Medal of Honor: Kenneth J. David – Vietnam War – May 7, 1970

Name: Kenneth J. David

Rank: Private First Class (Highest Rank: Specialist Fourth Class)

Branch: United States Army

War: Vietnam War

Unit: Company D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

Date of Action: May 7, 1970

Location: Fire Support Base Maureen, Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam

Summary of Action

By 1970, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division were engaged in some of the most difficult fighting of the Vietnam War along South Vietnam's northern provinces. Fire support bases—isolated outposts established to support combat operations—were frequent targets of large-scale enemy assaults, particularly under the cover of darkness.

On the night of May 7, 1970, Company D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry came under a ferocious attack by a large enemy force near Fire Support Base Maureen.

The initial enemy assault was devastating.

The platoon leader was mortally wounded, numerous soldiers became casualties, and the company's defensive perimeter was threatened with being overrun.

Private First Class Kenneth J. David was serving as his platoon's radio-telephone operator. Upon realizing the seriousness of the attack, he immediately handed his radio to the platoon sergeant and rushed forward to join the defense.

Opening fire with his weapon, David helped repel the initial enemy assault and bitterly resisted repeated attempts by enemy forces to penetrate the American lines.

As wounded soldiers were brought toward the center of the perimeter for treatment, David recognized a terrible danger. Enemy fire was increasingly concentrating on the casualty collection point, threatening the lives of the wounded and those attempting to save them.

Without hesitation, he left the relative safety of the defensive perimeter.

Moving to an exposed position outside the American lines, Private First Class David deliberately placed himself between the enemy and his wounded comrades.

Each time enemy soldiers attempted to fire upon the wounded inside the perimeter, David would jump up from his position and yell loudly, intentionally drawing their fire toward himself.

The tactic worked.

Enemy weapons immediately shifted their attention to the lone American soldier standing in the open.

Despite the concentrated enemy fire now directed against him, David refused to withdraw.

He continued firing his weapon and throwing hand grenades as enemy soldiers pressed their attack.

During the fierce fighting, an exploding enemy satchel charge wounded him. Running dangerously low on ammunition, he nevertheless continued engaging the enemy and refused medical attention.

When the unit medic crawled forward to treat him, David simply assured him that he was fine and ordered him to continue caring for more seriously wounded soldiers.

Perhaps most importantly, his courageous stand protected incoming medical evacuation helicopters attempting to rescue the wounded. By drawing enemy fire onto himself, David created the precious moments necessary for medevac aircraft to land and evacuate casualties safely.

Even after friendly reinforcements arrived, his work was not finished.

He carried a wounded soldier to safety before voluntarily returning to the fighting to provide covering fire until the enemy finally broke contact and retreated.

Only after the battle had been won did Kenneth J. David allow himself to be medically evacuated.

More than fifty years later, the nation formally recognized what his fellow soldiers had always known—that on one desperate night in Vietnam, Kenneth J. David willingly placed himself in mortal danger time and again to save the lives of others.

Medal of Honor Citation

KENNETH J. DAVID

Rank and organization: Private First Class, United States Army.

Unit: Company D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Place and date: Near Fire Support Base Maureen, Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam, May 7, 1970.

Citation:

Private First Class Kenneth J. David distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty on May 7, 1970, while serving as a radio-telephone operator with Company D, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, near Fire Support Base Maureen, Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam.

On this date, Private First Class David's company came under an intense attack from a large hostile force. The enemy's ferocious initial assault mortally wounded the company's Platoon Leader and resulted in numerous other friendly casualties.

Upon the initial assault and without hesitation, Private First Class David handed his radio to his Platoon Sergeant and moved forward to the defensive perimeter, unleashing a barrage of automatic weapons fire on the enemy. From this location, Private First Class David bitterly resisted all enemy efforts to overrun his position.

Realizing the impact of the enemy assault on the wounded who were being brought to the center of the perimeter, Private First Class David, without regard for his own life, moved to a position outside of the perimeter while continuing to engage the enemy.

Each time the enemy attempted to concentrate its fire on the wounded inside the perimeter, Private First Class David would jump from his position and yell to draw the enemy fire away from his injured comrades and back to himself.

Refusing to withdraw in the face of the concentrated enemy fire now directed toward him, he continued to engage the enemy. Although wounded by an exploding satchel charge and running perilously low on ammunition, he tossed hand grenades toward the attackers to effectively counter their fire.

The unit's medic, realizing that Private First Class David had been injured, moved to his position to provide aid, but Private First Class David assured him that he was okay and continued to fight on.

Private First Class David's courageous and selfless actions continued to draw the enemy fire away from the incoming medevac helicopters, allowing the wounded to be safely evacuated.

After allied reinforcements fought their way to his company's position, Private First Class David carried a wounded comrade to a sheltered position. He then returned to the contact area and continued to engage the enemy and provide covering fire for the wounded until the enemy broke contact and fled, at which point he too was medically evacuated.

Private First Class David's conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the risk of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

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