2nd Lt. John P. Bobo, USMC - Medal of Honor Award for action on 30 March, 1967
Medal of Honor citations include an account of a period of a battle, whether over the span of weeks, or in a single action. What the citation doesn’t tell us is who the recipient was prior to battle, where they came from, and how they and their unit found themselves to be in that location in that specific moment. John Bobo’s citation is an example of this. I’d like to flesh out who he was, and the circumstances that led to his award.
I Corps was the northern-most military district in South Vietnam. Third Marine Amphibious Force (III MAF) was responsible for Marine operations in the area, just south of the DMZ that had separated North from South Vietnam since July of 1954. North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong (VC) units opposed to the Republic of Vietnam in the south crossed the DMZ periodically to attack U.S. and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) outposts and trucking on Highway 9, which ran from the coast to the mountains in the west and Laos.
In 1967 Ninth Marines, a unit of Third Marine Division (3rd MarDiv) and III MAF, conducted sweeps of the area north of Highway 9 seeking to interdict VC and NVA forces attacking allied outposts. In a series of operations named “Prairie” the three battalions of Ninth Marines, augmented by Third Battalion, Fourth Marines, maneuvered across varied terrain, ranging from rolling plains of elephant grass, to steep, densely wooded hillsides, seeking to engage the enemy.
As in Korea a decade earlier, the Marines of I Corps found themselves at a disadvantage, in that they could not pursue communist troops that retreated to north of the DMZ. During Operation Prairie, the best III MAF and Ninth Marines could do would be to patrol, locate, engage and destroy any NVA and Vietcong units that appeared south of the border.
Prairie I kicked-off in early January and concluded on January 31; with up to six US battalions had been committed to the battle. Communist forces suffered upwards of 1,300 dead, and the Marines 239 KIA with another 1,200 wounded.
Prairie II kicked off in early February, when Marine Intelligence determined NVA forces marshalling in great strength north of the DMZ. III MAF’s artillery support, Twelfth Marines, was allowed on this occasion to fire into North Vietnam to counter the massing of forces. By the time Prairie II concluded, the communists had suffered six hundred dead, the Marines ninety-three, with four hundred eighty-three wounded, in a period of less than a month.
Third Battalion, Ninth Marines (3/9) originally stood up in November of 1917 at Quantico, Virginia. With the end of the war, the battalion colors were struck, until February of 1942, when the unit reformed at Camp Elliot, east of San Diego. During the Second World War 3/9 fought at Bougainville, in the Northern Solomons, Guam, and Iwo Jima. In December of 1945 the battalion furled its colors again until 1952, when it was reestablished to serve with the Third Marine Division in Japan and Far East Asia.
By the 1960s Marine battalions were serving in various capacities as advisors in friendly, anti-Communist countries of the region. 3/9 became the first Marine battalion committed to ground combat when it landed north of Danang in March of 1965. Since that time, 3/9 had been assigned to III MAF, conducting operations in I Corps. Periodically 3/9 rotated companies to the SLR, an amphibious reaction force positioned aboard ship off the shore of South Vietnam to provide an additional threat to NVA and VC units operating in I Corps.
With the beginning of Operation Prairie III, Third Battalion, Ninth Marines, 3/9, found itself replacing battalions 3/3 and 1/9 in the field in late March of 1967. Days consisted of constant movement, patrolling, and seeking any signs of VC or NVA across the wide terrain. High heat, humidity and life in the field wore at the heavily equipped Marine infantry.[1]
By the end of March they were tasked with conducting platoon scale night ambushes. On March 30, Company I, 3/9 was positioned on Hill 70, west of Con Thien, with platoons set out for ambushes, when the North Vietnamese attacked.
John Bobo was born in Niagara Falls, New York on February 14, 1943. The oldest of five children in a devoutly Catholic family, he attended Bishop Duffy High School, where he lettered in track, and graduated in 1961. That fall he started at Niagara University, a Catholic College of the Vincentian tradition, located above the Niagara River gorge. He lettered in track, played intramural sports, and lifted weights at the local Y.
In June of 1965 he graduated with a bachelor’s in history. In October he enlisted in the Marine Reserves. After completing Officer Candidates School, in Quantico, Virginia, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve on December 7, 1965. From there he moved across base to The Basic School, joining E Company for six months of training. Upon completion of TBS, he shipped off for Vietnam, arriving on July 10, 1966. Between the time he arrived in country, and March of 1967, he was wounded, earning his first Purple Heart.
As India Company came under attack, 2nd Lieutenant Bobo moved up and down the defensive line, directing fire, and repositioning Marines and weapons to repulse the NVA. Two walking mortar barrages, followed by an all-out assault on the company headquarters position, resulted in the NVA overrunning India 3/9’s command post.
While leading the defense of the command post, Bobo was wounded by a mortar round, losing his leg from above the knee. Refusing evacuation, he asked for ammunition for the shotgun he armed himself with, and made a last stand, protecting the withdrawal of his fellow Marines. His award citation details his actions.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Weapons Platoon Commander, Company I, Third Battalion, Ninth Marines, Third Marine Division, in Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 30 March 1967. Company I was establishing night ambush sites when the command group was attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company supported by heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire. Lieutenant BOBO immediately organized a hasty defense and moved from position to position encouraging the outnumbered Marines despite the murderous enemy fire. Recovering a rocket launcher from among the friendly casualties, he organized a new launcher team and directed its fire into the enemy machine gun position. When an exploding enemy mortar round severed Lieutenant Bobo's right leg below the knee, he refused to be evacuated and insisted upon being placed in a firing position to cover the movement of the command group to a better location. With a web belt around his leg serving as tourniquet and with his leg jammed into the dirt to curtail the bleeding, he remained in this position and delivered devastating fire into the ranks of the enemy attempting to overrun the Marines. Lieutenant BOBO was mortally wounded while firing his weapon into the main point of the enemy attack but his valiant spirit inspired his men to heroic efforts, and his tenacious stand enabled the command group to gain a protective position where it repulsed the enemy onslaught. Lieutenant BOBO's superb leadership, dauntless courage, and bold initiative reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
S/Lyndon B. Johnson
I Company’s losses on the 14th were significant; forty-seven wounded, and sixteen dead, including the company commanding officer, company executive officer, and Bobo. Bobo was the first commissioned officer from Niagara County to die in the Vietnam War, and the second son of Niagara Falls to die in Vietnam in March of 1967.
In August of 1968 Bobo’s family traveled to the Marine Barracks at 8th & I in DC to receive his award from the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Leonard F. Chapman, Jr. The chow hall at OCS in Quantico is named after him, as is a Military Sealift Command ship.
John Bobo’s heroism earned him a spot in the pantheon of Medal of Honor and Marine heroes. You can visit his simple grave at Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Lewiston, New York.
[1] In 1967, Marines in the field wore the OG-107 Tropical Combat Uniform, more commonly known as “jungle fatigues”. These were made of a cotton poplin in a medium green shade. The trousers had slash front pockets, rear pockets, and cargo pockets on the thighs. The blouse was of the same material, with two slant breast pockets and two front pockets below the waist. All blouse pockets, and the rear and cargo pockets were button closure, with a protective flap to prevent the buttons from snagging on foliage. Footwear was typically “jungle boots”, a black leather lower with a olive drab tongue and uppers. The soft cover would be the eight-point Marine Corps utility cover, and the helmet would be the M-1 steel pot with fiberglass liner. A flak jacket would be worn, usually the M-1952 model with twelve layers of ballistic nylon for protection against fragments and rounds with less than rifle velocity. Web gear, or 782 gear, was of the M-1956 style, a heavy OD cotton, and would consist of H-style suspenders attached to a pistol belt that supported magazine pouches, a butt pack, canteens, rifle cleaning gear, and bayonet (or fighting knife and pistol holster for those so armed). Officers carried the M-1911 in .45 caliber, fire team leaders carried the M-79 40mm grenade launcher and M-1911, and riflemen the M-14 service rifle in 7.62mm NATO. John Bobo’s weapons platoon would have carried rocket launchers, 60mm mortars, and M-60 GPMGs. The environment was harsh on Marines and their cotton utilities; vegetation and constant high humidity meant replacements would be required after extended periods in the field. Weapons maintenance was a constant activity, to mitigate the effects of moisture and dirt.
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