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Master Sergeant Richard A. Pittman passes

by Jonn Lilyea••20

Richard A. Pittman

Bobo sends us the sad news that Marine Master Sergeant Richard A. Pittman has passed at the age of 71. Sergeant Pittman was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on July 24, 1966 near the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam. From his citation;

While Company 1 was conducting an operation along the axis of a narrow jungle trail, the leading company elements suffered numerous casualties when they suddenly came under heavy fire from a well concealed and numerically superior enemy force. Hearing the engaged marines’ calls for more firepower, Sgt. Pittman quickly exchanged his rifle for a machinegun and several belts of ammunition, left the relative safety of his platoon, and unhesitatingly rushed forward to aid his comrades. Taken under intense enemy small-arms fire at point blank range during his advance, he returned the fire, silencing the enemy position. As Sgt. Pittman continued to forge forward to aid members of the leading platoon, he again came under heavy fire from 2 automatic weapons which he promptly destroyed. Learning that there were additional wounded marines 50 yards further along the trail, he braved a withering hail of enemy mortar and small-arms fire to continue onward. As he reached the position where the leading marines had fallen, he was suddenly confronted with a bold frontal attack by 30 to 40 enemy. Totally disregarding his safety, he calmly established a position in the middle of the trail and raked the advancing enemy with devastating machinegun fire. His weapon rendered ineffective, he picked up an enemy submachinegun and, together with a pistol seized from a fallen comrade, continued his lethal fire until the enemy force had withdrawn. Having exhausted his ammunition except for a grenade which he hurled at the enemy, he then rejoined his platoon. Sgt. Pittman’s daring initiative, bold fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty inflicted casualties, disrupted the enemy attack and saved the lives of many of his wounded comrades.

President Johnson awarded him the Medal of Honor on May 14, 1968 and Pittman, born on May 26, 1945 in French Camp, San Joaquin County, California, retired from the Marine Corps as a Master Sergeant on October 27, 1988.

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20 thoughts on “Master Sergeant Richard A. Pittman passes”

  5. One amazing fact about him is that he duped the Marines into enlisting after being turned down by the Army Navy and Air Force. He was legally blind in one eye.

    2. A few years ago, I posted a comment about an article on the Camp Pendleton base paper about a MOH recipient that managed to enlist despite being blind in one eye. Obviously, this is the same individual.

  7. I love it … his last bit of ammo was a grenade that he threw at them while they ran away!

    No doubt when he arrived at the gates, Richard got head of the line privileges and St. Peter announced, “this one is good to go”.

  9. No! The world is a lesser place today. Master Sergeant Pittman was a hell of a man. I had the pleasure of meeting him when he was the guest of honor for the MARDET USS Ranger 1986 Marine Corps birthday ball.

    I still remember his speech. It was, “Happy birthday, now open the bar!”

    He also saved two of my Marines asses as the Provost Marshal of Camp Pendleton. They got caught on/near the grounds of the San Onofre nuclear plant. He called our commander and we picked them up. No charges, nothing.

    He will be missed.

  13. Men like you made us proud to be Marines. It is good to see and read what a real man did in time of crisis. What a pleasant change from what we see all too often on these pages. Honor and character are two traits that separate heroes from zeroes. There are men alive today as a result of your willingness to sacrifice as needed. R I P Sir.
    Semper Fi

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