CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy will honor the service of Joseph Getherall as their Northrup Grumman Hero of the Game for Monday’s Fourth of July tilt with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
A sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, Getherall served two tours in Vietnam. For his service in Vietnam, Getherall was awarded the prestigious Silver Star—albeit not until 2007— as well as three Purple Hearts.
Getherall’s heroism is also being considered for the Medal of Honor which is the highest military honor bestowed by the U.S. government. After leaving the Marine Corps, Getherall spent 28-and-a-half years with the Los Angeles Police Department in the elite Robbery-Homicide Division.
For the Hacienda Heights resident who is now in his late-seventies, the honors that he will receive on Monday will be for all of those who served alongside him.
“It’s kind of overwhelming and almost a bit embarrassing, but I’m not being recognized for me, I’m being recognized for Vietnam Veterans, that’s how I feel. It’s never an individual thing,” Getherall told LA Galaxy Insider. “It’s for the guys that were never recognized and should have been recognized. It’s not just for me, just like my silver star or if I’m lucky enough to get the Medal of Honor, it’ll be the same thing.
“If you read anything about Medal of Honor recipients or Silver Star recipients, we all think the same. It’s not our medal; it belongs to the guys that we served with. That’s why we wear it; it’s in recognition for them. They deserve it as much as we do.”
