Jimmy G. Stewart

Jimmy Goethel Stewart (December 25, 1942 – May 18, 1966) was a United States Army soldier and a posthumous recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Biography Born on December 25, 1942, in West Columbia, West Virginia, Stewart joined the Army from Ashland, Kentucky in 1960. He served in Vietnam as a staff sergeant with Company B of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On the morning of May 18, 1966, Company B was manning a defensive position when they were attacked by a reinforced North Vietnamese company, with the main thrust of the assault pitting Stewart's 6-man squad against a platoon-sized hostile force. Although his five squadmates fell wounded, Stewart ignored an opportunity to withdraw and instead held his position alone for four hours, tossing back enemy-thrown grenades and crawling through heavy fire to retrieve ammunition from the wounded. When a friendly platoon arrived and counterattacked the North Vietnamese, he moved forward and was killed while assisting their effort. For these actions, he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in September 1967.