VALDOSTA — “We never lost a fight in Vietnam,” said James E. Livingston, the commanding tone of the one-time Marine major general still in the cadence of his voice. “We never lost a fight in Korea. ... We lose the fight in Washington.”

Speaking Thursday night to the Valdosta chapter of Military Officers Association of America, Livingston said, “The difference between winning and losing is will ... We lack the will to get the job done. We’re in a fight for the soul of this nation.”

Livingston is a man who knows about the power of will.

During his Marine career, along with three Purple Hearts and numerous other distinctions, Livingston was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration.

The citation notes that Livingston earned his Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Commanding Officer, Company E, Second Battalion, Fourth Marines, Ninth Marine Amphibious Brigade in action against enemy forces in the Republic of Vietnam.”

A captain on May 2, 1968, the Georgia-born Livingston led Company E in an assault on Dai Do, a well-fortified Vietnamese village. Only the previous night, the enemy had seized this village and isolated a Marine company from the rest of the

battalion.

Through skillful screening maneuvers, Livingston placed his men in assault positions across 500 meters of open rice paddy while under a deadly barrage of enemy fire, according to the citation.

Livingston ignored the bullets striking near him as he led his men in “a savage assault” on enemy positions within the village. Livingston repeatedly moved to his company’s most heavily hit areas to direct his men’s fire and shout encouragement to his Marines, pushing his men forward at moments when it appeared the enemy may win.

“Although twice painfully wounded by grenade fragments, he refused medical treatment and courageously led his men in the destruction of over 100 mutually supporting bunkers, driving the remaining enemy from their positions, and relieving the pressure on the stranded Marine company,” according to the citation.

His efforts allowed the two Marine companies to consolidate their efforts and evacuate wounded men. Meanwhile, a third company maneuvered into an assault on the village of Dinh. Fierce enemy resistance halted the third company.

Livingston organized his company’s available Marines, pushed them forward and joined forces with the company in Dinh to halt the enemy counterattack.

“Wounded a third time and unable to walk, (Livingston) steadfastly remained in a dangerously exposed area, deploying his men to more tenable positions and supervising the evacuation of casualties,” according to the citation. “Only when assured of the safety of his men did he allow himself to be evacuated.”

Signed by President Richard Nixon, the citation notes, “Captain Livingston’s gallant actions uphold the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and United States Navy.”

MOAA member Hugh Bassham, a Quitman veterinarian, approached Livingston about attending the Valdosta meeting. Given Livingston’s Georgia roots and considering both he and Bassham attended Auburn, the retired Marine major general seemed a natural fit for the meeting of retired military officers.

Born Jan. 12, 1940, in the Georgia town of Towns, Livingston graduated in 1957 from Lumber City High School. That same year, he entered North Georgia College and State University (The Military College of Georgia). He eventually transferred and graduated in 1962 with a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Auburn University.

Livingston tells the story of meeting a Marine recruiter who regaled him with stories of going to Quantico with all of the free time in the world. By his second boot camp, Livingston joked that he no longer believed the recruiter’s story, but Livingston’s MOAA speech held little humor. At times, he spoke with the power of a fire and brimstone sermon, with politics being the original sin.

“We have young Americans in the longest war in this nation’s history,” Livingston said. “World War II was fought and won in four years. ... But this war has lingered, lingered because of politics, lingered because of a lack of will. ... We have to have that will to win. Since World War II, we have lacked that will to win.”

He said he’s amazed that “we’re willing to sacrifice these young men and women ... but we’re not closing the deal because of politics.”

With thousands of young American military personnel dead and thousands more maimed, Livingston said, referring to wounded veterans, “this war is not going away. It’s not going away. It’s going to be with us the rest of our lives.”

Earlier in the meeting MOAA shared a video of local efforts for the Community Blueprint program. Valdosta is one of only three cities nationwide participating in the pilot program to ease returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from military life to the civilian world.

“We are so blessed that regardless of what is going on, that these young Americans still raise their hands and swear to defend our nation.”

Livingston praised MOAA’s efforts. He praised the Vietnam generation that is doing all it can to create a better transition from military to civilian life.

“The Vietnam generation is the newest greatest generation. Not only did you fight on the battlefields of Vietnam, but you faced the issues at home,” Livingston said. “... It is the Vietnam vets who have stood up to help this latest, young generation  to ensure no one else would be treated that way.”

In the question-and-answer session, Livingston shared an experience that speaks to his call to regain America’s will to win its wars. It was not of his actions that earned him his Medal of Honor. He spoke of his last day in Vietnam and the fall of Saigon.

A major at the time, Livingston was charged with getting the last several dozen Marines into the last American helicopter. They were surrounded by 50,000 Vietnamese who also wanted to climb aboard that departing helicopter.

These were Vietnamese who had worked with the Americans. These were their families. Livingston says he can still see the faces of the women and children clamoring to leave. Knowing there were no more helicopters coming, he reluctantly took forceful actions against the crowd to ensure he boarded all of his Marines onto the crowded chopper. He still sees their faces, knowing the enemy approached, knowing many of those faces, men, women and children, would die when the enemy arrived and Saigon fell.

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