A 67-year-old former Marine received the Navy Cross – the service’s second-highest honor for valor in combat – for heroism he displayed 45 years ago during a fierce firefight in Vietnam. Ned E. Seath, of Reed City, Mich., earned the accolade while serving with Company K., 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, during action associated with Operation HASTINGS in July 1966. According to the citation, Seath and his fellow Marines engaged in a well-armed platoon of enemy fighters. Though Seath was wounded in the leg and arm, he managed to pull parts together from two disabled M-60 machine guns to fashion a weapon that would work. He then used the gun to suppress the enemy assault, at times exposing himself to his attackers. For years, Seath held only a Purple Heart medal for his actions that day. But during a unit reunion several years ago, one comrade who took part in the fight – Bill Hutton – decided that Seath deserved a significantly higher honor. Hutton, now senior vice commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, began collecting evidence to support the official Navy review of Seath’s record. In addition to the upgrade to the Navy Cross, the review also determined that Seath deserved a Bronze Star medal. "Had it not been for Ned, I would be laying under a headstone at Arlington," Hutton said.
