Medal of Honor, William W. Seay, Vietnam War, August 25, 1968

Name: William W. Seay
War: Vietnam War
Date of Action: August 25, 1968

Summary of Action

On August 25, 1968, a convoy of the 62d Transportation Company was pushing through Ap Nhi, Republic of Vietnam, with a vital load of ammunition and supplies destined for Tay Ninh. Suddenly, the column was caught in the killing zone of a massive North Vietnamese ambush. Rockets, machine guns, and automatic weapons tore into the trucks, forcing them to a halt.

Among the drivers was 19-year-old Sgt. William W. Seay of Brewton, Alabama. Without hesitation, he leapt from his truck and took cover behind a trailer loaded with volatile high-explosive ammunition. As enemy forces pressed to within ten meters, Seay returned fire, killing two attackers, then dropped a sniper from seventy-five meters away. When enemy grenades threatened to annihilate his fellow soldiers, Seay twice left his cover under a hail of fire, picking up live grenades and hurling them back—one blast killing four of the enemy.

Though wounded in the wrist, he refused evacuation, instead encouraging his comrades and fighting on. Moving to a shallow ditch, he spotted three infiltrators preparing to ambush his pinned-down comrades. Switching his rifle to his left hand, he coolly gunned down all three. Moments later, a sniper’s bullet struck him down. Sgt. Seay’s selfless courage broke the enemy’s assault, saved countless lives, and etched his name into the proud legacy of the U.S. Army.

Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Seay distinguished himself while serving as a driver with the 62d Transportation Company, on a resupply mission. The convoy with which he was traveling, carrying critically needed ammunition and supplies from Long Binh to Tay Ninh, was ambushed by a reinforced battalion of the North Vietnamese Army. As the main elements of the convoy entered the ambush killing zone, they were struck by intense rocket, machinegun and automatic weapon fire from the well concealed and entrenched enemy force. When his convoy was forced to stop, Sgt. Seay immediately dismounted and took a defensive position behind the wheels of a vehicle loaded with high-explosive ammunition. As the violent North Vietnamese assault approached to within 10 meters of the road, Sgt. Seay opened fire, killing 2 of the enemy. He then spotted a sniper in a tree approximately 75 meters to his front and killed him. When an enemy grenade was thrown under an ammunition trailer near his position, without regard for his own safety he left his protective cover, exposing himself to intense enemy fire, picked up the grenade, and threw it back to the North Vietnamese position, killing 4 more of the enemy and saving the lives of the men around him. Another enemy grenade landed approximately 3 meters from Sgt. Seay’s position. Again Sgt. Seay left his covered position and threw the armed grenade back upon the assaulting enemy. After returning to his position he was painfully wounded in the right wrist; however, Sgt. Seay continued to give encouragement and direction to his fellow soldiers. After moving to the relative cover of a shallow ditch, he detected 3 enemy soldiers who had penetrated the position and were preparing to fire on his comrades. Although weak from loss of blood and with his right hand immobilized, Sgt. Seay stood up and fired his rifle with his left hand, killing all 3 and saving the lives of the other men in his location. As a result of his heroic action, Sgt. Seay was mortally wounded by a sniper’s bullet. Sgt. Seay, by his gallantry in action at the cost of his life, has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.