QUINCY, Ill. \u2014 Quincy native Dan \u201cWaggs\u201d Waggoner will never forget the day in January 1969 when he lay wounded on a battlefield in Vietnam wondering whether he was going to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner, a young Marine, was filling a canteen in a river when an enemy rocket suddenly exploded near his feet. The blast sent him flying and knocked him unconscious. When he finally awoke, he was a bloody mess, with shrapnel impaling numerous parts of his body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make matters worse, Waggoner noticed a U.S. attack plane \u2015 apparently mistaking his unit for the enemy \u2015 bearing down with machine guns blazing. Bullets struck several members of Waggoner\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly a fellow Marine came to Waggoner\u2019s aid and helped lead him to safety as gunfire exploded around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A short time later, Waggoner and some other wounded soldiers were loaded onto a military helicopter and whisked away for medical attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner didn\u2019t get to thank the Marine who, he believes, saved his life that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t even know what his name was,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Years later — sometime around 2002 \u2015 Waggoner tried to track down the Marine. He remembered him only as \u201ca wiry blond kid from South Dakota.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner wrote a story about his experience, and it was posted on the internet through a military association. A member of the association, Tom Couillard of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, read the story and said to himself, \u201cThat sounds like Mike Castle,\u201d who, like Waggoner, was a member of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, in 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner wrote to Castle and learned that it was, indeed, Castle who came to his aid that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner and Castle quickly became friends and have stayed in touch ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About six years ago, Waggoner decided Castle should receive some recognition for the heroics he displayed in 1969. So he launched an effort to get Castle nominated for a medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After encountering numerous bureaucratic hurdles during the application process, Waggoner\u2019s efforts finally hit pay dirt. Word came earlier this year that Castle would be receiving a Bronze Star, with a combat \u201cV\u2033 insignia, for his \u201cheroic achievement\u201d on Jan. 30, 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The medal was to be awarded today in a ceremony aboard the USS Yorktown in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, during a battalion reunion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waggoner was planning to be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t miss it for the world,\u201d he said. \u201cIt means a lot to me to see him get this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The citation issued by the secretary of the Navy specifies it was being given to Lance Cpl. Michael G. Castle, a machine gunner with the squad-sized patrol that came under heavy fire that day in an area northwest of Con Thien.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom his position in the tree line, Lance Corporal Castle saw a grievously wounded Marine lying in the open,\u201d the citation reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeeing the OV-10 (attack plane) circling for a second run, and despite his own painful wounds, Lance Corporal Castle rushed out in the open to the wounded Marine. Undaunted by the rounds impacting near him, Lance Corporal Castle used his own body to shield his comrade from further injury. Lance Corporal Castle then assisted the casualty to the safety of the tree line, where other Marines had established a defensive perimeter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The citation says Castle \u201creflected great credit upon himself and upheld the greatest traditions of the Marine Corps\u201d for his display of \u201ccourage, initiative, and total dedication to duty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Castle, who now lives in Columbia, Texas, said he was grateful to Waggoner for his persistence in nominating him for the medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was very nice that Dan went through all that trouble for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel very honored by it and feel a great friendship with Waggs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Castle said he was simply helping another Marine when he came to Waggoner\u2019s aid that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think I was very heroic,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is what happens in war. We help each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quincy, Illinois, native Dan \u201cWaggs\u201d Waggoner will never forget the day in January 1969 when he lay wounded on a battlefield in Vietnam wondering whether he was going to survive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":59203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":69,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,10,12,25,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[5036],"class_list":["post-28919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-military-honor","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-marine-corps"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"UXR4AJAKOBHVXKLLLWZHWNFRAI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/2017\/08\/18\/man-salutes-fellow-marine-who-saved-his-life-in-vietnam\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n