These Stories of Valor are part of an ongoing oral history program of the Honor Project to ensure the experiences of our combat wounded and those who gave their all in the service of America are remembered for generations to come.
Daniel Carmona was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1967, and served until 1969 with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. On November 1, 1968, SP4 Carmona's company was on an early morning mission. Carmona's platoon was moving along a trail, with Carmona third in line, when they encountered a booby trap.
Read MoreGlenn Boche was drafted into the U.S. Army in April 1969 and served with the 22nd Infantry Regiment, the 25th Infantry Division, while in Vietnam.
Read MoreErnest Boisvert was drafted into the U.S. Army, serving as a member of the 4th Infantry Division, including a tour in Vietnam.
Read MoreJames Ives was drafted into the Army in November 1967 and served for the next two years as a member of the173rd Airborne Brigade, including a tour in Vietnam.
Read MoreDale Thomsen enlisted into the U.S. Army in November 1966, serving for the next three years as a member of the 610th Transportation Company, including a tour in Vietnam.
Read MoreOn May 25, 1970, Chambers unit had just been resupplied and the platoon was directed to take the perimeter around the top of the hill. Chambers was walking right point (lead) when the platoon walked into an ambush halfway up the hill.
Read MoreOn the night of August 11, 1969, three days after arriving at LZ Becky, SPC Little’s unit came under heavy mortar and rocket attack. During the course of the fighting, at approximately 3:00 a.m., while Little was serving as the Fire Direction Control for a three-gun, 155 mm howitzer unit in A Battery, his position was hit by a barrage of mortars and RPGs that destroyed all three guns and Control station.
Read MoreMichael Gawel enlisted into the Army in December 2005 and served seven years, including a tour in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom with the 810th Engineering Company. While doing route clearance escorting Polish forces, Gawel’s patrol had already found and disposed of several improvised explosive devices (IEDs) when it struck an IED along the road.
Read MoreDuring the Second Tet Offensive, on the first of June 1968, Byers was working with the Battalion Surgeon when they received a call that one of the companies had been ambushed and was engaged in heavy fighting. The company needed extra medical support and Byers volunteered to go and begin administering medical support. Byers was tending to his third soldier when he was hit by small arms fire from the NVA. Byers continued administering aid to fellow soldiers over the course of the next four hours, before being evacuated himself that evening.
Read MoreMitchell Reed was drafted into the U.S. Army on September 19, 1967. A member of the 25th Infantry Division, on January 1, 1969 while in the area of Dầu Tiếng, Vietnam, Reed was driving the lead armored personnel carrier (APC) escorting a supply convoy.
Read MoreOn April 16, 2005, SP4 Horn (Lee) sustained a mortar injury while serving in Iraq. The blast left her with multiple shrapnel injuries, including to her eye, arm, leg, chest and neck.
Read MoreIn January of 2004, then-PFC Johnson’s unit’s missions were largely comprised of security runs, accompanying officers during their travels. On one such mission near Mosul, Johnson was serving as a rear gunner when her Humvee encountered an IED (improvised explosive device). She had been struck in the side of the neck with shrapnel, leaving a gaping, fist-sized wound which just missed a major artery – she was only 19 years old at the time.
Read MoreOn September 6, 1969, SPC Edward Gerasimowicz had finished patrolling with his dog and was in camp when the warning sirens sounded and “Rockets in the air” blared out.
Read MoreA graduate of Avilla (Indiana) High School, Huelsenbeck was drafted into the U.S. Army in July 1966, assigned to Battery C, 1st Battalion, 44th Artillery Regiment and sent to Vietnam.
In July 1967, 20-year-old Huelsenbeck's was operating a “Duster,” an armored open turret tank with twin-mounted 40-millimeter cannons, in support of U.S. Marine operations in the Vietnam.
Read MoreKenneth Howe was drafted in the U.S. Army in March 1968 and became a member of the 4th Infantry Division. One year later, on March 4, 1969, SP4 Howe’s company had secured Hill 947 when they came under attack by North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Regulars.
Read MoreDuring his service in the Vietnam War, Army Specialist 4 Wyant lost his life on February 9, 1968, through hostile action, including multiple fragmentation wounds, during fighting near Cam Lou Nam Near Song Deim Binh River, South Vietnam, Quang Nam province.
Read MoreReflecting on his service years later, Navarro said, “You just never forget the time in Vietnam. There is always something that brings you back. I got PTSD and my wounds to remind me of this time in my life. I am in touch with some of my brothers that were there that night.”
Read MoreOn February 8, 1967, at the age of 20, Keith Allen Campbell gave his life in the service of our country in South Vietnam, Bien Hoa Province.
Read MoreGerald Rice loved serving the Army and his country.
Read MoreNew York's representative for Purple Heart Patriot Project Mission #1, Dennis Kulczyk, was drafted into the U.S. Army serving from 1964-66.
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