Vietnam War Medals of Honor Recipients
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PFC Milton Lee Olive, III
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call
of duty. PFC Olive was a member
of the 3d Platoon of Company B,
as it moved through the jungle
to find the Viet Cong operating
in the area. Although the
platoon was subjected to a heavy
volume of enemy gunfire and
pinned down temporarily, it
retaliated by assaulting the
Viet Cong positions, causing the
enemy to flee. As the platoon
pursued the insurgents, PFC
Olive and 4 other soldiers were
moving through the jungle
together with a grenade was
thrown into their midst. PFC
Olive saw the grenade, and then
saved the lives of his fellow
soldiers at the sacrifice of his
by grabbing the grenade in his
hand and falling on it to absorb
the blast with his body. Through
his bravery, unhesitating
actions, and complete disregard
for his safety, he prevented
additional loss of life or
injury to the members of his
platoon. PFC Olive's
extraordinary heroism, at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty are in
the highest traditions of the
U.S. Army and reflect great
credit upon himself and the
Armed Forces of his country. |
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SPC (6th Class) Lawrence JoelFor conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. SPC Joel demonstrated indomitable courage, determination, and professional skill when a numerically superior and well-concealed Viet Cong element launched a vicious attack which wounded or killed nearly every man in the lead squad of the company. After treating the men wounded by the initial burst of gunfire, he bravely moved forward to assist others who were wounded while proceeding to their objective. While moving from man to man, he was struck in the right leg by machine gun fire. Although painfully wounded his desire to aid his fellow soldiers transcended all personal feeling. He bandaged his own wound and self-administered morphine to deaden the pain enabling him to continue his dangerous undertaking. Through this period of time, he constantly shouted words of encouragement to all around him. Then, completely ignoring the warnings of others, and his pain, he continued his search for wounded, exposing himself to hostile fire; and, as bullets dug up the dirt around him, he held plasma bottles high while kneeling completely engrossed in his life saving mission. Then, after being struck a second time and with a bullet lodged in his thigh, he dragged himself over the battlefield and succeeded in treating 13 more men before his medical supplies ran out. Displaying resourcefulness, he saved the life of 1 man by placing a plastic bag over a severe chest wound to congeal the blood. As 1 of the platoons pursued the Viet Cong, an insurgent force in concealed positions opened fire on the platoon and wounded many more soldiers. With a new stock of medical supplies, Sp6c. Joel again shouted words of encouragement as he crawled through an intense hail of gunfire to the wounded men. After the 24 hour battle subsided and the Viet Cong dead numbered 410, snipers continued to harass the company. Throughout the long battle, Sp6c. Joel never lost sight of his mission as a medical aidman and continued to comfort and treat the wounded until his own evacuation was ordered. His meticulous attention to duty saved a large number of lives and his unselfish, daring example under most adverse conditions was an inspiration to all. Sp6c. Joel's profound concern for his fellow soldiers, at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country. |
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SGT Donald Russell Long
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. Troops
B and C, while conducting a
reconnaissance mission along a
road were suddenly attacked by a
Viet Cong regiment, supported by
mortars, recoilless rifles and
machine guns, from concealed
positions astride the road. Sgt.
Long abandoned the relative
safety of his armored personnel
carrier and braved a withering
hail of enemy fire to carry
wounded men to evacuation
helicopters. As the platoon
fought its way forward to
resupply advanced elements, Sgt.
Long repeatedly exposed himself
to enemy fire at point blank
range to provide the needed
supplies. While assaulting the
Viet Cong position, Sgt. Long
inspired his comrades by
fearlessly standing unprotected
to repel the enemy with rifle
fire and grenades as they
attempted to mount his carrier.
When the enemy threatened to
overrun a disabled carrier
nearby, Sgt. Long again
disregarded his own safety to
help the severely wounded crew
to safety. As he was handing
arms to the less seriously
wounded and reorganizing them to
press the attack, an enemy
grenade was hurled onto the
carrier deck. Immediately
recognizing the imminent danger,
he instinctively shouted a
warning to the crew and pushed
to safety one man who had not
heard his warning over the roar
of battle. Realizing that these
actions would not fully protect
the exposed crewmen from the
deadly explosion, he threw
himself over the grenade to
absorb the blast and thereby
saved the lives of 8 of his
comrades at the expense of his
life. Throughout the battle,
Sgt. Long's extraordinary
heroism, courage and supreme
devotion to his men were in the
finest tradition of the military
service, and reflect great
credit upon himself and the U.S.
Army. |
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SFC Matthew Leonard
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. His
platoon was suddenly attacked by
a large enemy force employing
small arms, automatic weapons,
and hand grenades. Although the
platoon leader and several other
key leaders were among the first
wounded, SFC Leonard quickly
rallied his men to throw back
the initial enemy assaults.
During the short pause that
followed, he organized a
defensive perimeter,
redistributed ammunition, and
inspired his comrades through
his forceful leadership and
words of encouragement. Noticing
a wounded companion outside the
perimeter, he dragged the man to
safety but was struck by a
sniper's bullet which shattered
his left hand. Refusing medical
attention and continuously
exposing himself to the
increasing fire as the enemy
again assaulted the perimeter,
SFC Leonard moved from position
to position to direct the fire
of his men against the well
camouflaged foe. Under the cover
of the main attack, the enemy
moved a machine gun into a
location where it could sweep
the entire perimeter. This
threat was magnified when the
platoon machine gun in this area
malfunctioned. SFC Leonard
quickly crawled to the gun
position and was helping to
clear the malfunction when the
gunner and other men in the
vicinity were wounded by fire
from the enemy machine gun. SFC
Leonard rose to his feet,
charged the enemy gun and
destroyed the hostile crew
despite being hit several times
by enemy fire. He moved to a
tree, propped himself against
it, and continued to engage the
enemy until he succumbed to his
many wounds. His fighting
spirit, heroic leadership, and
valiant acts inspired the
remaining members of his platoon
to hold back the enemy until
assistance arrived. SFC
Leonard's profound courage and
devotion to his men are in
keeping with the highest
traditions of the military
service, and his gallant actions
reflect great credit upon
himself and the U.S. Army. |
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1LT Ruppert Leon Sargent
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. While
leading a platoon of Company B,
1LT Sargent was investigating a
reported Viet Cong meeting house
and weapons cache. A tunnel
entrance which 1LT Sargent
observed was booby trapped. He
tried to destroy the booby trap
and blow the cover from the
tunnel using hand grenades, but
this attempt was not successful.
He and his demolition man moved
in to destroy the booby trap and
cover which flushed a Viet Cong
soldier from the tunnel, who was
immediately killed by the nearby
platoon sergeant. 1LT Sargent,
the platoon sergeant, and a
forward observer moved toward
the tunnel entrance. As they
approached, another Viet Cong
emerged and threw 2 hand
grenades that landed in the
midst of the group. 1LT Sargent
fired 3 shots at the enemy then
turned and unhesitatingly threw
himself over the 2 grenades. He
was mortally wounded, and his 2
companions were lightly wounded
when the grenades exploded. By
his courageous and selfless act
of exceptional heroism, he saved
the lives of the platoon
sergeant and forward observer
and prevented the injury or
death of several other nearby
comrades. 1LT Sargent's
actions were in keeping with the
highest traditions of the
military services and reflect
great credit upon himself and
the U.S. Army. |
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SFC Webster Anderson
SFC Anderson (then SSG),
distinguished himself by
conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action while
serving as chief of section in
Battery A, against a hostile
force. During the early morning
hours Battery A's defensive
position was attacked by a
determined North Vietnamese Army
infantry unit supported by heavy
mortar, recoilless rifle, rocket
propelled grenade and automatic
weapon fire. The initial enemy
onslaught breached the battery
defensive perimeter. SFC
Anderson, with complete
disregard for his personal
safety, mounted the exposed
parapet of his howitzer position
and became the mainstay of the
defense of the battery position. SFC Anderson directed
devastating direct howitzer fire
on the assaulting enemy while
providing rifle and grenade
defensive fire against enemy
soldiers attempting to overrun
his gun section position. While
protecting his crew and
directing their fire against the
enemy from his exposed position,
2 enemy grenades exploded at his
feet knocking him down and
severely wounding him in the
legs. Despite the excruciating
pain and though not able to
stand, SFC Anderson valorously
propped himself on the parapet
and continued to direct howitzer
fire upon the closing enemy and
to encourage his men to fight
on. Seeing an enemy grenade land
within the gun pit near a
wounded member of his gun crew,
SFC Anderson heedless of his
own safety, seized the grenade
and attempted to throw it over
the parapet to save his men. As
the grenade was thrown from the
position it exploded and SFC
Anderson was again grievously
wounded. Although only partially
conscious and severely wounded,
SFC Anderson refused medical
evacuation and continued to
encourage his men in the defense
of the position. SFC Anderson
by his inspirational leadership,
professionalism, devotion to
duty and complete disregard for
his welfare was able to maintain
the defense of his section
position and to defeat a
determined attack. SFC
Anderson's gallantry and
extraordinary heroism at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty are in
the highest traditions of the
military service and reflect
great credit upon himself, his
unit, and the U.S. Army. |
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CPT Riley Leroy PittsDistinguishing himself by exceptional heroism while serving as company commander during an airmobile assault. Immediately after his company landed in the area, several Viet Cong opened fire with automatic weapons. Despite the enemy fire, CPT Pitts forcefully led an assault which overran the enemy positions. Shortly thereafter, CPT Pitts was ordered to move his unit to the north to reinforce another engaged against a strong enemy force. As CPT Pitts' company moved forward to engage the enemy, intense fire was received from 3 directions, including fire from 4 enemy bunkers, 2 of which were within 15 meters of CPT Pitts' position. The severity of the incoming fire prevented CPT Pitts from maneuvering his company. His rifle fire proving ineffective against the enemy due to the dense jungle foliage, he picked up an M-79 grenade launcher and began pinpointing the targets. Seizing a Chinese Communist grenade which had been taken from a captured Viet Cong's web gear, CPT Pitts lobbed the grenade at a bunker to his front, but it hit the dense jungle foliage and rebounded. Without hesitation, CPT Pitts threw himself on top of the grenade which, fortunately, failed to explode. CPT Pitts then directed the repositioning of the company to permit friendly artillery to be fired. Upon completion of the artillery fire mission, CPT Pitts again led his men toward the enemy positions, personally killing at least 1 more Viet Cong. The jungle growth still prevented effective fire to be placed on the enemy bunkers. CPT Pitts, displaying complete disregard for his life and personal safety, quickly moved to a position which permitted him to place effective fire on the enemy. He maintained a continuous fire, pinpointing the enemy's fortified positions, while at the same time directing and urging his men forward, until he was mortally wounded. CPT Pitts' conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism sacrifice of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the Armed Forces of his country.
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SPC (5th class) Clarence Eugene Sasser
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. Sp5c.
Sasser distinguished himself
while assigned to Headquarters
and Headquarters Company, 3d
Battalion. He was serving as a
medical aidman with Company A,
3d Battalion, on a
reconnaissance in force
operation. His company was
making an air assault when
suddenly it was taken under
heavy small arms, recoilless
rifle, machinegun and rocket
fire from well fortified enemy
positions on 3 sides of the
landing zone. During the first
few minutes, over 30 casualties
were sustained. Without
hesitation, Sp5c. Sasser ran
across an open rice paddy
through a hail of fire to assist
the wounded. After helping 1 man
to safety, was painfully wounded
in the left shoulder by
fragments of an exploding
rocket. Refusing medical
attention, he ran through a
barrage of rocket and automatic
weapons fire to aid casualties
of the initial attack and, after
giving them urgently needed
treatment, continued to search
for other wounded. Despite 2
additional wounds immobilizing
his legs, he dragged himself
through the mud toward another
soldier 100 meters away.
Although in agonizing pain and
faint from loss of blood, Sp5c.
Sasser reached the man, treated
him, and proceeded on to
encourage another group of
soldiers to crawl 200 meters to
relative safety. There he
attended their wounds for 5
hours until they were evacuated.
Sp5c. Sasser's extraordinary
heroism is in keeping with the
highest traditions of the
military service and reflects
great credit upon himself, his
unit, and the U.S. Army. |
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SPC (5th class) Dwight Hal Johnson
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call
of duty. Sp5c. Johnson, a tank
driver with Company B, was a
member of a reaction force
moving to aid other elements of
his platoon, which was in heavy
contact with a battalion size
North Vietnamese force. Sp5c.
Johnson's tank, upon reaching
the point of contact, threw a
track and became immobilized.
Realizing that he could do no
more as a driver, he climbed out
of the vehicle, armed only with
a .45 caliber pistol. Despite
intense hostile fire, Sp5c.
Johnson killed several enemy
soldiers before he had expended
his ammunition. Returning to his
tank through a heavy volume of
antitank rocket, small arms and
automatic weapons fire, he
obtained a sub-machine gun with
which to continue his fight
against the advancing enemy.
Armed with this weapon, Sp5c.
Johnson again braved deadly
enemy fire to return to the
center of the ambush site where
he courageously eliminated more
of the determined foe. Engaged
in extremely close combat when
the last of his ammunition was
expended, he killed an enemy
soldier with the stock end of
his submachine gun. Now
weaponless, Sp5c. Johnson
ignored the enemy fire around
him, climbed into his platoon
sergeant's tank, extricated a
wounded crewmember and carried
him to an armored personnel
carrier. He then returned to the
same tank and assisted in firing
the main gun until it jammed. In
a magnificent display of
courage, Sp5c. Johnson exited
the tank and again armed only
with a .45 caliber pistol,
engaged several North Vietnamese
troops in close proximity to the
vehicle. Fighting his way
through devastating fire and
remounting his own immobilized
tank, he remained fully exposed
to the enemy as he bravely and
skillfully engaged them with the
tank's externally-mounted .50
caliber machine gun; where he
remained until the situation was
brought under control. Sp5c.
Johnson's profound concern for
his fellow soldiers, at the risk
of his life above and beyond the
call of duty are in keeping with
the highest traditions of the
military service and reflect
great credit upon himself and
the U.S. Army. |
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SFC Eugene Ashley, Jr.
SFC Ashley, distinguished
himself by conspicuous gallantry
and intrepidity while serving
with Detachment A-101, Company
C. SFC Ashley was the senior
special forces Advisor of a
hastily organized assault force
whose mission was to rescue
entrapped U.S. special forces
advisors at Camp Lang Vei.
During the initial attack on the
special forces camp by North
Vietnamese army forces, SFC
Ashley supported the camp with
high explosive and illumination
mortar rounds. When
communications were lost with
the main camp, he assumed the
additional responsibility of
directing air strikes and
artillery support. SFC Ashley
organized and equipped a small
assault force composed of local
friendly personnel. During the
ensuing battle, SFC Ashley led a
total of 5 vigorous assaults
against the enemy, continuously
exposing himself to a voluminous
hail of enemy grenades, machine
gun and automatic weapons fire.
Throughout these assaults, he
was plagued by numerous
booby-trapped satchel charges in
all bunkers on his avenue of
approach. During his fifth and
final assault, he adjusted air
strikes nearly on top of his
assault element, forcing the
enemy to withdraw and resulting
in friendly control of the
summit of the hill. While
exposing himself to intense
enemy fire, he was seriously
wounded by machine gun fire but
continued his mission without
regard for his personal safety.
After the fifth assault he lost
consciousness and was carried
from the summit by his comrades
only to suffer a fatal wound
when an enemy artillery round
landed in the area. SFC Ashley
displayed extraordinary heroism
in risking his life in an
attempt to save the lives of his
entrapped comrades and
commanding officer. His total
disregard for his personal
safety while exposed to enemy
observation and automatic
weapons fire was an inspiration
to all men committed to the
assault. The resolute valor with
which he led 5 gallant charges
placed critical diversionary
pressure on the attacking enemy
and his valiant efforts carved a
channel in the overpowering
enemy forces and weapons
positions through which the
survivors of Camp Lang Vei
eventually escaped to freedom.
SFC Ashley's bravery at the cost
of his life was in the highest
traditions of the military
service, and reflects great
credit upon himself, his unit,
and the U.S. Army. |
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SSG Clifford Chester Sims
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. SSG
Sims distinguished himself while
serving as a squad leader with
Company D. Company D was
assaulting a heavily fortified
enemy position concealed within
a dense wooded area when it
encountered strong enemy
defensive fire. Once within the
woodline, SSG Sims led his squad
in a furious attack against an
enemy force which had pinned
down the 1st Platoon and
threatened to overrun it. His
skillful leadership provided the
platoon with freedom of movement
and enabled it to regain the
initiative. SSG Sims was then
ordered to move his squad to a
position where he could provide
covering fire for the company
command group and to link up
with the 3d Platoon, which was
under heavy enemy pressure.
After moving no more than 30
meters SSG Sims noticed that a
brick structure in which
ammunition was stocked was on
fire. Realizing the danger, SSG
Sims took immediate action to
move his squad from this
position. Though in the process
of leaving the area 2 members of
his squad were injured by the
subsequent explosion of the
ammunition, SSG Sims' prompt
actions undoubtedly prevented
more serious casualties from
occurring. While continuing
through the dense woods amidst
heavy enemy fire, SSG Sims and
his squad were approaching a
bunker when they heard the
unmistakable noise of a
concealed booby trap being
triggered immediately to their
front. SSG Sims warned his
comrades of the danger and
unhesitatingly hurled himself
upon the device as it exploded,
taking the full impact of the
blast. In so protecting his
fellow soldiers, he willingly
sacrificed his life. SSG Sims'
extraordinary heroism at the
cost of his life is in keeping
with the highest traditions of
the military service and
reflects great credit upon
himself and the U.S. Army. |
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LTC Charles Calvin Rogers
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. LTC
Rogers, Field Artillery,
distinguished himself in action
while serving as commanding
officer, 1st Battalion, during
the defense of a forward fire
support base. In the early
morning hours, the fire support
base was subjected to a
concentrated bombardment of
heavy mortar, rocket and rocket
propelled grenade fire.
Simultaneously the position was
struck by a human wave ground
assault, led by sappers who
breached the defensive barriers
with bangalore torpedoes and
penetrated the defensive
perimeter. LTC Rogers with
complete disregard for his
safety moved through the hail of
fragments from bursting enemy
rounds to the embattled area. He
aggressively rallied the dazed
artillery crewmen to man their
howitzers and he directed their
fire on the assaulting enemy.
Although knocked to the ground
and wounded by an exploding
round, LTC Rogers sprang to his
feet and led a small
counterattack force against an
enemy element that had
penetrated the howitzer
positions. Although painfully
wounded a second time during the
assault, LTC Rogers pressed the
attack killing several of the
enemy and driving the remainder
from the positions. Refusing
medical treatment, LTC Rogers
reestablished and reinforced the
defensive positions. As a second
human wave attack was launched
against another sector of the
perimeter, LTC Rogers directed
artillery fire on the assaulting
enemy and led a second
counterattack against the
charging forces. His valorous
example rallied the beleaguered
defenders to repulse and defeat
the enemy onslaught. LTC Rogers
moved from position to position
through the heavy enemy fire,
giving encouragement and
direction to his men. At dawn
the determined enemy launched a
third assault against the fire
base in an attempt to overrun
the position. LTC Rogers moved
to the threatened area and
directed lethal fire on the
enemy forces. Seeing a howitzer
inoperative due to casualties,
LTC Rogers joined the surviving
members of the crew to return
the howitzer to action. While
directing the position defense,
LTC Rogers was seriously wounded
by fragments from a heavy mortar
round which exploded on the
parapet of the gun position.
Although too severely wounded to
physically lead the defenders,
LTC Rogers continued to give
encouragement and direction to
his men in the defeating and
repelling of the enemy attack.
LTC Rogers' dauntless courage
and heroism inspired the
defenders of the fire support
base to the heights of valor to
defeat a determined and
numerically superior enemy
force. His relentless spirit of
aggressiveness in action are in
the highest traditions of the
military service and reflects
great credit upon himself, his
unit, and the U.S. Army. |
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1LT John Earl Warren
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. 1LT
Warren, distinguished himself at
the cost of his life while
serving as a platoon leader with
Company C. While moving through
a rubber plantation to reinforce
another friendly unit, Company C
came under intense fire from a
well-fortified enemy force.
Disregarding his safety, 1LT
Warren with several of his men
began maneuvering through the
hail of enemy fire toward the
hostile positions. When he had
come to within 6 feet of one of
the enemy bunkers and was
preparing to toss a hand grenade
into it, an enemy grenade was
suddenly thrown into the middle
of his small group. Thinking
only of his men, 1LT Warren fell
in the direction of the grenade,
thus shielding those around him
from the blast. His action,
performed at the cost of his
life, saved 3 men from serious
or mortal injury. 1LT Warren's
ultimate action of sacrifice to
save the lives of his men was in
keeping with the highest
traditions of the military
service and reflection upon
himself and the U.S. Army. |
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PFC Garfield McConnell Langhorn
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. PFC
Langhorn distinguished himself
while serving as a radio
operator with Troop C, near Plei
Djereng in Pleiku province. PFC
Langhorn's platoon was inserted
into a landing zone to rescue 2
pilots of a Cobra helicopter
shot down by enemy fire on a
heavily timbered slope. He
provided radio coordination with
the command-and-control aircraft
overhead while the troops hacked
their way through dense
undergrowth to the wreckage,
where both aviators were found
dead. As the men were taking the
bodies to a pickup site, they
suddenly came under intense fire
from North Vietnamese soldiers
in camouflaged bunkers to the
front and right flank, and
within minutes they were
surrounded. PFC Langhorn
immediately radioed for help
from the orbiting gunships,
which began to place minigun and
rocket fire on the aggressors.
He then lay between the platoon
leader and another man,
operating the radio and
providing covering fire for the
wounded who had been moved to
the center of the small
perimeter. Darkness soon fell,
making it impossible for the
gunships to give accurate
support, and the aggressors
began to probe the perimeter. An
enemy hand grenade landed in
front of PFC Langhorn and a few
feet from personnel who had
become casualties. Choosing to
protect these wounded, he
unhesitatingly threw himself on
the grenade, scooped it beneath
his body and absorbed the blast.
By sacrificing himself, he saved
the lives of his comrades. PFC
Langhorn's extraordinary heroism
at the cost of his life was in
keeping with the highest
traditions of the military
service and reflect great credit
on himself, his unit, and the
U.S. Army. |
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SFC William Maud Bryant
For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the
risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. SFC
Bryant, assigned to Company A,
distinguished himself while
serving as commanding officer of
Civilian Irregular Defense Group
Company 321, 2d Battalion, 3d
Mobile Strike Force Command,
during combat operations. The
battalion came under heavy fire
and became surrounded by the
elements of 3 enemy regiments.
SFC Bryant displayed
extraordinary heroism throughout
the succeeding 34 hours of
incessant attack as he moved
throughout the company position
heedless of the intense hostile
fire while establishing and
improving the defensive
perimeter, directing fire during
critical phases of the battle,
distributing ammunition,
assisting the wounded, and
providing the leadership and
inspirational example of courage
to his men. When a helicopter
drop of ammunition was made to
re-supply the beleaguered force,
SFC Bryant with complete
disregard for his safety ran
through the heavy enemy fire to
retrieve the scattered
ammunition boxes and distributed
needed ammunition to his men.
During a lull in the intense
fighting, SFC Bryant led a
patrol outside the perimeter to
obtain information of the enemy.
The patrol came under intense
automatic weapons fire and was
pinned down. SFC Bryant
single-handedly repulsed 1 enemy
attack on his small force and by
his heroic action inspired his
men to fight off other assaults.
Seeing a wounded enemy soldier
some distance from the patrol
location, SFC Bryant crawled
forward alone under heavy fire
to retrieve the soldier for
intelligence purposes. Finding
that the enemy soldier had
expired, SFC Bryant crawled back
to his patrol and led his men
back to the company position
where he again took command of
the defense. As the siege
continued, SFC Bryant organized
and led a patrol in a daring
attempt to break through the
enemy encirclement. The patrol
had advanced some 200 meters by
heavy fighting when it was
pinned down by the intense
automatic weapons fire from
heavily fortified bunkers and
SFC Bryant was severely wounded.
Despite his wounds he rallied
his men, called for helicopter
gunship support, and directed
heavy suppressive fire upon the
enemy positions. Following the
last gunship attack, SFC Bryant
fearlessly charged an enemy
automatic weapons position,
overrunning it, and
single-handedly destroying its 3
defenders. Inspired by his
heroic example, his men renewed
their attack on the entrenched
enemy. While regrouping his
small force for the final
assault against the enemy, SFC
Bryant fell mortally wounded by
an enemy rocket. SFC Bryant's
selfless concern for his
comrades, at the cost of his
life above and beyond the call
of duty are in keeping with the
highest traditions of the
military service and reflect
great credit upon himself, his
unit, and the U.S. Army. |
