The Patriot Post® · Profiles of Valor: Sgt Roger and Maj Ron Helle (USMC)
“Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives.” –John Adams (1808)
It’s always great to be in the company of heroes.
Last week, that company could be found at the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with Operation Enduring Freedom Medal of Honor recipient Sal Giunta. Like every recipient I have known, Sal, who was an Army specialist at the time of his heroic actions, is an amazingly humble person, and that humility accounts for this young man’s exceptional patriotism and sacrifice.
Sometimes, like right now amid all the political rancor, it is good to be reminded what really makes America great. Truth is, there are extraordinary grassroots American Patriots in our midst every day, many of whom have never put on a military uniform. I find that paying more attention to those around me reveals many who have quietly endured what seem like insurmountable challenges in their daily lives.
Today, however, I want to introduce you to a couple of brothers on our Patriot Post team who did serve our nation in Marine Corps uniforms.
The ranks of our readers have grown rapidly in recent years, and those new ones would not recall the original profile I devoted to a longtime friend and Christian brother, Roger Helle. Today’s readers would, however, recognize his name as the author of Wednesday’s “Grassroots Perspective” series.
Roger served three tours in Vietnam and is the recipient of a Bronze Star with Combat “V,” three Purple Hearts, and other decorations. In 1971, then Sgt Helle was medically discharged after nine months recovering from near-fatal wounds on a mission I detailed in his profile, “Point Man.” Though he had been wounded on each of his previous tours, on a terrible day in July of 1970, he survived being blown up, shot multiple times, bayoneted by a VC soldier, and left for dead.
After being transported to a field hospital, he overheard his medical team say he was not going to make it, and prayed; “God, if there really is a God, if you let me live, I will do anything you want!” Indeed, he devoted his life and career to Christian service.
One of the things I admire most about Roger is that he is fearless, having faced death head-on many times but confident that God has overwatch for him. As a measure of the man he is, Roger has returned to Vietnam 19 times over the last two decades, providing humanitarian assistance in rural areas, sponsoring orphanages, and building 40 rural medical clinics. He is the author of several books about that war-ravaged nation, including A Time to Kill, a Time to Heal.
A few years after I met Roger, he showed up on our porch for coffee one Saturday morning with his twin brother, Ron, who was in from Texas. By “twin,” I mean identical twin, and to make matters worse, they were on their way to a family reunion and sporting the same Marine attire. To this day they look and sound identical!
You might recognize Ron’s name from his Friday Patriot Post devotional series titled “Men of Valor.” Though Roger and Ron are in their mid 70s, they are both incredibly energetic and would outpace most folks who are 25 years younger.
In 1965 at age 17, the twin brothers didn’t wait to be drafted, instead enlisting before they completed high school, requiring their parents to sign off on their under-age enlistments. After boot camps and additional infantry training, they left for Vietnam on the same day, Roger by air and Ron by sea. Ron did two extended tours totaling three years in country, one before the ‘68 Tet Offensive and one after Tet.
At about the same time Roger was recovering from his severe wounds, then-Sgt Ron was serving with Company G, Second Battalion, Fifth Marines, FIRST Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, Moo Bai District, Republic of Vietnam. It was on the night of 28 January 1971 that Ron stepped out of a command post to make a security check. He was struck in the back by what he quickly realized was an enemy ChiCom grenade similar to a German “potato masher.” He dove over that grenade to shield his nearby men.
Ron recalls: “The squad I was with had been through significant and successful small unit engagements for over a month. When I turned and saw the grenade and realized that there were six guys in the blast radius, I threw myself over it. I can tell you it was the comradeship of those guys in that moment that compelled me to instinctively do that.”
Fortunately for Ron, that grenade failed to detonate. If it had, he would have been nominated for a Medal of Honor, much as was the youngest living Marine recipient today, Kyle Carpenter, who dove onto a grenade to save his fellow Marines in Afghanistan.
For his valorous action, Ron received the Navy/Marine Corps’ second-highest award below the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, as outlined in his citation.
Ron was enlisted for seven years before commissioning as an Infantry Officer. After many duty stations, Ron retired after 22 years of active duty as a Marine Major. In addition to the Navy Cross, Ron, like Roger, is the recipient of three Purple Hearts. He also received the Meritorious Service Medal, Two Navy Commendation Medals, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross, Vietnamese Service Medal, Vietnamese Campaign Medal, Jump Wings, and various other unit citations.
Ron says of his Marine career: “Serving with some of the finest people I’ve ever known is what inspired me to remain in the Corps as Vietnam came to an end. I love my country and have great respect for my brothers and sisters in each of the service branches. There is no esprit de corps in any occupation like the camaraderie we shared.”
Each day of their lives, Roger and Ron both continue to honor their sacred oath “to support and defend” our Constitution and the Republic for which it stands. Their articles on the pages of The Patriot Post are imbued with that spirit.
For the record, I have written before how the word “hero” is grossly misapplied. Fact is, neither of these men would ever approve the title I chose for this column if I had asked – despite the fact they both fully qualify. Knowing that, I didn’t ask then — publisher’s privilege.
And I should note here that there are two other amazing people in this mix. Their wives have kept these Marines on the straight and narrow for more than 50 years – each couple recently celebrated 50th anniversaries.
Bravo Zulu good and faithful servants!
Ronald Reagan said of such heroes, “Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” Reader, as you go through your day, never take for granted what has been sacrificed for you, and that there are extraordinary people in your midst. And when confronted with what seem to be insurmountable challenges, “Give ‘em Helle!”
(Please consider a designated gift to support the National Medal of Honor Sustaining Fund, or make a check payable to Liberty Fund (noting MoH Sustaining Fund on the memo line), and mail it to Patriot Foundation Trust, PO Box 407, Chattanooga, TN 37401-0407.)
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776
“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of American Liberty, and for Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please consider a designated gift to support the National Medal of Honor Sustaining Fund through Patriot Foundation Trust, or make a check payable to “NMoH Sustaining Fund” and mail it to:
Patriot Foundation Trust
PO Box 407
Chattanooga, TN 37401-0407
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The The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring Their Sacrifice Foundation and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. “Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)