Medal of Honor: Richard A. Anderson – Vietnam War, August 24, 1969

Richard Allen Anderson
Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps
Conflict: Vietnam War
Unit: Company E, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force
Date of Action: August 24, 1969
Location: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam

Summary of Action:
In the pre-dawn haze of August 24, 1969, a Marine reconnaissance team crept through the dense terrain of Quang Tri Province. Hidden in the shadows was an enemy force waiting to strike—and when they did, it was with brutal precision.

Lance Corporal Richard A. Anderson was hit first.

Knocked to the ground by machine gun fire and bleeding from both legs, Anderson could have surrendered to shock. Instead, he flattened himself and kept firing. Gritting through the pain, he laid down a wall of suppressive fire that helped stall the assault and kept his team alive.

Then came the second blow. An enemy soldier closed to within eight feet and fired again. Anderson was hit a second time. Still, he didn’t stop. As a fellow Marine rushed to treat his wounds, Anderson kept firing, determined to protect his brothers.

Then it happened—an enemy grenade landed between Anderson and the Marine tending to him. There was no time. No room for decision. Only instinct.

Anderson rolled over the grenade and took the blast full force.

He absorbed the explosion with his own body, saving the life of his comrade and no doubt others in the team. He died where he fought—defiant, courageous, and unflinchingly loyal to the very last breath.

Richard A. Anderson didn’t just fight like a Marine. He sacrificed like one—choosing death so that others might live.

Medal of Honor Citation:
*"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Assistant Fire Team Leader with Company E, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, during combat operations against the enemy.

Early on the morning of 24 August 1969, Lance Corporal Anderson's reconnaissance team came under a heavy volume of fire from a numerically superior and well-concealed enemy force.

Seriously wounded in both legs in the initial moments of the fire fight, Lance Corporal Anderson assumed a prone position and continued to deliver intense fire against the attacking force. Moments later, an enemy soldier threw a hand grenade into the midst of the team, landing between Lance Corporal Anderson and another Marine.

Fully aware of the probable consequences, Lance Corporal Anderson rolled over the grenade and absorbed the full force of the explosion with his body, saving the life of the fellow Marine and preventing the enemy from penetrating his position.

By his courage, inspiring valor, and selfless devotion to duty, Lance Corporal Anderson upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."*