The Alabama Military Hall of Honor held an induction ceremony for Staff Sergeant James Leslie Moreland, United States Army, on Friday November 14th at 11AM in the Marion Military Institute Chapel.
Moreland was born on September 29, 1945, in Bessemer, Alabama. He joined the US Army in 1965 and completed extensive training to become a Special Forces medic. Moreland was assigned to I-Corps Mike Force, Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. This highly specialized unit operated in some of the deadliest environments in Southeast Asia.
In early 1968, during the Tet Offensive, 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, Lang Vei came under heavy attack by North Vietnamese forces including infantry, artillery, and 16 Russian tanks. Although vastly outnumbered and outgunned, Moreland displayed extraordinary courage under fire. Enduring a steady onslaught of tank, artillery, and machine gun fire, Moreland moved through the bullets and shrapnel to treat the wounded. He continued administering aid to the fallen even as enemy forces overran the camp. He refused evacuation, choosing instead to stay with his unit and local allies.
When the enemy breached the outer perimeter, Moreland and others attacked the tanks with Antitank Weapons. Once the ammunition for those weapons was exhausted, he climbed on top of an enemy tank to kill the crew singlehandedly. Out of hand grenades, he fought through enemy infantry to reach the ammunition bunker only to find it had been destroyed. He then fought his way to the command bunker to help defend it. Moreland 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 through the surrounding enemy forces, Moreland volunteered to retrieve an M-60 machine gun.
He was mortally wounded and declared Missing in Action. For his heroism Staff Sergeant Moreland was posthumously awarded the Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. His remains were recovered in 2010, and he was laid to rest on May 4, 2011.
