3 important rules from a Medal of Honor recipient

During his second tour in Vietnam, Capt. Jay R. Vargas was the commanding officer of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment about to lead his men into the enemy-infested area of Dai Do in the Republic of Vietnam.

While north along the DMZ, the Vietnamese 320th Infantry Division were on their way south with thousands of well-trained enemy troops.

Upon marching his Marines down to their base camp, hundreds of rounds of artillery flooded around Vargas' position — but the Marines managed to reach their destination around 4 a.m.

Related: This Corpsman saved his Marines despite being shot 4 times

After marching all night, two riverboats picked the tired Marines up and shipped them up the river toward Dai Do. Soon after boarding, the enemy began to fire. Vargas' battalion commander instructed him to push on through the firing lanes once they've arrived.

After reaching the river's bank, the Marines were already pinned down by heavy machine gun, but that didn't stop Vargas coming up with a plan.

"Give me four Marines, we're going to go take the machine guns," Vargas recalls.

As they moved forward, the Marines took fire, wounding them instantly — leaving Vargas by himself.

On his own, Vargas knocked out three machine guns and killed 14 enemy troops, which reopened a clear lane for the Marines to safely move up.

Also Read: This Vietnam War vet will receive MoH for saving 10 soldiers

Vargas momentarily believed he had secured the area, but the NVA decided to counter-attack. The enemy troops managed to force the Marines into a nearby cemetery — cutting them off from resupply.

The North Vietnamese began to pound heavily on Vargas' Marines' position. Surrounded and down to only 80 Marines, Vargas believed the end was near.

"We were surrounded and cut-off completely," Vargas said. "The only way to survive was to dig up those graves and toss the bodies out."

Vargas' Marines did as he commanded and removed body after body before taking position in the graves to seek cover.

Feeling as if he wasn't going to make it out alive, Adm. John McCain (Sen. John McCain's father), the U.S. Pacific Command commander in chief encouraged Vargas to press on over the tact line. McCain quickly made Vargas and his Marines' survival a priority.

Naval gunships blanketed Vargas perimeter with artillery, killing countless enemy troops as the Marines sheltered themselves in the mass grave site.

After three long days of fighting, the enemy made their last stand and once again counter-attacked the tired and wounded Marines. Vargas' battalion commander moved into his grave as he was shot three times in the back by the enemy.

Vargas felt like he had no choice but to call artillery onto his position. After using three headsets to coordinate multiple sources of incoming fire, Vargas dragged is severely wounded battalion commander over a hundred yards to a covered area while the airstrikes were coming in hot.

Soon after the airstrikes ended. The enemy forces were silenced.

Vargas recalls that his older brothers — who also served in the Corps  — gave him three golden rules to live by.

1. Always set a good example.
2. Take care of your men.
3. Never ask a Marine to do something you wouldn't do yourself.

Capt. Jay R. Vargas was awarded the Medal of Honor on May 14, 1970, for his heroic acts in Vietnam.

Check out Medal Of Honor Book's video below to hear Jay's extraordinary story for yourself.