Sneaking into the Corps: Richard Pittman, The One-Eyed Marine

Richard Pittman was legally blind in his right eye—a condition that should have kept him away from the front lines of the Vietnam War. But Pittman wasn't a man who took "no" for an answer. After sneaking his way into the U.S. Marines, he found himself on a trail in the jungle, single-handedly trying to save his brothers in arms.

From a "medical disqualification" to a legendary stand with a machine gun, Richard Pittman’s story proves that true courage starts with the belief that you belong in the fight.

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Episode resources:

US Marines in Vietnam: An Expanding War, 1966 by Jack Shulimson (Department of the Navy, 1982) 

Operation Hastings website

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