Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. Collection

Biographical Information

Name:

Harvey C. Barnum, Jr.

State of Birth:

CT

Home State:

VA

Note

MV01 contains an interview with Hiroshi H. Miyamura AFC 2001/001/89470.

Gender

Male

Race

White

---

War or Conflict

Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Military Status

Veteran

Dates of Service

1962-1989

Entrance into Service

Commissioned

Branch of Service

Marine Corps

Unit of Service

Battery A, 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division; 2nd MAW (Marine Aircraft Wing); Company H, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division

Location of Service

Quantico, Virginia; Okinawa, Japan; Vietnam; Philippines; Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Fort Sill, Oklahoma; Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Arlington, Virginia

Highest Rank

Colonel

Prisoner of War

No

Service History Note

The veteran earned the Medal of Honor for his conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. When the company was suddenly pinned down by a hail of extremely accurate enemy fire and was quickly separated from the remainder of the battalion by over 500 meters of open and fire-swept ground, and casualties mounted rapidly. Lieutenant Barnum quickly made a hazardous reconnaissance of the area, seeking targets for his artillery. Finding the rifle company commander mortally wounded and the radio operator killed, he, with complete disregard for his safety, gave aid to the dying commander, then removed the radio from the dead operator and strapped it to himself. He immediately assumed command of the rifle company, and moving at once into the midst of the heavy fire, rallying and giving encouragement to all units, reorganized them to replace the loss of key personnel and led their attack on enemy positions from which deadly fire continued to come. His sound and swift decisions and his obvious calm served to stabilize the badly decimated units and his gallant example as he stood exposed repeatedly to point out targets served as an inspiration to all. Provided with two armed helicopters, he moved fearlessly through enemy fire to control the air attack against the firmly entrenched enemy while skillfully directing one platoon in a successful counterattack on the key enemy positions. Having thus cleared a small area, he requested and directed the landing of two transport helicopters for the evacuation of the dead and wounded. He then assisted in the mopping up and final seizure of the battalion's objective. His gallant initiative and heroic conduct reflected great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service [information taken from U.S. Army Center of Military History Medal of Honor Citations http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/mohviet.htm]. The veteran also served with Battery E, 2nd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division; 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment; and as military secretary to the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Collection Information

Type of Resource:

Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview

Video: Betacam SP [1 item] -- Oral history interview

Manuscript: Biographical information [2 items] -- Typewritten document

Computer File: Hard Drive [0 item] -- Multiple types of electronic files

Interviewer:

unknown interviewer

Contributor:

Thomas Wilkerson

Contributor Affiliation/Organization:

Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation (CMOH)

Collection #:

AFC/2001/001/89623

Subjects:

Barnum Jr., Harvey C.

Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Personal Narratives

United States. Marine Corps.

Cite as:

Harvey C. Barnum, Jr. Collection
(AFC/2001/001/89623), Veterans History Project, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress