BEYOND THE DROPZONE

Navy Cross recipient Harrington to speak at Marine Corps Birthday Ball

Posted by W. Thomas Smith Jr. on 1 November 2009 at 1:58 pm UTC

[Photograph – Myron Harrington while serving as advisor to the South Vietnamese Marines, Quang Tri Province, I Corps, 1972]

COL. MYRON CHARLES HARRINGTON, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.) will present the keynote address at the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball to be held at Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbia, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.

A 1960 graduate of the Citadel, Harrington received the Navy Cross (an individual award for battlefield heroism second only to the Medal of Honor) for his actions as a Marine company commander – Delta Company, 1^st Battalion, 5^th Marines – during the bloody battle for the Vietnamese city of Hué (part of the broader Tet Offensive), 1968.

A portion of Harrington’s citation reads:

“…Disregarding his own safety, Captain Harrington then fearlessly maneuvered to the point of heaviest contact and, rallying his men, boldly led a determined assault against the enemy soldiers. Shouting words of encouragement to his men, he skillfully maneuvered his unit forward and directed the Marines’ fire upon the hostile emplacements. Largely due to his resolute determination and intrepid fighting spirit, his men overran the hostile positions and routed the North Vietnamese soldiers, accounting for twenty-five enemy soldiers confirmed killed. …”

Harrington went on to hold various posts in the Corps, including that of commanding officer, 24^th Marine Amphibious Unit, Beirut, Lebanon, soon after the 1983 terrorist-bombing of the U.S. Marine Barracks in that city.

Retiring from the Corps in 1991, Harrington accepted the position as headmaster of Trident Academy in Mount Pleasant. He served in that capacity from 1992 until retirement in 2007, and was subsequently designated “Headmaster Emeritus.” Harrington currently serves as co-chair of the Medal of Honor Society’s 2010 Convention project. Hosted by the South Carolina State Guard Foundation and the Citadel, the convention will be held next year in Charleston.

[Col. Harrington]

The Marine Corps will officially recognize its 234^th birthday with celebrations, worldwide, on dates (like Nov. 7) close to the official birth date (Nov. 10).

The celebration in Columbia will be hosted by the Greater Columbia Marine Foundation.

— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.

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