol along with a Medal of Honor challenge coin in gratitude . Awards and decorations . A complete list of his medals and decorations includes : the Medal of Honor , the Purple Heart , the Good Conduct Medal with two bronze stars , the Combat Action Ribbon , the Presidential Unit Citation , the National Defense Service Medal , the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars , the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm , and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal . Medal of Honor citation . The official Medal of Honor citation reads : Honors . On May 19 , 2004 , the South Carolina General Assembly passed Bill 5281 , a resolution " commend [ ing ] the extraordinary heroism of Marine Staff Sergeant John J . McGinty III , a native of Massachusetts who entered the service in South Carolina , and who was awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam Conflict for Valor . "