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Graduates Who Were Recipients of the Medal of
Honor Last Updated on: Saturday, May 13, 2017
05:26:27 AM

1st
Lieutenant
D Co, 5th
Bn,
7th Cavalry Regiment,
1st Cavalry Division
25 April 1968
Republic of
Vietnam
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James Michael "Mike"
Sprayberry, Class 2-67 Company B1
Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Sprayberry, Armor,
U.S. Army, distinguished himself by exceptional bravery while
serving as executive officer of Company D. His company commander
and a great number of the men were wounded and separated from the
main body of the company. A daylight attempt to rescue them was
driven back by the well entrenched enemy's heavy fire. Capt.
Sprayberry then organized and led a volunteer night patrol to
eliminate the intervening enemy bunkers and to relieve the
surrounded element. The patrol soon began receiving enemy
machinegun fire. Capt. Sprayberry quickly moved the men to
protective cover and without regard for his own safety, crawled
within close range of the bunker from which the fire was coming. He
silenced the machinegun with a hand grenade. Identifying several
l-man enemy positions nearby, Capt. Sprayberry immediately attacked
them with the rest of his grenades. He crawled back for more
grenades and when 2 grenades were thrown at his men from a position
to the front, Capt. Sprayberry, without hesitation, again exposed
himself and charged the enemy-held bunker killing its occupants
with a grenade. Placing 2 men to cover his advance, he crawled
forward and neutralized 3 more bunkers with grenades. Immediately
thereafter, Capt. Sprayberry was surprised by an enemy soldier who
charged from a concealed position. He killed the soldier with his
pistol and with continuing disregard for the danger neutralized
another enemy emplacement. Capt. Sprayberry then established radio
contact with the isolated men, directing them toward his position.
When the 2 elements made contact he organized his men into litter
parties to evacuate the wounded. As the evacuation was nearing
completion, he observed an enemy machinegun position which he
silenced with a grenade. Capt. Sprayberry returned to the rescue
party, established security, and moved to friendly lines with the
wounded. This rescue operation, which lasted approximately 71/2
hours, saved the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Capt.
Sprayberry personally killed 12 enemy soldiers, eliminated 2
machineguns, and destroyed numerous enemy bunkers. Capt.
Sprayberry's indomitable spirit and gallant action at great
personal risk to his life are in keeping with the highest
traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon
himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army. |
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1st
Lieutenant
A Troop,
1st Squadron,
11th
Armored Cavalry
Regiment
11 Jan 1969
Binh Long Province,
Republic of
Vietnam
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Harold Arthur "Hal"
Fritz, Class 10-67 Company A1
Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. (then 1st Lt.) Fritz,
Armor, U.S. Army, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon
leader with Troop A, near Quan Loi. Capt. Fritz was leading his
7-vehicle armored column along Highway 13 to meet and escort a
truck convoy when the column suddenly came under intense crossfire
from a reinforced enemy company deployed in ambush positions. In
the initial attack, Capt. Fritz' vehicle was hit and he was
seriously wounded. Realizing that his platoon was completely
surrounded, vastly outnumbered, and in danger of being overrun,
Capt. Fritz leaped to the top of his burning vehicle and directed
the positioning of his remaining vehicles and men. With complete
disregard for his wounds and safety, he ran from vehicle to vehicle
in complete view of the enemy gunners in order to reposition his
men, to improve the defenses, to assist the wounded, to distribute
ammunition, to direct fire, and to provide encouragement to his
men. When a strong enemy force assaulted the position and attempted
to overrun the platoon, Capt. Fritz manned a machine gun and
through his exemplary action inspired his men to deliver intense
and deadly fire which broke the assault and routed the attackers.
Moments later a second enemy force advanced to within 2 meters of
the position and threatened to overwhelm the defenders. Capt.
Fritz, armed only with a pistol and bayonet, led a small group of
his men in a fierce and daring charge which routed the attackers
and inflicted heavy casualties. When a relief force arrived, Capt.
Fritz saw that it was not deploying effectively against the enemy
positions, and he moved through the heavy enemy fire to direct its
deployment against the hostile positions. This deployment forced
the enemy to abandon the ambush site and withdraw. Despite his
wounds, Capt. Fritz returned to his position, assisted his men, and
refused medical attention until all of his wounded comrades had
been treated and evacuated. The extraordinary courage and
selflessness displayed by Capt. Fritz, at the repeated risk of his
own life above and beyond the call of duty, were in keeping with
the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect the greatest
credit upon himself, his unit, and the Armed Forces. |
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1st Lieutenant
B Troop 1st Squadron,
9th Cavalry Regiment,
1st Cavalry Division
Tay Ninh Province
Republic of
Vietnam
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Robert Leslie Poxon,
Class 28-67 Company F1 Note: Posthumous award of
MOH. Killed in action on 06/02/69.
Citation: For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his
life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Poxon, Armor, Troop
B, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon leader on a
reconnaissance mission. Landing by helicopter in an area suspected
of being occupied by the enemy, the platoon came under intense fire
from enemy soldiers in concealed positions and fortifications
around the landing zone. A soldier fell, hit by the first burst of
fire. 1st Lt. Poxon dashed to his aid, drawing the majority of the
enemy fire as he crossed 20 meters of open ground. The fallen
soldier was beyond help and 1st Lt. Poxon was seriously and
painfully wounded. 1st Lt. Poxon, with indomitable courage, refused
medical aid and evacuation and turned his attention to seizing the
initiative from the enemy. With sure instinct he marked a central
enemy bunker as the key to success. Quickly instructing his men to
concentrate their fire on the bunker, and in spite of his wound,
1st Lt. Poxon crawled toward the bunker, readied a hand grenade and
charged. He was hit again but continued his assault. After
succeeding in silencing the enemy guns in the bunker he was struck
once again by enemy fire and fell, mortally wounded. 1st Lt.
Poxon's comrades followed their leader, pressed the attack and
drove the enemy from their positions. 1st Lt. Poxon's gallantry,
indomitable will, and courage are in keeping with the highest
traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon
himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army. |
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Major
176th
Aviation Company (Airmobile) (Light)
14th
Combat Aviation Battalion
Americal
Division
Republic of Vietnam
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Charles S. Kettles,
Fort Knox OCS 23 Feb 1953
On 15 May 1967, Major Kettles,
upon learning that an airborne infantry unit had suffered
casualties during an intense firefight with the enemy, immediately
volunteered to lead a flight of six UH-1D helicopters to carry
reinforcements to the embattled force and to evacuate wounded
personnel. Enemy small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire
raked the landing zone, inflicting heavy damage to the helicopters;
however, Major Kettles refused to depart until all helicopters were
loaded to capacity. He then returned to the battlefield, with full
knowledge of the intense enemy fire awaiting his arrival, to bring
more reinforcements, landing in the midst of enemy mortar and
automatic weapons fire that seriously wounded his gunner and
severely damaged his aircraft. Upon departing, Major Kettles was
advised by another helicopter crew that he had fuel streaming out
of his aircraft. Despite the risk posed by the leaking fuel, he
nursed the damaged aircraft back to base. Later that day, the
Infantry Battalion Commander requested immediate, emergency
extraction of the remaining 40 troops, including four members of
Major Kettles' unit who were stranded when their helicopter was
destroyed by enemy fire. With only one flyable UH-1 helicopter
remaining, Major Kettles volunteered to return to the deadly
landing zone for a third time, leading a flight of six evacuation
helicopters, five of which were from the 161st Aviation Company.
During the extraction, Major Kettles was informed by the last
helicopter that all personnel were onboard, and departed the
landing zone accordingly. Army gunships supporting the evacuation
also departed the area. Once airborne, Major Kettles was advised
that eight troops had been unable to reach the evacuation
helicopters due to the intense enemy fire. With complete disregard
for his own safety, Major Kettles passed the lead to another
helicopter and returned to the landing zone to rescue the remaining
troops. Without gunship, artillery, or tactical aircraft support,
the enemy concentrated all firepower on his lone aircraft, which
was immediately damaged by a mortar round that shattered both front
windshields and the chin bubble and was further raked by small arms
and machine gun fire. Despite the intense enemy fire, Major Kettles
maintained control of the aircraft and situation, allowing time for
the remaining eight soldiers to board the aircraft. In spite of the
severe damage to his helicopter, Major Kettles once more skillfully
guided his heavily damaged aircraft to safety. Without his
courageous actions and superior flying skills, the last group of
soldiers and his crew would never have made it off the battlefield.
Major Kettles' selfless acts of repeated valor and determination
are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and
reflect great credit upon himself and the United States
Army.
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