Marvin Glenn Shields

Marvin Glenn Shields
Marvin Glenn Shields, Medal of Honor recipient
Born	(1939-12-30)December 30, 1939 Port Townsend, Washington
Died	June 10, 1965(1965-06-10) (aged 25) Dong Xoai, Republic of Vietnam
Place of burial	Gardiner Cemetery, Gardiner, Washington
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1962–1965
Rank	Construction Mechanic Third Class
Unit	Seabee Team 1104, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11
Battles/wars	Vietnam War † -Battle of Dong Xoai
Awards	Medal of Honor Purple Heart Medal (3)

Vietnam War †

Marvin Glenn Shields (December 30, 1939 – June 10, 1965) was the first and only United States Navy Seabee to be awarded the Medal of Honor. He was also the first sailor to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty in the Vietnam War.

Marvin G. Shields was born December 30, 1939, in Port Townsend, Washington. He lived near Townsend on Discovery Bay in Gardiner, Washington. He graduated from Port Townsend High School in 1958 and had moved to Hyder, Alaska, where he worked at Mineral Basin Mining Company, a gold mining project started by Port Townsend company.

He joined the Navy on January 8, 1962 to be a Navy Seabee. He was assigned to the Naval Air Station at Glynco, Georgia for apprenticeship training in May which he completed in May 1963. In September, he was assigned to take Construction Mechanic training at the Naval Construction Training Center at Port Hueneme, California which he completed that month. Afterwards, he was assigned to Company A, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 11 (NMCB-11). On November 18, he deployed to Okinawa and was assigned there until September 1964. On November 1, he was assigned to Seabee Team 1104, Naval Construction Battalion 11, and completed Seabee team training at Port Hueneme on January 22, 1965. The Seabee team consisted of nine Seabees including one officer.