James M Sprayberry
Born on the 24th of April 1947, in LaGrange, Georgia, James grew up about one hundred miles west in Sylacauga, Alabama. His mother was 15 at the time of his birth and made arrangements for him to be adopted and raised by his aunt, though he would spend summers with his mother in LaGrange. James, also known as Mike, played in the band in high school and graduated from B.B. Comer High School in 1965. He then enrolled in the Alex City Junior College but in within the year joined the US Army in Montgomery, Alabama. After Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam late in 1967. It was his actions on the 25th of April 1968, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Sprayberry, Armor, U.S. Army, distinguished himself by exceptional bravery while serving as executive officer of Company D. His company commander and a great number of the men were wounded and separated from the main body of the company. A daylight attempt to rescue them was driven back by the well-entrenched enemy's heavy fire. Capt. Sprayberry then organized and led a volunteer night patrol to eliminate the intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the surrounded element. The patrol soon began receiving enemy machine-gun fire. Capt. Sprayberry quickly moved the men to protective cover and without regard for his own safety, crawled within close range of the bunker from which the fire was coming. He silenced the machine gun with a hand grenade. Identifying several one-man enemy positions nearby, Capt. Sprayberry immediately attacked them with the rest of his grenades. He crawled back for more grenades and when two grenades were thrown at his men from a position to the front, Capt. Sprayberry, without hesitation, again exposed himself and charged the enemy-held bunker, killing its occupants with a grenade. Placing two men to cover his advance, he crawled forward and neutralized three more bunkers with grenades. Immediately thereafter, Capt. Sprayberry was surprised by an enemy soldier who charged from a concealed position. He killed the soldier with his pistol and with continuing disregard for the danger neutralized another enemy emplacement. Capt. Sprayberry then established radio contact with the isolated men, directing them toward his position. When the two elements made contact he organized his men into litter parties to evacuate the wounded. As the evacuation was nearing completion, he observed an enemy machine-gun position which he silenced with a grenade. Capt. Sprayberry returned to the rescue party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the wounded. This rescue operation, which lasted approximately 7 1/2 hours saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Capt. Sprayberry personally killed 12 enemy soldiers, eliminated two machine guns, and destroyed numerous enemy bunkers. Capt. Sprayberry's indomitable spirit and gallant action at great personal risk to his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Mike returned to the States in 1969, deciding to leave the Army until he encountered an anti-war demonstration in Washington. This angered him and he decided to make a career out of his time in the Army. On the 9th of October 1969, Mike received the Medal of Honor from President Nixon in a ceremony with three others in the South Lawn of the White House, with his citation read by Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor. He went on to serve two tours in Germany and worked on developments for the M1 Abrams tank. Mike retired at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1988 after 22 years of service.
After retirement, he returned to the family farm and frequently thought of those that had not been recovered during the war. In 2006, Mike was able to return to Vietnam to assist with the search for the men that had been left behind during his mission. To this day, his time is spent researching information that may lead to locating those that are missing in action and helping to bring comfort to the families. The family farm is still being maintained by his brother-in-law and James Michael Sprayberry is 75 years old at the time of this recording and still resides in Alabama.
