MMI to induct Vietnam veteran from Bessemer into Military Hall of Honor

The Alabama Military Hall of Honor will induct a Bessemer native at the Marion Military Institute (MMI) Chapel on Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. 

A press release from MMI described the history of Staff Sergeant James Leslie Moreland's service in the Vietnam War.

Moreland entered the U.S. Army in 1965 and become a Special Forces medic. Afterwards he was assigned to I-Corps Mike Force, Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, serving in Southeast Asia.

MMI detailed the following: 

"In early 1968, Staff Sergeant Moreland was deployed to the Lang Vei Special Forces Camp in Quang Tri Province, near the Laotian border. On the night of February 6, 1968, during the Tet Offensive, Lang Vei came under an intense attack by North Vietnamese forces including infantry, artillery and 16 Russian tanks. Despite being vastly outnumbered and outgunned, Moreland displayed extraordinary bravery under fire."

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"Braving withering tank, artillery and machine gun fire, Moreland continually moved through a hail of bullets and shrapnel to treat the wounded. During the battle, he continued to treat the wounded even as enemy forces overran the camp. He refused evacuation, choosing instead to stay with his fellow soldiers and local allies. When the attackers overran the outer perimeter, he disregarded his own safety, joined a hastily formed tank killer team and assaulted the enemy tanks until expending his Light Antitank Weapons."

"He then climbed upon an enemy tank to kill the crew. After using all his hand grenades, he fought through the enemy infantry toward the ammo bunker until realizing it had been destroyed. He then fought his way to the command bunker to help defend it. He was wounded twice, the second time when his position received a direct hit from a 76 mm tank round. As the survivors planned to fight their way out of the enemy encirclement, Moreland volunteered to retrieve a M-60 machine gun."

He was killed during the battle and was later declared missing. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. His remains were eventually found in 2010 before he was permanently laid to rest on May 4 in 2011. 

MMI is located on 1101 Washington Street in Marion.