On July 18, 1966, Staff Sgt. John James McGinty III and Company K, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, were serving as rear guard for his besieged battalion when North Vietnamese soldiers attacked, cutting off 20 men of his platoon. Although wounded in his left eye, McGinty rushed through enemy fire to join his men, all of whom were wounded. After reloading their weapons, he directed them in a defense against enemy assaults, shooting five NVA troops point-blank with his pistol and calling in air strikes to within 50 yards of the Marines’ position. They ultimately routed the NVA force, which suffered some 500 casualties.