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Medal of Honor Recipient

James Donnie Howe

U.S. Marine Corps · Vietnam War

MOH-RC-002051Source-based record

The award

Representative medal image: Navy design with a neck ribbon. Not a portrait or a photograph of this recipient’s own medal.
Navy Medal of HonorAction-era reference: 1970

Portrait not yet available. Representative medal shown.

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Medal of Honor

May 6, 1970

Republic of Vietnam

Rank at action
Lance Corporal
Service
U.S. Marine Corps
Conflict
Vietnam War
Unit or command
Company I, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein) FMF

The Citation

Sources ↓
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with Company I, during operations against enemy forces. In the early morning hours L/Cpl. Howe and 2 other marines were occupying a defensive position in a sandy beach area fronted by bamboo thickets. Enemy sappers suddenly launched a grenade attack against the position, utilizing the cover of darkness to carry out their assault. Following the initial explosions of the grenades, L/Cpl. Howe and his 2 comrades moved to a more advantageous position in order to return suppressive fire. When an enemy grenade landed in their midst, L/Cpl. Howe immediately shouted a warning and then threw himself upon the deadly missile, thereby protecting the lives of the fellow marines. His heroic and selfless action was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He valiantly gave his life in the service of his country.

Sources & record notes

General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.

  1. James Donnie Howe — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-30

    current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison

Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
Award ID
MOH-AW-002061
Transcription status
Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
Last source check
2026-08-30
Entered service at
Fort Jackson, S.C.
Archive transcription SHA-256
73eed19b24bbeb402c4d02e87c541fab7b158cceb192b8dfb25c3414151062e1

Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.

The current authoritative source expands or normalizes the inherited name from James D. Howe to James Donnie Howe; both renderings remain preserved. The current authoritative unit wording is Company I, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein) FMF; the inherited unit Company I, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division remains preserved as a source variant. The current historical action-place wording replaces only the controlled canonical geocoder field; the complete inherited place remains preserved. The current authoritative profile classifies the action under Vietnam War; the inherited Not yet classified value remains preserved in the audit record.

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