{"id":11329,"date":"2024-03-25T08:34:57","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T12:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aoh.com\/?p=11329"},"modified":"2024-03-25T08:34:59","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T12:34:59","slug":"the-childhood-friends-who-earned-the-medal-of-honor-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aoh.com\/2024\/03\/25\/the-childhood-friends-who-earned-the-medal-of-honor-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Childhood Friends Who Earned the Medal of Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the historically Irish neighborhood of Woodside, Queens, stands a monument to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in the Vietnam War.  On the monument are inscribed the names of 27 young men from the local Zip Code of  11377,  more than any other postal code in the nation to die in that conflict.   However, the Irish community of Woodside has another unique distinction touching on the Vietnam War, the story of two childhood friends from that community who would both enlist in the Marines and earn our nation\u2019s highest award for valor, with sadly one also earning an inscription on that monument. Robert Emmett O\u2019Malley and Thomas Patrick Noonan were born within five months of each other in that special neighborhood in 1943.  A picture of the 1949 Kindergarten class of P.S. 76 shows the two boys as classmates.  The two attended school and church together and were close friends throughout childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n

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After graduating High School, O\u2019Malley enlisted in the Marines, where he and his three brothers would serve their country. On 18 August 1965, while leading his squad, they came under intense fire from a strongly entrenched enemy force pinning his men.  With complete disregard for his own safety, O\u2019Malley raced across an open rice paddy to the trench where the enemy was located.  Jumping into the trench, he attacked the Viet Cong with his rifle and grenades and single-handedly killed eight of the enemy. He then led his squad to the assistance of an adjacent Marine unit which was also taking heavy casualties, where O\u2019Malley personally assisted in evacuating several wounded Marines. Ordered to an evacuation point by an officer, Corporal O\u2019Malley gathered his badly wounded squad and led them under fire to a helicopter. Although he himself was wounded three times, O\u2019Malley continued to cover his squad\u2019s boarding of the helicopters while, from an exposed position, he delivered fire against the enemy until the last of his men were safely on board. Only then did O\u2019Malley permit himself to be removed from the battlefield. O\u2019Malley would become the first living Marine to receive the Medal of Honor for service in the Viet Nam War.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Equally brave but not as fortunate, O\u2019Malley\u2019s childhood friend Thomas Noonan also enlisted in the Marines.  On 5 February 1969, Lance Cpl. Noonan was serving as a fire team leader with Company G, Second Battalion, Ninth Marines, Third Marine Division in Quang Tri Province when they came under heavy fire as they descended a treacherous, muddy hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four Marines were wounded and pinned under continuous enemy fire. Noonan scrambled from his own position behind cover toward the wounded men, diving behind some rocks as he went. Finally \u201che dashed across the hazardous terrain and commenced dragging the most seriously wounded man away from the fire-swept area<\/em>.\u201d Although \u201cknocked to the ground by an enemy round<\/em>,\u201d Noonan resumed dragging the man toward safety. \u201cHe was, however, mortally wounded before he could reach his destination<\/em>.\u201d  Noonan would be awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his selfless sacrifice.  After Noonan\u2019s death in Vietnam, O\u2019Malley remained in contact with the Noonan family and visited Noonan\u2019s mother every year on Memorial Day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On presenting the Medal of Honor to Robert Emmett O\u2019Malley, President Johnson remarked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cEvery time I have awarded the Medal of Honor, I wonder what it is that makes men of this quality and I wonder what a man can say in the face of such bravery.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact that two men of such quality were classmates from the same Irish American neighborhood in New York, joining the company of numerous other Irish Americans who hold our nation\u2019s highest honor, is a testament to the heritage, culture, and traditions which produces such men and women of quality with remarkable regularity.<\/p>\n

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