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COMPTON — A dedication and plaque presentation Aug. 7 celebrated the renaming of the Hub Metropolis Submit Workplace in honor of the primary Black Marine to obtain the Medal of Honor.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-San Pedro, launched the invoice to designate the submit workplace at 101 S. Willowbrook Ave. because the Pfc. James Anderson Jr. Submit Workplace Constructing. She attended the ceremony together with Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Los Angeles, Compton Mayor Emma Sharif and members of Anderson’s household.
“Pfc Anderson was an American hero,” Barragán stated. “His selfless actions in Vietnam saved the lives of his fellow troopers.”
Anderson enlisted within the U.S. Marine Corps in February 1966, arriving in Vietnam that December.
In keeping with his Medal of Honor quotation, on Feb. 28, 1967, Anderson’s platoon was advancing in dense jungle northwest of Cam Lo on Vietnam’s central coast in an effort to rescue a reconnaissance patrol.
His platoon had superior solely about 600 ft when it got here below intense enemy fireplace. An enemy grenade landed close to Anderson’s head, and he curled round it because it went off, based on the quotation.
Though a number of Marines obtained shrapnel from the grenade, Anderson’s physique absorbed the main power of the explosion, saving their lives.
“As the primary Black Marine to win the Congressional Medal of Honor, it was necessary that we acknowledge his bravery and sacrifice right here in his hometown,” Barragán stated. “It was an honor to face with Pfc Anderson’s household this morning because the Compton submit workplace was formally devoted in his title.”
Barragan launched laws in late 2020 to rename the submit workplace for Anderson who she referred to as “a son of Compton, a patriot and a hero within the purest sense of the phrase.”
Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the army’s highest honor, to Anderson on Aug. 21, 1968, which was introduced to his household.
Anderson was born Jan. 22, 1947, in Los Angeles. He attended Carver Elementary College in Willowbrook, graduated from Centennial Excessive College in Compton and went to Los Angeles Harbor Faculty.
After a yr and a half of school, he enlisted within the U.S. Marine Corps in February 1966, arriving in Vietnam that December, the place he served in Firm F, 2nd Battalion, third Marine Regiment, third Marine Division.
Anderson is buried in Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Compton.
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