Roy M. Wheat Papers

Roy Mitchell Wheat was born on July 24, 1947, in Moselle, (Jones County) Mississippi, the first of four sons born to J.C. and Stella Wheat. The other three Wheat sons are Dale, Wayne, and John (Cricket). J.C. Wheat worked for Jones County as a heavy equipment operator, and Stella Wheat worked as a seamstress at Reliance Manufacturing Company (later named Big Yank Corporation).

Roy grew up in the family's rural Jones County home. He became adept with guns at an early age, and enjoyed hunting in the woods near his home.

Roy received his early education at Moselle Attendance Center, graduating from the eighth grade in 1963. He then enrolled at Moselle High School, where he he served as manager of the football team. While serving in that capacity, he earned the nickname, "Doctor", because he liked to treat injuries.

After dropping out of school in 1965, he secured a job bagging groceries at Winn-Dixie Supermarket in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. During his tenure there, he was promoted to produce manager.

Roy enlisted in the U.S. Marines on September 19, 1966, in Jackson, Mississippi. He received basic training with the 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, South Carolina. He completed basic training in December, 1966, and was sent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina for Infantry Special Training, 1st Infantry Training Battalion. Following a Christmas furlough, he returned to Camp Lejeune, and upon completion of infantry training in February, 1967, he was promoted to Private First Class. Shortly thereafter, he was sent to Camp Pendleton, California, and from there to the Republic of Vietnam. Private First Class Wheat arrived in Chu Lai, Vietnam in mid-March 1967, and was assigned duty as a rifleman with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

Roy's unit participated in numerous combat operations, including Operation DeSoto, Duc Pho District, (Quang Ngai Province); and Operations Webster, Arizona, Butler, and Gem in Quang Nam Province.

On April 10, 1967, Roy incurred the first of two battle wounds, when a fragment of schrapnel from a mortar round tore a hole in his helmet, and grazed his head, as he was alighting from a truck. He was removed to the hospital ship, U.S.S. Sanctuary, where he remained under observation for several days because of dizziness resulting from the injury. On April 22, he rejoined Company K on Hill 55, about twelve miles south of Da Nang.

In early May, Roy experienced a recurrence of dizziness, and briefly considered the possibility of a medical discharge. However, he soon abandoned that idea, and on about May 21, Company K moved to Hill 10, which was even closer to Da Nang.

In June 1967, Roy was promoted to Lance Corporal, and was placed in the position of leading a security team, whose responsibility it was to check for booby traps before other personnel entered an area.

On July 30, 1967, Roy was wounded for the second time, when a hand grenade thrown by a Viet Cong exploded near him. He was flown, by helicopter, to the hospital in Da Nang, where doctors were unable to remove schrapnel imbedded in his right thigh, and he was told the scrap of metal would have to remain there. While in the hospital, he was awarded the Purple Heart for the wound he received in April.

On August 8, 1967, he returned to his unit, and on August 11, while leading a team providing security for a Navy constuction crane on the Liberty Road in Quang Nam Province, he accidentally triggered a well-concealed , bounding type anti-personnel mine. He yelled for team members, Vernon Sorenson and Bernard Cannon, to run; then flung himself onto the mine as it exploded, absorbing the tremendous impact with his body. Roy Wheat was killed, but his companions were spared certain injury, and possible death. As a result of this extraordinary act of heroism, the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's most prestigious military decoration, was awarded to him, posthumously. The medal was presented to the Wheat family on September 23, 1968, in Washington, D.C.. Roy Wheat was, in fact, the only Mississippian who received the Medal of Honor for the Vietnam War. Other medals bestowed on Roy Wheat include:

The Navy Commendation Medal

Purple Heart with one Gold Star

National Defense Service Medal

Vietnam Service Medal with two Bronze Stars

Vietnam Military Merit Medal

Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm

Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

He was further honored on July 5, 1979, when a street aboard the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Nevada was renamed "Wheat Loop," and again on Septemnber 11, 1985, when the newly renovated enlisted men's galley at the Meridian Naval Air Station (Meridian, Mississippi) was designated "Wheat Galley" in a formal ceremony. An additional feature of this particular memorial is that Roy Wheat's medals are on display there.

In 1994 the United States Post Office Building located at 220 South 40th Avenue in Hattiesburg, Mississippi was designated as the "Roy M. Wheat Post Office." And in 2003, the U.S. Navy named its newest prepositioning ship the USNS LCPL Roy M. Wheat (T-AK 3016).

Roy Wheat is buried in Eastabuchie Cemetery, Eastabuchie, Mississippi. A large American flag flies above a massive monument to mark the spot. At the base of the monument rests a special Medal of Honor marker.