In June 1965, Construction Mechanic Third Class Marvin G. Shields was at Dong Xoai, South Vietnam, to build.
Shields and Seabee Team 1104 had been constructing and improving a Civilian Irregular Defense Group camp about 55 miles north of Saigon. Their work was the Seabee mission in its purest form: turn an exposed position into something stronger.
Then, on the night of June 9, a reinforced Viet Cong regiment attacked.
The compound of Detachment A-342, 5th Special Forces Group, came under machine-gun, heavy-weapons, and small-arms fire. Shields was wounded early. He did not leave the line.
For approximately three hours, he carried ammunition to the defenders and returned fire. When the assault surged at close range, he was wounded again. He helped carry a more critically wounded man to safety—then returned to his position and continued fighting for another four hours.
Seven hours under fire. Two wounds. The defense was still not over.
An enemy machine-gun emplacement was pinning down the compound with deadly accuracy. When the commander asked for a volunteer to go forward with him and destroy it, Shields stepped forward.
Together they moved outside the defensive position with a 3.5-inch rocket launcher. They destroyed the emplacement, relieving the fire that threatened everyone still inside the compound. Shields was mortally wounded while returning to friendly lines.
He died during helicopter evacuation on June 10.
Marvin Shields became the first—and remains the only—Seabee to receive the Medal of Honor. He was also the first U.S. Navy recipient of the Medal of Honor for action in Vietnam.
He arrived at Dong Xoai as a builder. When the camp was attacked, he kept building something that could not be made from timber, tools, or sandbags: time for the wounded, ammunition for the defenders, and one more chance for the position to hold.
Tenacity is continuing the work after the mission changes completely. It is carrying what others need, returning after every wound, and stepping forward when the last obstacle must be removed.
This.... is what Tenacity Is.
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