Front Sight, Press

In a Korean War action near Yungdungpo in September 1950, Lt. Henry Commiskey shot his way onto the honor roll of Marine Corps heroes with a .45. His citation for the Congressional Medal of Honor reads, “Armed only with a pistol, he jumped into a hostile machine-gun emplacement occupied by five enemy troops and quickly disposed of four of the soldiers with his automatic pistol. Grappling with the fifth, First Lieutenant Commiskey knocked him to the ground and held him until he could obtain a weapon from another member of his platoon.”

In Vietnam, Marine Sgt. John McGinty won a Medal of Honor and a battlefield commission in April 1969 by outshooting a Vietcong unit with his .45. Although wounded, McGinty brought down five of the enemy and saved his platoon. In spite of sophisticated M-16 rifles and infrared-sight-equipped machine guns, there were still those nasty jobs to be done that required a resolute man and a big slug out of an M1911 pistol.

Near Quan Loi on 11 January 1969, Capt. Harold A. Fritz was leading his 7-vehicle armored column along Highway 13 to meet and escort a truck convoy when the column suddenly came under intense crossfire from a reinforced enemy company deployed in ambush positions. In the initial attack, Capt. Fritz’ vehicle was hit and he was seriously wounded. Realizing that his platoon was completely surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and in danger of being overrun, Capt. Fritz leaped to the top of his burning vehicle and directed the positioning of his remaining vehicles and men. With complete disregard for his wounds and safety, Capt. Fritz manned a machine gun to deliver deadly fire which broke the assault and routed the attackers. Moments later, a second enemy force advanced to within 2 meters of the position and threatened to overwhelm the defenders. Capt. Fritz, armed only with an M1911 pistol and bayonet, led a small group of his men in a charge which routed the attackers and inflicted heavy casualties. When a relief force arrived, Capt. Fritz saw that it was not deploying effectively against the enemy positions, and he moved through heavy enemy fire to direct its deployment against the hostile positions. This action forced the enemy to abandon the ambush site and withdraw. Despite his wounds, Capt. Fritz returned to his position, assisted his men, and refused medical attention until all of his wounded comrades had been treated and evacuated. Captain Fritz was awarded the Medal of Honor.

That’s what three ordinary American patriots were willing to do to protect your freedom. We’re not asking you to slug it out with an NVA patrol to protect your freedom, but just to drag yourself away from the computer screen long enough to go and vote on Tuesday. Vote your conscience; vote your guns; vote your anger; vote for a bunch of pinko tree huggers if you want — just vote.