Mountain Park man receives Silver Star 40 years after saving companions in Vietnam
War
Maj. John Mullins held off a dozen enemy soldiers and saved two companions after
their helicopter crashed in Laos during the Vietnam War. He received a Silver
Star for his actions last week.
By Bryan Dean | Published: September 30, 2012 Oklahoma Military News
Behind enemy lines and on a secret mission in Laos, Army Maj. John Mullins draped himself over his wounded comrade as machine gun fire ripped through their disabled helicopter.
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas presents the Silver Star to Maj. John Mullins, of Mountain Park, during a ceremony Monday in Snyder.
The man would later credit Mullins, of Mountain Park, for protecting him that
day in 1969. Nonsense, Mullins said. Standing up would have been suicide.
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas presented him with a Silver Star last week, more than
40 years after Mullins helped save two fellow soldiers in a downed helicopter
in Laos during the Vietnam War. His citation was lost when records detailing
the event burned. He finished his military career assuming the award was denied.
But a chance meeting with
a former commander a few years ago restarted the process that resulted in recognition
Lucas said was long overdue.
“
It was a great honor to present Maj. Mullins with the Silver Star award,” Lucas
said. “Mullins has a remarkable story and I am extremely grateful to
him for serving our country so courageously in the Vietnam War. His gallant
action in the war was very brave and his actions are a true testament to the
veterans who have put their own lives in harm's way to protect this country.” Early ‘black
op', Mullins served in Vietnam as a field operations officer for a project
that would be described now as a “black op,” although
Mullins said no one used the term back then. Mullins unit inserted undercover
agents into Laos
and Cambodia at a time when the U.S. officially was not conducting combat operations
in those countries, which served as a supply base for the North Vietnamese.
On May 26, 1969, Mullins and Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Altano were inserting agents
into Laos in a Vietnamese helicopter. They were hovering about two feet above
the ground after dropping off an agent when they came under heavy machine gun
fire that sent the helicopter crashing to the ground. Mullins pulled the agent
back into the helicopter. Altano took a bullet to the head. The helicopter's
door gunner took a round to the chest.
Mullins, whose first tour was as a combat medic, started treating his wounded
companions. Then he looked up to see a dozen enemy soldiers rushing their position.
He took hold of the Browning 1919A6 machine gun in the helicopter's door. “
One of them had an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) and went down on his knee
to start aiming it,” Mullins said. “I got him first. Shortly after
that the machine gun jammed and I used my M-16 to continue returning fire.” Another
machine gun opened fire on the helicopter, and Mullins threw himself over the
wounded men. But backup helicopters began to arrive at that moment,
using their own guns to suppress the enemy and allow Mullins and his group
to escape. Official records credit Mullins for downing 10 enemies and saving
the lives of Altano and the door gunner.
Altano recommended Mullins for the Silver Star to his commander, Lt. Col. Mark
Ponzillo. Mullins never heard anything else about the citation, which would
have been his second Silver Star. He continued his career, eventually retiring
from the military.
Mullins worked security for various federal government agencies and later for
judges in South America. He helped train foreign armies friendly to the United
States. He consulted for various companies, helped invent a new type of ammunition
and served as the inspiration for the main character in a series of video games
called “Soldier of Fortune.”
A few years ago, Mullins ran into Ponzillo, who asked him if he ever got his
Silver Star. He hadn't. Mullins told him it wasn't a big deal, but Ponzillo
disagreed. He wrote Lucas' office. The original citation had been lost when
some records burned in Vietnam. So the military interviewed those who were
involved in the mission and restarted
the process.
Mullins said getting the medal after all these years doesn't change how he
feels about that day or the rest of his career. But it is an acknowledgment
of the sacrifices made by so many in the war, he said. “
I joke that it will probably bring a little bit on eBay when I croak,” Mullins
said. “What people should remember, especially now that we are engaged
in wars all over the place, is the sacrifices people are making out there to
preserve our way of life.”
Return to Prairie Tales
Web Page 10/20/2012