Hellacious Firefight in Vietnam Changes Life for Medal of Honor Recipient
Army Lt. Col. Harold Fritz was mere weeks away from leaving the Vietnam War unscathed and heading home to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, until he found himself amid a bloody firefight that would change his life and earn him the prestigious Medal of Honor. Fritz, 81, was born in Chicago but in 1949, his family moved […]
‘I Never Want to See it Again.’ Vietnam Soldier Recalls Deadly Napalm, Tet Offensive
It’s been almost 58 years since Army veteran Robert Hendricks witnessed some of the worst moments of the Vietnam War, but those stark memories remained burned into his subconscious. Hendricks, who was drafted into service in 1967, was in Vietnam when the infamous Tet Offensive began in January 1968 and saw firsthand the damaging effects […]
‘We Love Him’: Vietnam Veteran Continues Service by Volunteering at Fort Carson
With a deafening crack, Vietnam veteran E. Paige Lanier pulled the lanyard on an M777 howitzer, sending a shell soaring over the prairie at Fort Carson’s vast training grounds south of Colorado Springs. On that sunny fall day, Command Sgt. Maj. Rob McGinnis introduced Lanier to the crowd gathered for a demonstration of new technology […]
Vietnam Veteran Heals War Wounds Through Art
This year’s Small Business Saturday on Nov. 29 meant a little more to artist and business owner Everett Carter. Carter, a Vietnam War veteran, was selling some of his art on a day when Americans are encouraged to support small entrepreneurs and shop local. However, Carter’s displays at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment in Huntsville, […]
Life as a Vietnam War Medic: Ohio Veteran Shares His Story
In his youth, Randy Ark enjoyed an idyllic childhood growing up in the rural parts of Clark County, Ohio. That feeling of innocence was shattered when Ark became a medic in Vietnam, getting an up close and personal look at the atrocities of war. Ark, 77, recently wrote two memoirs about his experiences, “Everyone […]
Vietnam DUSTOFF Pilot Who Saved 3,000 Earned Gold Medal Honor for MEDEVAC Crews
Warrant Officer Stephen Peth was making his final turn at treetop level when he looked through the green Plexiglas above his head. In the landing zone below, South Vietnamese soldiers were standing upright — usually a good sign. Suddenly, enemy rounds punched through the helicopter. Peth felt the impact in his right arm and pulled […]
The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War: Green Berets and Seabees Fight for Survival at Dong Xoai
Fifty-five miles north of Saigon, at a critical road junction in Phuoc Long Province, 11 American Green Berets were settling into what should have been a routine advisory mission. Detachment A-342, 5th Special Forces Group, had arrived at Dong Xoai in late May 1965 to train local Montagnard tribesmen and South Vietnamese forces. On June […]
Black Vietnam Veteran’s Story Reveals War’s Harsh Realities 50 Years Later
It was May 1970, deep in the jungles of Vietnam, and 19-year-old infantryman John Smith stepped to the edge of a hill to admire the view. Then came the snap of a wire. “They must’ve thought, ‘This is a beautiful view. Someone’s going to come over here to look at it,’” said Smith, 76, of […]
Medals of Honor Awarded to 5 Soldiers from Korean War and 2 from Vietnam
President Joe Biden on Friday posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor to five minority soldiers from the Korean War who may have been denied the nation’s highest decoration for valor by a 1950s Army that was still resisting orders to desegregate. Biden also upgraded the awards of the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for […]
Texas' Future Medal of Honor Museum Will Showcase This Rare Icon of Vietnam War
Arlington’s National Medal of Honor Museum welcomed its largest artifact at an event Thursday night. A fully restored Vietnam-era Huey helicopter will be a centerpiece of the future museum’s 31,000-square-foot exhibition gallery when it opens in March in the city’s entertainment district. Veterans gathered at the site Thursday for a celebration of the Bell UH-1 […]