Joseph Guy LaPointe Jr. (July 2, 1948 – June 2, 1969) was a

combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injur ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

who

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

received the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

for his actions during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Biography

LaPointe, known to his family as "Guy", was born and raised in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

. After graduating from Northridge High School in 1966, he moved to nearby Clayton and worked as a

mail carrier A mail carrier, mailman, mailwoman, postal carrier, postman, postwoman, or letter carrier (in American English), sometimes colloquially known as a postie (in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom), is an employee of a post ...

in Englewood. LaPointe was a nature lover and an avid

hiker Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Hist ...

. LaPointe was drafted in 1968 and declared himself a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...

. He married Cindy Failor of Dayton, Ohio at the Englewood First Baptist Church in Ohio, during his training at the Army Medical Training Center,

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Repres ...

, Texas. He became a

and was sent to Vietnam in November 1968. By June 2 of the next year, he was a specialist four serving with the 2nd Squadron,

17th Cavalry Regiment The 17th Cavalry Regiment is a historical organization within the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry after the Pancho Villa Expedition. The unit was constituted on 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army as the 17th Cavalry at Fort ...

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operat ...

. On that day, he participated in a patrol on Hill 376 in Quảng Tín Province during Operation Lamar Plain. When his unit came under heavy fire from entrenched enemy forces and took several casualties, LaPointe ran through the

automatic weapon An automatic firearm is an Repeating firearm#Autoloading, auto-loading firearm that continuously Chamber (firearms), chambers and fires Cartridge (firearms), rounds when the trigger (firearms), trigger mechanism is actuated. The action (firearms) ...

s fire to reach two wounded men at the head of the patrol. He treated the soldiers and shielded them with his body, even after being twice wounded, until an enemy grenade killed all three men. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in January 1972. His other decorations include the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, and

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It is awarded to every member of the US Armed Forces who has served during any one of four ...

. He left a "widow, Cindy LaPointe Dafler, and son Joseph G. LaPointe III, who... never met his father."

Medal of Honor citation

LaPointe's official Medal of Honor citation reads: ;Citation Memorialjosephg

Legacy

Several structures have been named in LaPointe's honor: * Housing complex and medical complex in

Fort Campbell, Kentucky Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Divi ...

* Medical heliport in

Fort Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

* Army Reserve Center in

Riverside, Ohio Riverside is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States. A suburb of Dayton, The population was 25,201 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Riverside is located at (39.778858, -84.123094 ...

. On June 2, 2009, the 40th anniversary of his death, LaPointe's widow and son were presented with the Medal of Honor flag during a ceremony at the LaPointe Army Reserve Center in Riverside. * A portion of

Ohio State Route 49 State Route 49 (SR 49) is a state highway in the western part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It begins in Drexel, an area within the city of Trotwood, at US 35 and runs northwesterly to Greenville, and then runs roughly along near the western edg ...

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Mon ...

has been designated the "Joseph G. LaPointe Jr. Memorial Highway".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapointe, Joseph G. Jr. 1948 births 1969 deaths United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio Combat medics American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Conscientious objector Medal of Honor recipients Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Clayton, Ohio Deaths by hand grenade United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

Legacy

See also

References

External links