This week’s veteran is Von Cannon, who served in the United States Marine Corps from April 1966 to January 1970. Upon completion of basic training in Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina he was transferred to Vietnam to serve with Delta Co., 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, shipping out on Thanksgiving Day, 1966. Von’s military occupational specialty (MOS) in the Marine Corps was 0311, Basic Infantryman. In Delta Co. Von typically served out on point. While out on patrol on 14 January 1967, Delta Co. was ambushed by the Viet Cong. During the fight Von was wounded on the right arm by grenade shrapnel. For this injury in battle, Von was awarded the Purple Heart Medal. The Purple Heart is the oldest United States military decoration still awarded today, originally established by George Washington in 1782. It is earned by members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are wounded or killed as a direct or indirect result of enemy action.
Von’s Delta Co. participated in Operation Union, a significant search-and-destroy mission conducted by the U.S. Marine Corps in the Que Son Valley of South Vietnam, primarily during April and May 1967. It was a hard-fought campaign aimed at destroying the North Vietnamese Army’s (PAVN) 2nd Division, which threatened the key cities of Tam Ky and Da Nang. On 1 May 1967, Von’s Company came under enemy mortar attack. He was severely wounded in his right leg and hospitalized for nearly two months. Upon returning to his unit he received a field promotion for valor under fire and was awarded his second Purple Heart Medal.
Immediately returning to combat patrols with Delta Co. Von was designated the Company “tunnel rat”. On 24 July 1967, he discovered a recently deserted North Vietnamese underground hospital. Later that same day while out on patrol, Delta Co. made contact with the North Vietnamese Army. Under heavy fire Von was struck in the face and his left hand. For this injury in battle Von was awarded his third Purple Heart Medal.
Upon full recovery, the Marine Corps transferred Von to Okinawa, Japan in a training role at the Northern Training Area (NTA). The NTA was established in 1958 by the U.S. Marine Corps as a counter-guerrilla school in the Yanbaru jungle of northern Okinawa. It was designed to train in jungle warfare, survival, patrolling, and anti-guerrilla tactics relative to combat fighting in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. In this capacity, Von received honorable recognition from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for his invaluable contribution and sustained highest quality performance training field officers at the CIA’s Okinawa Field Station. Due to the sensitive nature of this work, the U.S. government conducted an extensive personal background check and awarded Von a required Top Secret security clearance. Von finished out his enlistment in the Marine Corps and was honorably discharged in January 1970.
After the Marine Corps, Von worked for 28 years in the textile industry with Dan River Inc. In 1986 he earned his PhD in Organizational Psychology from Kennedy Western University. In 1994, retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel Oliver North was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate race in Virginia. North was a key figure in the Iran-Contras affair and a true American patriot. Von became a Charter Member of the National Steering Committee to help elect North to the U.S. Senate. Von’s commitment to this role was hardworking and steadfast, however, North was defeated in his election bid.
Von is a life member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, the only congressional chartered veterans organization for those wounded in combat. He is also featured in the Legacy of the Purple Heart, a military history book that honors recipients of the Purple Heart Medal as far back as World War One. Today, Von spends time with his family here in Montgomery County and travels regularly to be with family in California. Good luck Von and thank you for your service! Congratulations on being MCN’s Veteran of the Week.