Joe Ronnie Hooper’s service record remains one of the more difficult to fathom combat resumes in United States military history.

Throughout the course of his Army career — one that came in the wake of a three-year Navy enlistment — the Piedmont, South Carolina, native who was raised in Washington state earned two Silver Stars, six Bronze Stars, and eight Purple Hearts, among an abundance of other accolades.

Principal among these recognitions is the Medal of Honor Hooper earned for Herculean efforts during the evening of February 21, 1968 — during the savage Battle of Hue — a day in which he would be credited with 22 confirmed kills.
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