Biden awards Medal of Honor to four Vietnam War veterans
President Joe Biden awarded the nation’s highest recognition for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor, to four Vietnam War soldiers on Tuesday, saying it was “finally” possible to “set the record straight” after decades in which their actions were not properly recognized.
The men served in the Army and previously had received lower-level decorations for their battlefield gallantry. But after years of deliberation, senior military officials decided to upgrade each of their awards, and Biden approved.
“It’s just astounding when you hear what each of them have done,” the president marveled during a White House ceremony. “They went far above and beyond the call of duty. It’s a phrase always used, but it takes on life when you see these men.”
The recipients include Spec. 5 Dwight Birdwell, who led an armored unit through a bloody ambush in 1968; Maj. John J. Duffy, a Special Forces officer who fought off an attack in
1972; Spec. 5 Dennis M. Fujii, who, having survived a helicopter crash, directed airstrikes on advancing forces while under fire in Laos in 1971; and Staff Sgt. Edward N. Kaneshiro, who cleared a trench of enemy fighters using grenades and a rifle in 1966 and died a few months later in another battle.
Biden said the awards were possible, in part, because of a congressionally mandated review of actions
of Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the Korean and Vietnam wars. A similar review of underrecognized valor cases during World War II resulted in 22 Medal of Honor commendations, including one for the late Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, Biden said.
Birdwell, Duffy and Fujii stood at attention as Biden draped the award around their necks in the East Room of the White House. Kaneshiro’s award was accepted posthumously by his son, John.
Biden recalled how Birdwell’s unit took the brunt of attacks, and that Birdwell took charge after his tank commander was gravely wounded, laying down suppressive fire as North Vietnamese soldiers shot at him.
Birdwell was hit by shrapnel but kept fighting. Eventually, he was ordered to board a helicopter to evacuate, but he crawled out the opposite side of the aircraft and went back to fighting.
Duffy coordinated airstrikes under fire for hours on April 14, 1972, as enemy
forces threatened to overrun their base. At one point, Biden recalled, he called in a strike “extreme danger close” on his own position to drive back advancing forces.
Duffy was the last to board a helicopter and caught a Vietnamese ally who was falling out of the aircraft after being shot, Biden said.
Biden recalled that Fujii stayed behind after his helicopter came under fire and crashed. and treated wounded Vietnamese allies in the field. The following night, they came under a renewed attack, and Fujii braved enemy fire repeatedly to coordinate airstrikes for the next 17 hours.
On Dec. 1, 1966, Kaneshiro’s infantry squad was ambushed by North Vietnamese troops who were concealed in a village and protected by fortified bunkers, underground tunnels and a large trench. Other U.S. soldiers were killed, and Kaneshiro assaulted the trench while carrying his M16 rifle and six grenades, Biden said.
Kaneshiro moved along the trench for 35 meters, killing other enemy soldiers as he went and preventing what could have been “a disaster for the whole platoon,” Biden recalled. He was killed in action on March 6, 1967, about three months later.