Buddy Sturgis - Interview 1 | Generations of Heroes

Kaltura

Vietnam War

Ewell Gilbert "Buddy" Sturgis Jr. — During the Vietnam War, Buddy Sturgis volunteered and served with the Navy's elite River Patrol Force special warfare group, where he earned his "Black Beret" and two Purple Heart medals.

After military service, Buddy designed and built the first Vietnam Support Base exhibit at Patriots Point, in Charleston, South Carolina. He established, and was the Director of, the South Carolina Military Museum located in Columbia, South Carolina. He also contributed to the building and development of the Naval Shipyard museum, the Coast Guard Cutter Ingham WHEC 35 and destroyer, and the USS Laffey DD724 exhibits. He assisted in the movement and relocation of the Congressional Medal of Honor headquarters from the USS Intrepid in New York and the establishment of the first phase of the Medal of Honor Museum at Patriots Point.

Buddy Sturgis was interviewed by Rachel Mobley, from Richland Northeast High School, for Generations of Heroes, a project that offered South Carolina educators and students a chance to document the living memories of heroes and civilians who have served the United States from World War II to today’s soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Standards