Joe Ronnie Hooper

U.S. Army
Medal Of Honor, Vietnam

 Photo Courtesy of HomeOfHeroes.com

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Staff Sergeant Hooper's company was assaulting an enemy position along a river bank when it was hit by a hail of enemy fire. He rallied several men and stormed across the river, overrunning several bunkers. He moved out again under intense fire and pulled back the wounded, despite being wounded himself. He single-handedly stormed three enemy bunkers, destroying them with grenades and shot two enemy soldiers who had attacked and wounded the Chaplain. Leading his men forward in a sweep of the area he destroyed three buildings housing enemy riflemen during which he was attacked by a North Vietnamese officer whom he fatally wounded with his bayonet. He proceeded alone to the building, killing its occupants. As his squad reached the final line of enemy resistance, it received devastating fire from four bunkers in line on its left flank. Staff Sergeant Hooper gathered several grenades and raced down a small trench tossing them into each bunker, killing all but two of the occupants. He destroyed the first with a grenade and neutralized two more by rifle fire. He then raced across an open field to rescue a wounded man who was trapped in a trench, killed an advancing enemy with his pistol, and carried his comrade to safety.

Joe Ronnie Hooper attended Moses Lake (WA) High School, where his fellow Medal of Honor recipient James Fleming also graduated, making it one of the rare schools in American to be the alma matter of two Medal of Honor recipients.

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