LCpl.
Steven Gary Marcombe served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines,
Mike Company. He was Killed In Action during Operation UNION II and
was awarded the Silver Star, posthumously. His name stands proudly
on the Mike 3/5 Wall of Honor
alongside the Marines he fought and died with. Semper fi, Brother
Marine. We will never forget.
***********************************************
We
served together
I
was Steve's Platoon Sgt. in Vietnam. He was an outstanding Marine
and a fine young man. He died defending his country and defending
our freedom. He is sorely missed by us who knew him. Semper Fi~Frank
E. Clark
LANCE
CORPORAL STEPHEN GARY MARCOMBE
COMPANY
M, SECOND PLATOON
THIRD BATTALION,
FIFTH MARINE REGIMENT
FIRST MARINE
DIVISION
CITATION
FOR POSTHUMOUS AWARD OF THE SILVER STAR
The
President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Silver
Star Medal (Posthumously) to Stephen Gary Marcombe (2303802), Lance
Corporal, United States Marine Corps, for conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action as a Machine Gun Team Leader attached to the
Second Platoon, Company M, Third Battalion, fifth Marines, FIRST Marine
Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on 2 June 1967.
During Operation
UNION II near Vinh Huy (3), Quang Tin Province, the Second Platoon,
as point platoon for the company, came under intense enemy automatic
weapons, small-arms and mortar fire from several concealed positions
in a hedgerow surrounding the company objective. Lance Corporal Marcombe,
without hesitation, skillfully moved his machine-gun team to the forward
element of the Second Platoon and found a position commanding the
terrain to his front.
From this position
he directed heavy and accurate fire into the enemy positions. He courageously
exposed himself to continuous and massed enemy fire, in order to regain
better observation and direct the fire of his machine-gun team, while
demonstrating great skill in directing his team's fire. His actions
directly resulted in the destruction of two enemy machine-gun positions.
After two hours
and forty-five minutes of continuous fire support and in the final
drive for the company objective, Lance Corporal Marcombe was mortally
wounded as he was aggressively maneuvering his gun forward to pinpoint
an enemy machine-gun position. His efficiency and selfless devotion
to duty inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and in large measure assisted
his company in successfully seizing the objective.
Lance Corporal
Marcombe's actions throughout reflected great credit upon himself
and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United
States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
Operation
UNION II
