Unforgettable Valor: The Heroic Acts of Medal of Honor Recipient Army Captain Joe Hooper

Welcome back everyone.  On today’s episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who fought without fear for his life against an enemy that had his unit outnumbered.  A man who fought through the pain of multiple injuries to save the lives of fellow soldiers.  A man who is regarded as the most-decorated American soldier during the Vietnam War.  This is the story of Medal of Honor Recipient US Army Capt. Joe Hooper.   

Joe Ronnie Hooper was born in Piedmont, SC on August 8, 1938, and his family moved to Moses Lake, Washington when Joe was a child.  After graduating from Moses Lake High School, he enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17, and served from 1956-1959 when he was honorably discharged as a Petty Officer 3rd Class.  He didn’t take to civilian life and decided to enlist in the Army in 1960.

Joe attended basic military training at Fort Ord, CA before attending Airborne training at Ft. Benning, GA.  He was initially assigned to the 82nd Airborne and deployed to S. Korea in Oct. 1961.  Not long after arriving there he was promoted to sergeant and took on the role of squad leader.  He remained in S. Korea until November of 1963 and was transferred to Ft. Hood as part of the 2nd Armored Division.  The following year he was again transferred, this time to the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Ky.   By 1966 he was promoted to staff sergeant and volunteered to fight in Vietnam, but the Army sent him to Panama instead.  

There Joe kept getting into trouble and was forced to endure multiple Article 15 hearings.  Though what he did isn’t reported, it wasn’t so severe that it warranted a courts-martial, rather, discipline was left in the hands of his commanders.  Following the Article 15 proceedings, he was demoted to the rank of corporal in July 1967, but  just a few months later he was a Sgt. again. 

Along with his promotion, he was once again transferred.  He became a member of Delta Company, known as the Delta Raiders, of the 2nd Battalion, 501st Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division.  In Dec. of 1967 Delta Company found itself in South Vietnam, and on Feb. 21st, of the following year, the Tet Offensive was in full gear when Joe and Delta Company were tasked with attacking a heavily defended enemy position along a river, northwest of the Imperial Vietnamese city of Hue.  In what would become known as the Battle of Hue, one of the bloodiest of the Vietnam war, the joint South Vietnamese and American forces were attempting to recapture the city, which was a strategic supply point for the war against North Vietnam. 

As Delta Company approached the river, the North Vietnamese forces opened up on the Americans with rifle, machine gun, and rocket fire.  With the rest of their unit pinned down, Joe led five other team members across the twenty foot wide river and attacked the enemy head on.  Armed with his rifle, pistol, and some grenades, Joe directed their attack and capture of five enemy bunkers.  This eased the pressure on the pinned down men and they joined the fight.  

With the two forces engaged in heavy gunfire, Joe spotted an injured fellow soldier and ran to help him.  As the man was in the middle of heavy fire coming from both sides, Joe was seriously wounded, but he was able to save him.  His wounds were so bad that they attempted to pull him back to receive medical care, but he refused and remained in the fight.  

Suffering from painful wounds, Joe engaged three enemy bunkers by himself and neutralized them with grenades and rifle fire, killing all of the occupying men.  Soon after, a chaplain was attacked by two enemy soldiers.  Seeing this, Joe took careful aim and killed both men, saving the life of the chaplain.  

Joe, and his men, then began to sweep the area in an attempt to identify any nearby enemy forces when they were fired upon from three buildings.  Joe single-handedly destroyed these three buildings and killed the North Vietnamese riflemen who were firing upon the Americans.

Later on in the fighting, a fellow Delta company soldier, Lonnie Thomas, observed a North Vietnamese officer engage Joe in combat.  The officer took aim at Joe and pulled the trigger.  Luckily his gun had jammed and Joe was uninjured.  By this point, Joe was out of ammo so he gave chase to the fleeing officer and fatally stabbed him with his bayonet.  

Still not done, Joe was resupplied with more ammunition before engaging an enemy bunker alone, killing its occupants.  In addition to the first serious injury that he sustained, Joe had received additional wounds during the fighting, including grenade shrapnel injuries.  Yet, he fought on.

As Delta Company reached the final line of resistance, they were fired upon from four bunkers on their left flank.  Joe knew that they were in a bad position and the threat from the bunkers had to be eliminated.  Joe grabbed a bag of grenades and raced toward the enemy.  He ran along the trench that was connecting the bunkers, throwing grenades before engaging the enemy with his rifle.  He eliminated the threat from the first bunker and then moved onto the second, eliminating that one as well.  He repeated this two more times when finally, all four bunkers fell quiet.  During his sole attack, Joe had killed all but two of the enemy men.  Still not done, he turned his sights on two other bunkers and took them out as well.

Joe was again out of ammunition when he heard an injured man asking for help from a nearby trench.  Without hesitation, he ran to rescue the man.  According to Lonnie Thomas, he tossed Joe his .45 pistol as he told him that he “might need it”.  As he caught the pistol, Joe turned to see an enemy rifle being raised to his head.  Joe reacted quickly and was able to shoot the man dead before he could pull the trigger and take Joe’s life.  He then refocused on the injured man and carried him to safety where he received medical care.  And after returning to the fire fight, he was able to shoot and kill three additional North Vietnamese officers.       

As the seven hour battle finally began to die down for the day, Joe reorganized his unit into an effective defensive position, before getting much needed medical care.  But it wasn’t until the next day when he was finally medically evacuated due to an excessive loss of blood.  

One account of Sgt. Hooper’s action that day summarizes why his actions were important.  Sgt. George Parker who fought alongside Joe that day said, “Sgt. Hooper in one day accomplished more than I previously believed could have been done in a month by one man.  And he did it all while wounded. It wasn’t just the actual count of positions overrun and enemy killed which was important. But far more so was the fantastic inspiration he gave every man in the company.” 

For his actions on Feb. 21st, 1968, Sgt. Joe Hooper was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. and would receive the Medal of Honor.  The medal was bestowed upon him by President Nixon on March 7th, 1969.  

It was reported that Joe personally asked President Nixon for special permission to return to Vietnam.  He did return to Vietnam for a second tour as a pathfinder with the 101st Airborne.  He was forced to retire in 1974 for failing to meet college education requirements, and he then joined the Army reserve and was promoted to Captain in 1977.  By the following year, 1978, he was once again forced to retire, this time due to his poor attendance.  

Following his military career, Joe began to raise horses which led him to the Kentucky Derby of 1979, and sadly, the next day, May 6th, Captain Joe Hooper passed away in a hotel room in Louisville at the age of 40, and he is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery. 

While in Vietnam, Joe was awarded 37 medals, which included the Medal of Honor, 2 Silver Stars, 6 Bronze Stars, and 8 purple hearts.  He was credited with 115 kills, including 22 on Feb. 21st, 1968 alone. 

The story of Joe Hooper is one of courage, selflessness, and tenacity.  Amid the turmoil of combat, he stood as a beacon of bravery, plunging headfirst into danger without a second thought for his own safety.  

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  If you enjoy the podcast, we ask that you follow us and leave a review or 5 star rating, which will help new listeners find the show.

Links to the sources for today's show can be found in the show notes, as well as at dutyandvalor.com.  And please join us next week where we’ll tell you the story of another true American hero.