War Stories with Preston and Sayre21 Sep 2020

Spec/4 Al Rascon (1-503IN, 173rd ABN BDE) Vietnam War, 16MAR1966

16MAR1966: Serving as a medic to a recon platoon in Vietnam, Spec/4 Al Rascon and his men took off to reinforce a sister unit under attack. On their way, they were ambushed by a numerically superior enemy force that inflicted heavy casualties right away.

As the first few men fell, Spec/4 Rascon ignored requests to wait for suppressive fire and manuevered into the kill zone to treat a wounded Soldier, a machine gunner. Placing his body between the Soldier and the enemy, Rascon suffered multiple shrapnel wounds as he treated and moved the patient to safety. Hearing that the other machine gunner was running low on ammunition, Rascon again redistributed ammo and moved forward to retrieve the weapon and spare barrels left by the wounded Soldier. In the process, Rason was wounded again in the face and torso by grenade fragments but kept on moving. He recovered the equipment and handed it off to another Soldier that helped keep their unit in the fight.

Disregarding his wounds, Rascon continued to search the kill zone for wounded Soldiers. Twice more, he found Soldiers and used his body to shield them from incoming grenades, suffering more wounds himself. Rascon refused aid until all of his men had been treated and evacuated. It wasn't until he was placed on a MEDEVAC chopper that he finally allowed someone to treat his countless wounds.

Spec/4 Al Rason would survive the day and be recommended for the Medal of Honor. However, the citation would be lost and instead he would receive the Silver Star. In 2000, after members of his unit lobbied for the correction, Rascon, now a MAJ in the Army Reserve, would be awarded the Medal of Honor.

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