John is one of six we lost on Hill 488. He left D Co 1st Recon Bn to join C Co 1st Recon Bn. Some of the most decorated Marines of VietNam occupied this hill on June 15th 1966. On the 16th of June we lost six of our best Marines of 1st Recon Bn. You are in our thoughts 35 years later, John. You have become part of the history of the 1st Recon Battalion. Visit the 1st Recon Battalion A memorial initiated by a fellow Marine, Randy Kendall Tkendall1@aol.com The President of the United States takes pride in awarding the NAVY CROSS to JOHN TERRY ADAMS Lance Corporal for service as set forth in the following CITATION: For extraordinary heroism while serving with Company C, 1st Platoon, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in Vietnam on 16 June 1966. Corporal Adams was a member of a reconnaissance team occupying an observation post on Hill 488, Quang Tin Province, deep in enemy controlled territory. During the early morning hours the platoon of eighteen men was subjected to an intense assault by an estimated North Vietnamese unit of battalion size. As the members of his team were withdrawing to a predesignated defensive perimeter, Corporal Adams braved the withering small-arms fire and returned accurate rifle fire which momentarily slowed the enemy assault force and enabled his companions to reach the relative safety of the defensive position. Firing all his ammunition, Corporal Adams fearlessly charged directly into the assaulting horde and, using his rifle as a club, killed two of the enemy soldiers before he was struck down by automatic weapons fire. Severely wounded, he once again engaged an enemy soldier in hand-to-hand combat and, in a final effort, killed his foe. As a result of his courageous action and fighting spirit, his comrades were able to rally and withstand the onslaught of the numerically superior enemy. Corporal Adams upheld the finest traditions of the United States Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.

 

29 May 2006 Although I followed you guys a little over a year later what you accomplished was nothing less than heroic, and legendary. May GOD bless all of of you and those who came to try and rescue you. GOD bless those who made it out and those that did not. SEMPER FI From a fellow reconer, Roger Fleming sabre1@atmc.net

 

Notes from The Virtual Wall The battle on 16 June 1966 on Hill 488 (Nui Vu) involved a full battalion of North Vietnamese Army regulars assaulting 18 men of the 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Recon Battalion, led by Staff Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard. The Recon Marines had established an observation post atop Nui Vu in order to identify and prosecute by remote fire VC/NVA forces operating in the mountains west of Chu Lai. The operation was sufficiently effective to get the NVA commander's attention and sufficiently dangerous for him to commit a fresh battalion to eradicate the Marines. He failed. The NVA assault on Hill 488 began in late afternoon and continued through the night. The beleagued Marines were assisted by Marine and Air Force helicopter and fixed wing air support, but it was sheer courage and determination that permitted the Marines to hold until morning. Charlie 1/5 Marines were airlifted onto the reverse slope of Hill 488 and relieved the Recon Marines. Of the 18 men in the Recon Platoon, 6 died and 12 were wounded. Two men of Charlie 1/5 Marines and one each from VMO-2 and VMO-6 (Marine UH-1 squadrons) died. One Medal of Honor (Staff Sergeant Howard), 4 Navy Crosses, and 13 Silver Stars were awarded. Immediately after the battle, Captain F. J. West, USMCR, interviewed men from Howard's platoon, Charlie 1/5, airmen from the squadrons which supported Howard, and others. In 1967 the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, published his account of the fight on Hill 488. Captain West's account is available on The Virtual Wall at HILL 488

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