TFH 4/28: Lance Corporal Clement B. Johnston, Jr., USMC

Clement B. Johnston, Jr. was born on July 12, 1947 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He had been in the United States Marine Corps only about a year when while serving with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. On this day in 1966, he was occupying a defensive position with two others when the Viet Cong covertly approached and hurled two grenades at the Americans.

Johnston alertly spotted the incoming grenades, and didn't hesitate to place himself between them and his comrades. For his courage and sacrifice, the Marines awarded him the Navy Cross.


From Military Times' Hall of Valor:

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Navy Cross (Posthumously) to Lance Corporal Clement B. Johnston, Jr. (MCSN: 2116397), United States Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism as a member of a reconnaissance platoon, Company D, First Reconnaissance Battalion, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in action against enemy Viet Cong forces in the vicinity of Xuan Ngoc Village in Quang Ngai Province, Republic of Vietnam, on 28 April 1966. Corporal Johnston, a fellow Marine, and a Navy Corpsman were occupying a position when an undetermined number of insurgents (Viet Cong) quietly approached their location and threw two hand grenades into their midst. Corporal Johnston saw one of the grenades and leaped at his companions, knocking them to the ground and shielding them from the blast of the grenade. In so doing he absorbed the terrific force of the explosion and saved his friends from major injuries and possible loss of life. Corporal Johnston's courageous action and selfless devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the cause of freedom.

Lance Corporal Johnston appears on Panel 07E, Line 5 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I wasn't able to find where he rests in peace. The 1st Reconnaissance Battalion today provides Recon Marines for the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary Force from their home post of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California.