{"id":10713,"date":"2026-05-26T17:56:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T17:56:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10713"},"modified":"2026-05-27T15:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T15:19:26","slug":"honor-courage-and-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10713","title":{"rendered":"Honor, courage and commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_10860\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10860\" style=\"width: 1080px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10860 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/1-replace.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston\" width=\"1080\" height=\"566\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10860\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Maj. Gen. James Livingston takes a moment to reflect on the objects donated to Auburn University, including his Medal of Honor, that are being displayed in Foy Hall on the Wall of Heroes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>James E. Livingston began his journey as an Auburn guy \u2014 that\u2019s what he calls himself \u2014 in 1959. Though the University of North Georgia, where he spent his freshman year, offered a lot, it didn\u2019t offer engineering. That\u2019s what he really wanted to do. It\u2019s what growing up on a family farm in Telfair County, Georgia \u2014 working hard from dawn to dusk and then some, in the classroom, in the fields, solving the problems that come with tending tobacco, cotton, sugarcane and most every other crop the South Georgia soil could produce \u2014 taught him he might be good at.<\/p>\n<p>Civil engineering seemed like a good fit. Georgia Tech was an obvious choice. It was in-state, a fine school \u2014 just not as, say, diverse as a red-blooded, aspiring engineer might want. What Tech may have had in smarts, it lacked in scenery. He wanted something more, and Auburn, upon inspection, had an abundance.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Magnificent Auburn Guy of Dai Do\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vkzhf-cnWKY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The decision was easy. The first year was not. Studying engineering at Auburn, as it turned out, wasn\u2019t a cakewalk.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>While living at the Sigma Pi house was great for camaraderie, it had drawbacks come exam time, enough to eventually draw comment from back home: Pick up the slide rule or hop back on the tractor. He went with the slide rule. He moved out of the fraternity house and began practically living at Broun Hall. He read the Auburn Creed and put it into practice. He entered ROTC. The discipline he was raised on returned, and it refined him. He hit the books. He did the job.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, in 1962, it was mission accomplished. Livingston hung the diploma and pointed to it proudly. He was an Auburn graduate \u2014 an Auburn civil engineering graduate. That meant something. That\u2019s the way it usually goes, of course. People cross the stage, then bask in the fact that they had what it took \u2014 that they did it and did it at a place like Auburn. They chase that feeling across their careers and for the rest of their lives \u2014 in their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s, with their lapel pins, in the frame on their wall. Livingston was no exception.<\/p>\n<p>But it was only on the morning of Feb. 27, 2026, at the dedication of the James E. Livingston section of Auburn\u2019s new Wall of Heroes in Foy Hall, that he truly realized his association with the place was now a little different. Because the desire to maintain it? It was reciprocal \u2014 as much as it can be between an alumnus and his alma mater. That realization, he said, was hard to put into words. He\u2019d always made room for Auburn on his wall. Now a wall at Auburn had room for him. And to think that it was a wall in Foy Hall\u2026 the old student union, the building that Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston, Auburn Guy, was in when he decided 65 years ago to become a Marine, one of the best there ever was.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10832\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10832\" style=\"width: 714px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10832\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/JEL-BW-Captain-Medal-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"714\" height=\"714\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/JEL-BW-Captain-Medal-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/JEL-BW-Captain-Medal-800x800.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Livingston, \u201962 civil engineering, earned the Medal of Honor for heroism displayed during the 1968 Battle of Dai Do.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The click<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That he was in charge of Echo Company seems fitting. That sound \u2014 that echo \u2014 just before things changed is the one thing he and his men remember. Every book on the battle, every documentary, every oral history includes recollections of the gruesome, collective click following the order of then-Capt. James E. Livingston.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-10833 \" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/Livingston_war-field.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"879\" height=\"596\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/Livingston_war-field.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/Livingston_war-field-768x521.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/Livingston_war-field-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 879px) 100vw, 879px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo have 180 bayonets click at one time is a pretty gruesome sound,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cBut I told them: Fix bayonets, we\u2019re going for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a May 2, 1968, assault to support Golf Company, pinned down near a tiny dot on the map in the Cua Viet River Valley \u2014 Dai Do. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had turned the village into a complex of more than 100 bunkers as part of a planned offensive to seize a vital American supply base. The 600 men of the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Battalion, 4<sup>th<\/sup> Marines, were ordered to stop them.<\/p>\n<p>Two months earlier, Livingston successfully led Echo Company in a similar rescue mission at Vinh Quan Thuong. This, he knew, would be different. The big leagues. Hell on earth. Final exam time. Bayonet time.<\/p>\n<p>He also knew Echo was ready for it. When he took command nine months earlier, they weren\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>The 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Battalion was tough. And they had a reputation, a nickname even: the Magnificent Bastards.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But Echo had loosened up. Discipline was down. Morale was down. Livingston, a year into his second tour of Vietnam, brought it back up \u2014 quickly. The Auburn guy had his own reputation: calm under pressure, but as gung ho as they came. Commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduation, he served as a platoon commander, intelligence officer and series commander training recruits at Parris Island. After being promoted to captain in June 1966, he served as commanding officer of the Marine detachment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. Under Livingston, you didn\u2019t flop down after a patrol. You took care of yourself and your equipment. You cultivated a sound body and a sound mind.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10824\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10824\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10824 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/700514-O-D0439-021.jpeg\" alt=\"James Livingston at the White House\" width=\"800\" height=\"542\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/700514-O-D0439-021.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/700514-O-D0439-021-768x520.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/700514-O-D0439-021-75x50.jpeg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10824\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Richard Nixon presents then-Capt. Livingston the Medal of Honor in 1970.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI would not put up with (slacking),\u201d he said. \u201cIntensity saves lives and preparation saves lives. I had time to do the things I needed to do to process the issues with the company. I was able to come up with a game plan to do the things I thought I needed to do to make them a better company that\u2019s ready to fight.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And fight, they did. The five football fields of rice paddies Livingston ordered them across at 5 a.m. were already red. Another company had tried the same charge the day before. They\u2019d failed. Bodies were still everywhere; one was the company\u2019s commander. More would be added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had 16 or 17 killed right there as we began to try to crack through this complex of bunkers,\u201d Livingston said.<\/p>\n<p>The strategy was fire and maneuver. Keep moving. Close the distance. Livingston darted back and forth between the points of heaviest resistance. To truly lead, he said, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to smell the gunsmoke.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was between the two front platoons, but the reserve platoon behind me got bogged down,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cSo I moved my command post into the reserve platoon. And we finally penetrated the village of Dai Do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bayonets were needed.<\/p>\n<p>Livingston knew that long-range firefights favored the entrenched NVA. At the time, the command \u2014 the click \u2014 was almost more psychological than anything. In terms of actual tactics, bayonet charges were more WWII than Vietnam.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut I needed something to let them know it was the real deal,\u201d Livingston said.<\/p>\n<p>It wound up more real than he expected, and the bayonets more crucial. They worked as motivational tools.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>They worked in other ways, too.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10825\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10825\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10825 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-51.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-51.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-51-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-51-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-51-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10825\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Livingston addressed the crowd during the Feb. 27 dedication of his section of Auburn\u2019s Wall of Heroes in Foy Hall. Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts and Auburn Engineering Dean Mario Eden also spoke before the unveiling of the display honoring Livingston.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10829\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-75.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-75.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-75-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-75-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-75-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10826\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-70.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-70.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-70-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-70-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-70-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were fighting for their lives; we were fighting for ours,&#8221; Livingston said. \u201cIt was close-in killing,&#8221; he said,<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>pausing before saying it again. \u201cIt was close-in killing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It lasted three hours. Clearing bunkers with grenades. Clearing them hand-to-bloody-hand. By the end, only 35 of his 180 men could still stand. Eighteen were dead, the rest wounded. Livingston had taken grenade shrapnel.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>But the Magnificent Bastards had taken Dai Do. They\u2019d done the job. Then Livingston gave them another one, lack of orders be damned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe battalion commander directed another company to come around our left flank and begin the attack further north,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cThey got surrounded. There were only 70 of them, commanded by a young second lieutenant. He kept asking, \u2018Where\u2019s Echo, where\u2019s Echo?\u2019 He thought he was going to have Echo as part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Livingston, trying to recuperate, had thought the same. He waited for orders. The call from leadership never came. The call of duty did.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI finally just said, \u2018The hell with it,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cI told my 35 Marines, \u2018we\u2019re going to go help Hotel Company.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was more of the same. Hell broke loose again, for hours. And Livingston broke loose again, the gunsmoke still in his nostrils, thicker than ever. He was everywhere.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Then the NVA turned an antiaircraft gun on Livingston\u2019s position. He was shot. His radio operator was killed. He was shot again. He was down. He wasn\u2019t out.<\/p>\n<p>Here is how President Richard Nixon, reading from a document bearing the United States seal, described the scene two years later:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWounded a third time and unable to walk, Livingston steadfastly remained in a dangerously exposed area, deploying his men to more tenable positions and supervising the evacuation of casualties. Only when assured of the safety of his men did he allow himself to be evacuated.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10827\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10827\" style=\"width: 800px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-10827 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-72.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-72.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-72-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-72-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-72-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10827\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Livingston with student Marines and officers in front of the Wall of Heroes in Foy Hall.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-10828\" src=\"http:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-73.jpg\" alt=\"James Livingston archive\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-73.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-73-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-73-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/files\/2026\/05\/General-Livingston-Wall-of-Heroes-Dedication-73-75x50.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Honor on display<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the time, no one knew the exact number \u2014 just that it was obviously like David versus Goliath. Eventually it came out that the 600 Magnificent Bastards of the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> Battalion, 4<sup>th<\/sup> Marines had stared down and ultimately routed an NVA division numbering more than 10,000.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of raw odds, historians deem the Battle of Dai Do the most lopsided of the entire Vietnam War. It was brutal. But it was won, in no small part, through the discipline, devotion and courage of a Marine captain from south Georgia \u2014 an Auburn guy who won the respect and confidence of his men through a spirit that never seemed close to afraid, and who earned the Medal of Honor in the process.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Livingston stepped to the lectern. He was happy to be back in Auburn, he said \u2014 even back in Foy Hall. That\u2019s where he used to like to hang out, he joked \u2014 where the ladies used to be. Livingston met his wife, Sarah, while stationed at Parris Island. They have two daughters and three grandchildren. All were there for the unveiling, along with military and university officials, including President Chris Roberts and Mario Eden, dean of engineering \u2014 all there to speak about him.<\/p>\n<p>The cover came off. People applauded. It\u2019s a wonderful display. It tells a story. Livingston\u2019s uniform is there, along with his patches. A copy of the 2010 book on his life, Noble Warrior, documents not just the Battle of Dai Do but the heroics behind his other medals \u2014 the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal with Combat \u201cV\u201d and three Purple Hearts.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also his Distinguished Auburn Engineer plaque, as well as his Lifetime Achievement Award, displayed beside the medal from his 2025 induction into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n<p>But the crown jewel is the solid bronze, five-pointed star at the center \u2014 the medal with the light blue ribbon spangled with 13 white stars, the one awarded by Congress. The one he chose to donate to the institution he believes, in no small part, helped him earn it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPart of the Auburn Creed stresses earning what you receive through hard work,\u201d Livingston told the crowd. \u201cThe Marines put that to the test, but Auburn built my character and the Marines sharpened it to a fine edge. \u201cAuburn taught me the value of teamwork and how to accomplish and overcome difficult objectives. These lessons would later manifest in very real life and death situations in Vietnam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In some small way, he said, he hopes the display might help instill those same lessons in the next generation of Auburn men and women.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope it might embolden them to be stronger students, to want to study and really excel in whatever they do,\u201d Livingston said. \u201cIf we can share that opportunity and talk about those experiences, I hope they empower other kids who might look at that display and say, \u2018he was an Auburn guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James E. Livingston began his journey as an Auburn guy \u2014 that\u2019s what he calls himself \u2014 in 1959. Though the University of North Georgia, where he spent his freshman year, offered a lot, it didn\u2019t offer engineering. That\u2019s what he really wanted to do. It\u2019s what growing up on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":10896,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Honor, courage and commitment &raquo; Auburn Engineer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ecm.eng.auburn.edu\/wp\/emag\/?p=10713\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Honor, courage and commitment &raquo; Auburn Engineer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James E. Livingston began his journey as an Auburn guy \u2014 that\u2019s what he calls himself \u2014 in 1959. Though the University of North Georgia, where he spent his freshman year, offered a lot, it didn\u2019t offer engineering. That\u2019s what he really wanted to do. 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