NAS MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – Medal of Honor recipient retired Col. Donald “Doc” Ballard shared lessons on leadership, service and personal responsibility with military personnel Wednesday during a visit to Naval Air Station Meridian.
Ballard, a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Navy hospital corpsman who received the nation’s highest military decoration for valor during the Vietnam War, spoke to enlisted service members and officers from commands across the installation.
Reflecting on the discussion, Ballard said he was encouraged by the engagement and thoughtfulness of those in attendance.
“Love and respect. I think I had a good class today, everybody was attentive and they paid attention and they asked good questions, so I was excited to be able to share my thoughts and my suggestions for their career and their development and their transition when they get ready to get out,” Ballard said. “So, I thought it went real well, and the take away is — be there for yourself. Be as smart as you can. Learn from your people that have gone before you, you know?”
Ballard emphasized that he did not arrive with a predetermined message but instead welcomed questions from the audience and tailored the conversation to their interests and concerns.
“I have no agenda. I try to lead them in a direction I want them to go in, but everybody asks the questions that I thought were important and I was happy to answer them,” he said.
Throughout the session, Ballard stressed the importance of mutual respect among service members regardless of rank, specialty or assignment.
“Everybody has a job who serves, right? Some are better, some are more important than others, but when it boils down to it, we all have a sense of responsibility and respect for each other, no matter what your job is,” Ballard said.
Ballard earned the Medal of Honor for his actions on May 16, 1968, while serving as a Navy corpsman attached to the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines in Vietnam. During an enemy ambush in Quang Tri Province, Ballard repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire to treat wounded Marines. When an enemy grenade landed near a casualty and several Marines, Ballard threw himself on the explosive device to shield his comrades. The grenade failed to detonate, and he immediately resumed providing medical aid to the wounded.
President Richard Nixon later awarded Ballard the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Following his Navy service, Ballard joined the Kansas National Guard, where he served in a variety of leadership roles before retiring as a colonel in 2000. He was inducted into the National Guard Hall of Fame in 2001 and remains the only living Kansas Guardsman to have received the Medal of Honor.
His visit to NAS Meridian provided service members an opportunity to hear firsthand from one of the nation’s most decorated veterans about leadership, sacrifice and preparing for life both in and beyond military service.
