Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps 1st Lt. Frank Reasoner

When Marine Corps 1st Lt. Frank Stanley Reasoner was surrounded by insurgents deep in enemy territory in Vietnam, he did his best to save the handful of men who were trapped with him. Reasoner lost his life trying to protect them, but his devotion to duty led to a posthumous Medal of Honor. 

Reasoner was born Sept. 16, 1937, in Spokane, Washington, to Daisy and Carl Reasoner. He had two younger siblings, Carrie and Mickey.

In 1948, the family moved to Kellogg, Idaho, where Reasoner grew up playing basketball. He graduated from Kellogg High School in 1955 before enlisting in the Marine Corps, three months before his 18th birthday.

After training, Reasoner served as an airborne radio operator with Marine Wing Service Group 37 in El Toro, California. He was then transferred to the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Bainbridge, Maryland, before serving as a guard at the Marine Barracks in Annapolis, Maryland.

In the spring of 1958, Reasoner received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he lettered in baseball and wrestling. He also won four straight brigade boxing championships in four different weight classes.

Reasoner graduated in 1962 and returned to the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant. In December of that year, he married his girlfriend, Sally Dimico. They went on to have a son, Michael.

Over the next three years, Reasoner served with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in the Pacific. During that time, he was promoted to first lieutenant.

In April 1965, his battalion was sent to serve with the 4th Marine Regiment in Vietnam. Two months into that deployment, Reasoner was designated a commanding officer for Company A of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division.

On July 12, 1965, Reasoner was leading a reconnaissance patrol deep into enemy territory near Da Nang Air Base. As he led an advance party of five men, they came under extremely heavy fire from approximately 50-100 Viet Cong insurgents in several concealed positions.

Immediately, Reasoner put his men on the offensive, boldly shouting encouragement to them as they tried to fight back. But the fury of the Viet Cong’s machine guns and automatic weapons pinned them down, making it impossible for the group to move forward.

Repeatedly exposing himself to devastating enemy fire, Reasoner skillfully provided cover fire for his men, killing at least two insurgents and effectively silencing one of their automatic weapons positions as he tried to evacuate one of the wounded Marines.

Soon after, the group’s radio operator, 22-year-old James Shockley, was wounded. Reasoner quickly ran to him to tend to his injuries. When Shockley tried to move to a covered position, he was hit a second time. Reports showed that Shockley yelled to Reasoner to stay away, but Reasoner refused to leave him. Reasoner pushed forward toward Shockley and was hit at least once before falling to the ground and dying.

Shockley and the other men who survived the firefight took out 16 more enemies after Reasoner fell, reports showed. It was Reasoner’s fighting spirit and leadership that helped them survive, his citation read.

On Jan. 31, 1967, Reasoner’s widow received the Medal of Honor on his behalf from Navy Secretary Paul H. Nitze during a Pentagon ceremony.

Reasoner is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Kellogg.

He has not been forgotten. Shortly after his death, the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion’s camp at Da Nang was renamed Camp Reasoner and dedicated in the Marine’s memory. The frigate USS Reasoner was commissioned by the Navy in July 1971 and served for more than 20 years. Reasoner Hall at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, was also named in his honor.

In 1979, the Navy gave Reasoner’s family a watercolor painting of the fallen Marine that was later hung in his high school. 

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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