James Odas McKinney

James Odas McKinney

Private First Class
C CO, 1ST RECON BN, 1ST MARDIV
United States Marine Corps
30 October 1947 - 16 June 1966
Monroe, Louisiana
Panel 08E Line 053

17 Feb 2001

Assigned as a sniper in 1st Recon Bn, C Co, James McKinney is one more of the six Marines lost on Hill 488. Snipers were new in the 1st Rcon Bn and we had little time to get to know each man assigned to the companies.

Time has passed but the faces remain as Carnival Time assembled for the patrol that has become 1st Recon Bn History.

We hold the list of our brothers lost so long ago -

The memories , good and bad, pass by daily ...

A memorial initiated by a fellow Marine,
Randy Kendall
tkendall1@aol.com

A note from The Virtual Wall
The battle on 16 June 1966 on Hill 488 (Nui Vu) involved a full battalion of North Vietnamese Army regulars assaulting 18 men of the 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Recon Battalion, led by Staff Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard. The Recon Marines had established an observation post atop Nui Vu in order to identify and prosecute by remote fire VC/NVA forces operating in the mountains west of Chu Lai.The operation was sufficiently effective to get the NVA commander's attention and sufficiently dangerous for him to commit a fresh battalion to eradicate the Marines. He failed.

The NVA assault on Hill 488 began in late afternoon and continued through the night. The beleagued Marines were assisted by Marine and Air Force helicopter and fixed wing air support, but it was sheer courage and determination that permitted the Marines to hold until morning. Charlie 1/5 Marines were airlifted onto the reverse slope of Hill 488 and relieved the Recon Marines. Of the 18 men in the Recon Platoon, 6 died and 12 were wounded. Two men of Charlie 1/5 Marines and one each from VMO-2 and VMO-6 (Marine UH-1 squadrons) died. One Medal of Honor (Staff Sergeant Howard), 4 Navy Crosses, and 13 Silver Stars were awarded.

Immediately after the battle, Captain F. J. West, USMCR, interviewed men from Howard's platoon, Charlie 1/5, airmen from the squadrons which supported Howard, and others. In 1967 the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, published his account of the fight on Hill 488. Captain West's account is available  Click Here

Hill 488

James Odas McKinney

Silver Star Medal awarded to PFC James O. McKinney for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving with Company C, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in the Republic of Vietnam on 16 June 1966.

James Odos McKinney

Birth: Oct. 30, 1947
Monroe
Ouachita Parish
Louisiana, USA
Death: Jun. 16, 1966, Vietnam

The following is copied and slightly amended from The Virtual Wall - www.virtualwall.org

The battle on 15/16 June 1966 on Hill 488 (Nui Vu) involved a full battalion of North Vietnamese Army regulars assaulting 18 men of the 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Recon Battalion, led by Staff Sergeant Jimmie Earl Howard. The Recon Marines had established an observation post atop Nui Vu in order to identify and prosecute by remote fire VC/NVA forces operating in the mountains west of Chu Lai.

The operation was sufficiently effective to get the NVA commander's attention and sufficiently dangerous for him to commit a fresh battalion to eradicate the Marines. They failed.

The NVA assault on Hill 488 began in the late evening of 15 June 1966 and continued through the night. The beleaguered Marines were assisted by Marine and Air Force helicopter and fixed wing air support, but it was sheer courage and determination that permitted the Marines to hold until the morning of 16 June when Charlie Co, 1st Bn, 5th Marines was airlifted onto the side of Hill 488 and the Marine infantry fought their way up the hill to assist and relieve their Recon brothers.

Of the 18 men in the Recon Platoon, 6 died (including PFC James O. McKinney) and 12 were wounded. Three men from Charlie 1/5 and one each from VMO-2 and VMO-6 also died. One Medal of Honor (Staff Sergeant Howard), 4 Navy Crosses, and 13 Silver Stars were awarded to the Marines of the Recon Platoon. Another Navy Cross was awarded to a helicopter pilot from VMO-6 and another Silver Star to an infantry Lieutenant from Charlie 1/5.

Immediately after the battle, Captain F. J. West, USMCR, interviewed men from Howard's platoon, Charlie 1/5, airmen from the squadrons which supported Howard, and others. In 1967 the History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, published his account of the fight on Hill 488, titled "Howard's Hill." It is found in a collection of other accounts by Capt. West titled "Small Unit Action in Vietnam – Summer 1966".


Family links:
Parents:
Odos King McKinney (1916 - 1989)
Ruby Lee McKinney (1917 - 2011)

Burial:
Mulhearn Memorial Park Cemetery
Monroe
Ouachita Parish
Louisiana, USA

Let us never be so comfortable with our freedom that we forget the immeasurable sacrifice by which it was achieved. ~~ Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Your service and sacrifice are not forgotten.

"...They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them..." R L Binyon. ~ Happy Birthday, JAMES! Thank you for your exemplary service and supreme sacrifice. May the Good Lord bless and keep you always.  K. Williams  Oct. 30, 2016