St. Pete Medal of Honor Veteran Says Patriotism Lives in Florida

Medal of Honor recipient recalls the ‘battle’ 
Tampa Bay News
By BOB McCLURE
March 25, 2015

“I look at it as honoring the men and women in uniform, present and past. It just shows the patriotism the citizens of Florida have toward our men in uniform.”

Photo by BOB McCLURE
Retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Gary Littrell of St. Pete Beach wears the Congressional Medal of Honor he was awarded in 1973 following his heroic actions during a 1970 battle in Vietnam.

ST. PETE BEACH – Winston Churchill once said success is not final and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.

That phrase sums up the actions of retired U.S. Army Command Sgt. Major Gary Littrell of St. Pete Beach who for four days in early April 1970 took command of a South Vietnamese Ranger battalion under siege by more than 5,000 North Vietnamese troops. Out of an original group of 477, Littrell was among 41 walking and wounded to safely leave the hill they gallantly defended.

His actions and decisions led him to receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1973.

He is the only Medal of Honor recipient in the area, one of three in Florida and one of 79 currently alive in the U.S.
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