Medal of Honor: Kenneth Michael Kays – Vietnam War – May 7, 1970

Name: Kenneth Michael Kays
Rank: Private First Class
Branch: U.S. Army
War: Vietnam War
Unit: Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Action: May 7, 1970
Location: Thua Thien Province, Republic of Vietnam

Summary of Action

On 7 May 1970, near Fire Support Base Maureen in Thua Thien Province, Private First Class Kenneth Michael Kays distinguished himself during a devastating nighttime enemy assault.

A heavily armed force of North Vietnamese sappers and infantry attacked Company D’s defensive perimeter under cover of darkness.

Explosions and gunfire ripped through the position.

Soldiers were killed and wounded across the line.

Serving as a medical aidman, Kays immediately moved toward the fighting to aid the fallen despite the intense enemy fire sweeping the perimeter.

As he crossed the battlefield, an enemy explosive charge detonated nearby, severing the lower portion of his left leg.

Most men would have collapsed.

Kays stopped only long enough to apply a tourniquet to himself.

Then he kept moving.

Dragging himself through the fire-swept perimeter, he reached wounded soldiers and administered medical aid while enemy bullets and fragments tore through the area around him.

He helped move one wounded man to relative safety.

Then, despite excruciating pain and massive blood loss, he returned to the front again.

Finding another wounded soldier, Kays used his own body as a shield while evacuating the man from enemy fire.

Still refusing evacuation for himself, he pushed even farther—moving beyond the company perimeter and into enemy-held territory to reach another wounded American lying exposed in the darkness.

Only after every wounded soldier he could reach had been treated and evacuated did Kays finally allow treatment for his own catastrophic injuries.

His extraordinary courage and refusal to place his own survival above the lives of others inspired the defenders to continue the fight and helped save numerous American soldiers.

His heroism reflected the highest traditions of the United States Army.

Medal of Honor Citation

KAYS, KENNETH MICHAEL

For conspicuous gallantry intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. (then Pvt.) Kays distinguished himself while serving as a medical aidman with Company D, 1st Battalion, 101st Airborne Division near Fire Support Base Maureen. A heavily armed force of enemy sappers and infantrymen assaulted Company D’s night defensive position, wounding and killing a number of its members. Disregarding the intense enemy fire and ground assault, Pfc. Kays began moving toward the perimeter to assist his fallen comrades. In doing so he became the target of concentrated enemy fire and explosive charges, 1 of which severed the lower portion of his left leg. After applying a tourniquet to his leg, Pfc. Kays moved to the fire-swept perimeter, administered medical aid to 1 of the wounded, and helped move him to an area of relative safety. Despite his severe wound and excruciating pain, Pfc. Kays returned to the perimeter in search of other wounded men. He treated another wounded comrade, and, using his own body as a shield against enemy bullets and fragments, moved him to safety. Although weakened from a great loss of blood, Pfc. Kays resumed his heroic lifesaving efforts by moving beyond the company’s perimeter into enemy held territory to treat a wounded American lying there. Only after his fellow wounded soldiers had been treated and evacuated did Pfc. Kays allow his own wounds to be treated. These courageous acts by Pfc. Kays resulted in the saving of numerous lives and inspired others in his company to repel the enemy. Pfc. Kays’ heroism at the risk of his life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.