Earle G. Breeding

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star Medal to Earle G. Breeding (0-80698), Major [then Captain], U.S. Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as Commanding Officer of Company E, Second Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, THIRD Marine Division, in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. During the early morning hours of 5 February 1968, Company E was occupying a defensive position on Hill 861 near the Khe Sanh Combat Base when the perimeter came under a fierce attack by a North Vietnamese Army battalion supported by artillery and mortar fire. Quickly assessing the situation, Major Breeding re-deployed his Marines to strengthen the perimeter at the point of heaviest contact and coordinated the delivery of a large volume of concentrated fire at the enemy. During the ensuing fire fight, he repeatedly disregarded his own safety as he moved from one position to another, directing and encouraging his men and adjusting supporting arms fires. While his Marines pinned the advancing enemy down on the defensive wire with accurate small arms fire, Major Breeding advanced to a dangerously exposed vantage point and directed close-in artillery and mortar fires with expert precision, completely disrupting the organized attack and forced the enemy to withdraw. Under his inspiring leadership, his unit accounted for over 100 North Vietnamese soldiers killed and captured a huge quantity of weapons. By his courage, extraordinary initiative, and unflagging devotion to duty at great personal risk, Major Breeding contributed significantly to the accomplishment of his unit’s mission and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.