Marine Rifleman: Forty-Three Years in the Corps (Memories of War)

Intrigued by the mystique and challenge of the Marine Corps, eighteen-year-old Wesley Fox enlisted in the summer of 1950, shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War. He saw action with the First Marine Division in Korea and was wounded in 1951. After Korea, Fox advanced steadily in the enlisted ranks, reaching the rank of first sergeant, and, early in the Vietnam War, he received an appointment as second lieutenant. While serving as a rifle company commander with the Third Marine Division in 1969, he was twice wounded in a vicious battle during Operation Dewey Canyon. Early in this battle, every member of the company’s command staff was either wounded or killed. In an all-or-nothing effort led by First Lieutenant Fox, his company repulsed the attack of a much larger enemy force and then counterattacked with devastating results. “For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty,” Fox received the Medal of Honor, which President Richard Nixon presented to him at the White House. Despite the personal sacrifice and frequent danger, Fox resolutely embraced the ethos of the Marine Corps, risking his life on numerous occasions and emerging as a leader in one of the most respected and feared fighting organizations in the world. Readers interested in U.S. military history from the second half of the twentieth century, in the Marine Corps, and in inspiring tales of personal achievement will find plenty of each in Fox’s extraordinary memoir.

Col. Wesley L. Fox, USMC (Ret.), retired from the Marine Corps in 1993 after forty-three years of distinguished service. In addition to the Medal of Honor, he received two awards of the Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star with Combat V, four awards of the Purple Heart, and numerous commendations. From 1993 until his retirement in 2001, Fox served as deputy commandant of cadets at Virginia Tech. He lives in Blacksburg, Virginia.