Skip to navigation Skip to content
Click Here to Join TSA

An American Hero: Former Marine Named to Military Hall of Fame

News & Happenings

May 16, 2007

Photo of Len Koontz

The year is 1968, and 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Len Koontz's platoon is under heavy enemy fire near the Khe Sanh Combat Base half-a-world away in Vietnam. With his patrol pinned down, Koontz single-handedly maneuvers up a mountain to hold off the enemy, destroy their bunkers and successfully evacuate fellow Marine casualties to safety.

"I was determined to retrieve my buddies," said Koontz. His actions earn him the Navy Cross for "upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."

Marking the 39th anniversary of those heroic events, Koontz's hometown, Johnstown, Pa., recently inducted him into its Military Hall of Fame along with a select group of 10 local veterans, some dating back to the Civil War, who were posthumously honored. After serving 30 years in the Corps, Koontz retired as one of the most highly decorated enlisted men in Marine Corps history.

In 2003 he joined TSA as a watch officer at Transportation Security Operations Center, an arm of TSA's Office of Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service, and quickly rose to become the center's training chief. There, Koontz continues to uphold the values and traditions he espoused in uniform while training and preparing watch officers.

"Similar, intense situations take place right here at the TSOC. And, just like the battlefield, FAMs (federal air marshals) must fight like they are trained, and train like they fight. In the end, you must rely on your training to help you get through the most difficult of situations," said Koontz.