Initial series on the Tommy Minogue story. John and Tom’s brother Jack Minogue shares Tommy Minogue’s story. Tommy Minogue, from Inwood in Manhattan, was killed in Vietnam on March 21, 1967 in a ferocious firefight that became known as the “Battle of One Niner.” He had just turned 20. “One Niner” pitted Minogue and about a hundred of his fellow Americans against an estimated 1,000 North Vietnamese regular troops. Anyone who has seen the movie “Forrest Gump” and its Vietnam battle scene will recognize the heroism of Tommy Minogue. In the movie, Forrest, played by Tom Hanks, is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroism under fire. Tommy Minogue was on his way to being awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor for his heroism. Then the army bureaucracy had another idea and awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award for gallantry. This didn’t rest well with Minogue’s family and friends and a few years ago a campaign was launched to have Minogue promoted into the hallowed ranks of Medal of Honor winners. Tomorrow’s Guantanamo parade is organized by Joint Task Force Guantanamo Bay and it will require a joint effort involving an array of supporters to see the campaign for Minogue through to a successful conclusion. One of those campaigners is Brigadier General John Hussey, who describes Minogue’s heroism in a parade news release. Minogue, a field medic, was killed in action when, as Hussy describes, “he shielded his company commander from enemy automatic fire with his own body.” Minogue, according to battlefield accounts, also took a machine gun from a fallen comrade and helped drive back the attackers. Wrote General Hussey in part: “The North Vietnamese had killed most of the Company officers and were attempting to kill the company’s commanding officer and overwhelm the remaining U.S. soldiers. During the attack Pfc. Minogue procured a weapon and returned fire on enemy positions while simultaneously treating the wounds of his fellow soldiers before shielding his commanding officer from enemy fire.” Minogue’s actions allowed the company commander, Captain Ronald Rykowski, to call in close air support, indirect fire and medical evacuations, and saved fellow American soldiers. Tragically, Minogue was unable to defend himself as he took bullets aimed at Rykowski who himself had been wounded three times.