Jay R. Vargas (born July 29, 1938) is a retired
United States Marine Corpscolonel who served in the
Vietnam War. He received the
Medal of Honor for "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty" in 1968.
Vargas is one of four brothers who has served in combat in the United States
Armed Forces in time of war –
World War II, the
Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
Vargas served as a weapons and rifle platoon commander; rifle company executive officer; three times as a rifle company commander (two of which were in combat); S-3 operations officer; recruit depot series commander; instructor, Staff Planning School, LFTCPAC; headquarters company commander,
3rd Marine Division; commanding officer and executive officer,
3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division; commanding officer of the
7th Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton from 10 August 1984 to 29 May 1986; aide-de-camp to the deputy commanding general, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific; Marine officer instructor,
NROTC Unit,
University of New Mexico; head, Operations Branch,
Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.; and as the assistant chief of staff, G-4, 1st Marine Amphibious Force.[1]
After almost thirty years of service, Vargas retired from the Marine Corps in 1992 as a
colonel.
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Commanding Officer, Company G,
Second Battalion, Fourth Marines, Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade in action against enemy forces in the
Republic of Vietnam from 30 April to 2 May 1968. On 1 May 1968, though suffering from wounds he had incurred while relocating his unit under heavy enemy fire the preceding day, Major (then Captain) Vargas combined Company G with two other companies and led his men in an attack on the fortified village of Dai Do. Exercising expert leadership, he maneuvered his Marines across 700 meters of open
rice paddy while under intense enemy
mortar, rocket and artillery fire and obtained a foothold in two hedgerows on the enemy perimeter, only to have elements of his company become pinned down by the intense enemy fire. Leading his reserve platoon to the aid of his beleaguered men, Major Vargas inspired his men to renew their relentless advance, while destroying a number of enemy bunkers. Again wounded by
grenade fragments, he refused aid as he moved about the hazardous area reorganizing his unit into a strong defense perimeter at the edge of the village. Shortly after the objective was secured, the enemy commenced a series of counterattacks and probes which lasted throughout the night but were unsuccessful as the gallant defenders of Company G stood firm in their hard-won enclave. Reinforced the following morning, the Marines launched a renewed assault through Dai Do on the village of Dinh To, to which the enemy retaliated with a massive counterattack resulting in
hand-to-hand combat. Major Vargas remained in the open, encouraging and rendering assistance to his Marines when he was hit for the third time in the three-day battle. Observing his battalion commander sustain a serious wound, he disregarded his excruciating pain, crossed the fire-swept area and carried his commander to a covered position, then resumed supervising and encouraging his men simultaneously assisting in organizing the battalion's perimeter defense. His gallant actions uphold the highest traditions of the Marines Corps and the
United States Naval Service.
After leaving the military, Vargas, a Republican, served as the Secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs from 1993 to 1998. On July 9, 2001, he was appointed to the position of Regional Veterans Liaison for the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs by the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
Anthony J. Principi. He served in this position until January 2009.
Family
Jay Vargas, a
Mexican-American, is one of four brothers who has served in the United States
Armed Forces in time of war. Like Vargas, each of his brothers are decorated veterans — Angelo served at
Iwo Jima in
World War II; Frank fought on
Okinawa in World War II; and Joseph served in the
Korean War. In honor of his mother, Vargas had her name engraved on his Medal of Honor.[2] She died before he received his Medal of Honor; he requested that her name be engraved on the medal and be added to the rolls. As such, the actual recorded recipient of this Medal of Honor is "VARGAS, M. Sando."[3]
Jordan, Kenneth N. Men of Honor: Thirty-Eight Highly Decorated Marines of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, A Schiffer Military History Book, 1997. (
ISBN0-7643-0247-7)
Nolan, Keith William. The Magnificent Bastards The Joint Army-Marine Defense of Dong Ha, 1968, Presidio Press, 1994. (
ISBN0-89141-485-1)
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This article incorporates
public domain material from websites or documents of the
United States Marine Corps.