Medal of Honor: Don J. Jenkins – Vietnam War – Republic of Vietnam – January 1969
When his unit was pinned down by a deadly crossfire, he moved forward alone. Under relentless enemy fire, he turned a collapsing fight into a fight that held.
January 6, 2026
Name: Don J. Jenkins
Rank: Staff Sergeant
Organization: U.S. Army
Unit: Company A, 2d Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division
Place: Kien Phong Province, Republic of Vietnam
Entered Service At: Nashville, Tennessee
Born: Quality, Kentucky
Summary of Action
On 6 January 1969, Staff Sergeant Don J. Jenkins (then Private First Class) was serving as a machine gunner with Company A during a reconnaissance mission in Kien Phong Province, Republic of Vietnam, when his unit came under heavy and deadly crossfire from a well-entrenched enemy bunker complex.
Without hesitation, Jenkins maneuvered forward to an extremely exposed position and began delivering suppressive fire with his machine gun to protect his comrades. When his weapon jammed, he immediately picked up a rifle and continued engaging the enemy until the machine gun was repaired. Repeatedly exposing himself to intense fire, he ran and crawled across open ground to resupply ammunition, continuing until all available ammunition for his machine gun was exhausted.
Refusing to withdraw, Jenkins armed himself with two antitank weapons and, acting alone, fought his way to within 20 meters of an enemy bunker and destroyed it. He then returned briefly to friendly lines, secured a grenade launcher, and once again advanced to a position offering no cover, firing accurately until his ammunition was expended. During this phase of the battle, he was seriously wounded by shrapnel.
Despite his wounds, Jenkins saw that a nearby friendly element had been pinned down only meters from enemy positions. Ignoring the danger and aware that previous rescue attempts had resulted in casualties, he advanced through darkness and intense enemy fire. Three times, he reached the trapped soldiers and dragged wounded comrades back to safety.
His fearless actions, extraordinary endurance, and complete disregard for his own safety inspired his unit to repel the enemy assault and ultimately defeat a larger and determined enemy force.
Medal of Honor Citation
When his own machine gun jammed, he immediately obtained a rifle and continued to fire into the enemy bunkers until his machine gun was made operative by his assistant. He exposed himself to extremely heavy fire when he repeatedly both ran and crawled across open terrain to obtain resupplies of ammunition until he had exhausted all that was available for his machine gun.
Displaying tremendous presence of mind, he then armed himself with two antitank weapons and, by himself, maneuvered through the hostile fusillade to within 20 meters of an enemy bunker to destroy that position. After moving back to the friendly defensive perimeter long enough to secure yet another weapon, a grenade launcher, S/Sgt. Jenkins moved forward to a position providing no protection and resumed placing accurate fire on the enemy until his ammunition was again exhausted. During this time he was seriously wounded by shrapnel.
Undaunted and displaying great courage, he moved forward 100 meters to aid a friendly element that was pinned down only a few meters from the enemy. This he did with complete disregard for his own wound and despite having been advised that several previous rescue attempts had failed at the cost of the life of one and the wounding of others. Ignoring the continuing intense fire and his painful wounds, and hindered by darkness, he made three trips to the beleaguered unit, each time pulling a wounded comrade back to safety.
S/Sgt. Jenkins’ extraordinary valor, dedication, and indomitable spirit inspired his fellow soldiers to repulse the determined enemy attack and ultimately to defeat the larger force. His actions reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
