The Courier-Post Published 10:30 a.m. ET May 25, 2017

CHERRY HILL – Adrenaline was pumping through the body of a Marine rifleman from Pine Hill on a battlefield halfway around the world.

He did not want to die that day, or any day, in the Vietnam War far from South Jersey.

So at great personal risk, far outnumbered by the enemy and realizing he was facing death on Dec. 15, 1967, U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. John Hunsinger advanced alone after his squad leader was wounded, rallied fellow Marines in his company to follow and saved them and himself from certain death.

His heroism inadvertently went unreported and unrewarded — until earlier this month when Hunsinger, now of Franklin Township, received the Bronze Star with Valor. Fifty years overdue, the hero’s welcome included an escort in a motorcycle and first responder procession to American Legion Post 372 in Cherry Hill.

Retired Lt. Col. Robert Black of Tenafly, the last of Hunsinger’s three company commanders in Vietnam, and retired Lt. Col. Al Bancroft of the Camden County Department of Veterans Affairs presented him the medal with the additional letter “V” for valor to a chorus of the Marine’s signature “hoo-rah.”

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More than 100 veterans, first responders, legionnaires and members of the ‘Nam Knights and Warriors’ Watch Riders motorcycle clubs attended the ceremony and luncheon the legion hosted.

“It’s very humbling… really I’m so very humbled,” said Hunsinger.

Earlier he explained what happened on that December day when he suddenly was ordered by the platoon sergeant to assume command of the second squad from its wounded leader. They were part of B Company (Bravo) of the 1st Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Division.

“We were pinned down and somebody had to make the move (to advance) and nobody was. I was given a job to take over and I just went out and did it,” said the 69-year-old who left in his junior year at Overbook High School to join the Marines because he wanted to follow others and go to Vietnam.

“At the time, you were an 18-year-old who had so much adrenaline running through you in battle and I always felt like the hands of God were around me,” he said.

All of the men in the squad deserved a medal, Hunsinger said, because they followed him that day during fierce fighting between approximately 110 men in his company ambushed by more than 500 North Vietnamese Army soldiers.

Hunsinger became the unexpected leader of the second squad of the first platoon in the defense of the American fortress at Nuie Con Thien. It was near the southern border of the Demilitarized Zone beyond which U.S. troops were not permitted to enter.

Black read the medal citation, which outlined how Hunsinger maneuvered his squad into a better vantage point while under heavy automatic, mortar and artillery fire.

“Selflessly exposing himself, he personally charged, firing his rifle head-on another 25 meters through the killing zone under a murderous stream of small arms fire. His squad followed him and joined the third squad to stop the advance of the enemy.

“During the day-long fighting, Cpl. Hunsinger valiantly exposed himself time after time to enemy fire, shouting encouragement to his Marines, directing and controlling their fire, distributing ammunition and all the while moving and checking on his Marines with complete disregard for his own safety.

The enemy attacked in waves, the citation continues, but each wave was thwarted in part by the corporal’s “valiant leadership.”

Hunsinger said he was told in Vietnam he was being recommended for the medal, but his company commanding officer Captain Clarence L. Baker was transferred suddenly and the new commander was killed shortly afterward in battle. Black then took over the company as a captain in early 1968.

Now a retired colonel, Baker wrote to the Marine headquarters in 2013 to start the process for Hunsinger’s medal after Gaudencio Viloria Jr., a staff sergeant who commanded the first platoon and later was promoted to major, found out at a Marine reunion six years ago that Hunsinger had never received his Bronze Star.

Baker and Viloria, who both live in California, were unable to attend.

In Vietnam, Hunsinger also took part in battles at Quang Tri, Hue City, Hill 881 in the Battle for Khe Sanh and the Tet Offensive in 1968. He was wounded by shrapnel in November 1967 and contracted double malaria after the Tet Offensive but always returned to his unit and the fight.

Hunsinger had an unexpected reunion with two other Overbrook High School buddies from Pine Hill who ended up in his company in Vietnam with him — Eddie Kramer and J.P. McKelvey.

Reunion in Vietnam War in 1968: Buddies from Overbrook
Reunion in Vietnam War in 1968: Buddies from Overbrook High School in Pine Hill. From left are Eddie Kramer, John Hunsinger, who received a Bronze Star for heroic action this week; and J. P. McKelvey. (Photo: Provided)
Black praised Hunsinger as an exceptional Marine.

“He was a Marine who ran toward the sound of gunfire and took responsibility for his action. These people are hard to find even in the Marines,” the 75-year-old Black said after the ceremony.

“I had three rifle companies in Vietnam and he was the only enlisted man I consistently gave the top 5.0 rating to in his performance reviews.”

Hunsinger received a joint state Senate and Assembly resolution from Sen. James Beach, D-Camden, and a congressional recognition certificate presented by a congressional staffer on behalf of Rep. Frank Lobiondo, R-N.J. Marine Corps League Detachment 775 veterans served as the honor guard.

Legion commander Tim Kraft, Bancroft and others said it was an honor to be at the medal ceremony and thanked others for their outpouring of patriotism.

Warriors’ Watch Riders, Delaware Valley chapter spokesman Brit Henderson of Audubon and Cherry Hill Councilwoman Carolyn Jacobs lamented the poor reception most Vietnam veterans like Hunsinger received when they came home.

“He is a true American hero and well-deserving (of the medal). As we know many were overlooked when they returned home, so the support we give is our payback to them,” Henderson said.

Carol Comegno: (856) 486-2473; ccomegno@gannettnj.com