Free Symposium on The Magnificent Bastards - 2nd Battalion 4th Marines

Event Details

On Thursday, August 3 at 2 p.m. Medal of Honor Recipient Maj. Gen. James Livingston and Navy Cross Recipient Brig. Gen. William Weise will share stories from the Vietnam War battle in which they earned their awards during a free symposium aboard the USS Yorktown at Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum.

Brig. Gen. Weise served as the commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, nicknamed the Magnificent Bastards, during the Battle of Dai Do in 1968. Late in the battle, he was shot in the spine. The injury left him unable to walk. Weise’s Marines had to drag him off the battlefield.

Maj. Gen. Livingston, a captain at the time of the Battle of Dai Do, earned the military’s highest honor for leading Echo Company across 500 open meters of intense enemy fire in a mission to free an isolated company. Injured by enemy grenades, Livingston refused medical treatment and courageously led his men in the destruction of more than 100 bunkers. After connecting with the isolated company, an additional injury left the captain immobile. Like Weise, Livingston was also dragged off of the battlefield.