PORTLAND, Ore. — Jack Wright always wanted to be a Marine.
He grew up in a southern family where military service was expected and a source of pride. He eventually settled in Lake Oswego.
On Friday, his family and friends gathered on Swan Island in Portland to celebrate the awarding of the military's third-highest medal, the Silver Star.
It came for action back in August of 1967 when Lt. Wright was the old man in his platoon at the age of 22.
The North Vietnamese ambushed a military convoy using the main road near Wright's base.
His company commander went to help and was also ambushed so wright led 30 men to the rescue--against incredible odds, as many as 2000 enemy soldiers.
“We all were scared to death. The first thing you want to do is run like hell in the opposite direction,” Wright said. “But you have to overcome those fears and look death right in the eye and I can’t say it was easy. It was really hard.”
The battle lasted five and a half hours.
He got through, lost one man and had 17 wounded. But they rescued as many others as they could-- and killed 300 enemy soldiers.
After three tours of Vietnam, Wright left the Marines, honorably discharged, with the rank of Major.
The company commander, who Wright and his platoon rescued, was given an award for his actions in the battle.
Wright was nominated for an award too but in the rush and confusion of war, it got lost.
And it would have stayed that way if not for the men from his platoon, in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division.
Leo Geyza, a former Lance Corporal, decided it was not fair and that something had to be done.
He and other members of the platoon began quietly working through the Marine bureaucracy to get the award approved, at least that was the plan.
It was denied many times.
Retired Major General John Admire joined the effort and eventually they enlisted the help of Wright’s wife, Valerie.
Several more rejections followed. But they refused to give up.
After 12 years, the Marines and then the Secretary of the Navy approved the award.
And that’s how Major Jack Wright came to be standing on a stage on Swan Island.
Eight of the original members of his platoon, now in their early 70’s beamed at him from the audience.
It surprised no one that he honored his men, asking them to stand for applause and talking about the brotherhood they still share.
“It’s the love and devotion of the Marines to one another and the importance of the mission,” he said.
All these years later, he still chokes up talking about that day and his love of the men he led through battle.
“Mission comes first. If you take care of the mission and you look after the troops, everything works,” Wright said. “So, I was just honored to be um, in the company…”
The words stopped flowing. But Major Wright gestured toward his men with the microphone and they knew what he meant. Everyone began clapping their hands and wiping their eyes.
It took 52 years, but the remarkable bravery of Major Jack Wright is now officially recognized by the United States Marines and the Department of Defense in the form of the Silver Star, the third highest award possible for the military.
