Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps Pfc. Jimmy W. Phipps

Marine Corps Pfc. Jimmy Wayne Phipps was only 18 years old when he sacrificed himself in the Vietnamese jungle so his comrades could survive. The young Marine posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his valor.

Phipps was born on Nov. 1, 1950, in Santa Monica, California, to Samuel and Verna Phipps. He had two brothers, Walter and Jerry, and a sister, Cordelia. They all grew up in Culver City, just outside Los Angeles.  

Phipps went to Venice High School but left early so he could enlist in the Marine Corps in January 1968 — he was only 17 years old. By October, he’d completed engineering school and was promoted to private first class. That December, he deployed to Vietnam to serve as a combat engineer with Company B of the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, known as the “Raiders.”  

According to a 1969 article in the Venice newspaper Evening Vanguard, Phipps was wounded in combat in January and hospitalized for six weeks but returned to duty afterward.

On May 27, Phipps and another combat engineer were sent on a mission near An Hoa, Vietnam, to find and destroy enemy artillery ordnance and concealed firing devices.

Phipps had used up all of his explosives and blasting caps by the time he discovered a 175 mm high-explosive artillery round in a rice paddy. He decided to use a hand grenade to destroy it, but since he suspected the enemy had attached a secondary explosive device to it, he warned other Marines in the area to find cover first. 

As Phipps was attaching the hand grenade to a stake beside the artillery round, he quickly learned his hunch was right because the fuse of the secondary explosive device ignited. 

Phipps only had seconds to think. He realized that two of his platoonmates were within a few meters of him, and the imminent explosion could kill all three of them. So, Phipps did the only thing he could think of — he pulled the hand grenade into his chest and dove on top of the two enemy explosive devices, acting as a human shield for when they detonated. Phipps gave his own life to save those of his companions.

Phipps’ selfless devotion to duty was honored on April 20, 1970, when his family received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Vice President Spiro T. Agnew during a White House ceremony. Twelve other Marines and two Navy hospital corpsmen also posthumously received the nation’s highest medal for valor that day.  

Phipps is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, Mausoleum and Mortuary in Santa Monica, California.  

The 18-year-old who gave his life for others has not been forgotten. In 1973, a new barracks was dedicated in Phipps’ honor at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, which has since closed. Two years later, a barracks at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, was dedicated to him.

This article is part of a weekly series called “Medal of Honor Monday,” in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military’s highest medal for valor. 

Source: Department of Defense

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