THE TRUE DEFINITION OF VALOR & COURAGE!!! - COL. Robert L. Howard, SF (Green Beret)

Medal of Honor citation
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

FIRST LIEUTENANT

ROBERT L. HOWARD
UNITED STATES ARMY

for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Howard (then Sfc .), distinguished himself while serving as platoon sergeant of an American-Vietnamese platoon which was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled territory in the Republic of Vietnam. The platoon had left its helicopter landing zone and was moving out on its mission when it was attacked by an estimated 2-company force. During the initial engagement, 1st Lt. Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion. 1st Lt. Howard saw his platoon leader had been wounded seriously and was exposed to fire. Although unable to walk, and weaponless, 1st Lt. Howard unhesitatingly crawled through a hail of fire to retrieve his wounded leader. As 1st Lt. Howard was administering first aid and removing the officer's equipment, an enemy bullet struck 1 of the ammunition pouches on the lieutenant's belt, detonating several magazines of ammunition. 1st Lt. Howard momentarily sought cover and then realizing that he must rejoin the platoon, which had been disorganized by the enemy attack, he again began dragging the seriously wounded officer toward the platoon area. Through his outstanding example of indomitable courage and bravery, 1st Lt. Howard was able to rally the platoon into an organized defense force. With complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Howard crawled from position to position, administering first aid to the wounded, giving encouragement to the defenders and directing their fire on the encircling enemy. For 3 1/2 hours 1st Lt. Howard's small force and supporting aircraft successfully repulsed enemy attacks and finally were in sufficient control to permit the landing of rescue helicopters. 1st Lt. Howard personally supervised the loading of his men and did not leave the bullet-swept landing zone until all were aboard safely. 1st Lt. Howard's gallantry in action, his complete devotion to the welfare of his men at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

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[Izzy1665]

I salute this man. I wish I had 1/10 his courage. R.I.P. Bob

[k9ehre]

Thank you for your service sir. What a soldier, a man, an American.

[coolguy13103]

OORAH GREEN BERET! From the Marines

(and yes i know army is "hooah")

[raccool2]

BADASS!

[MrGillby]

Guys like this are the reason I jooined the Rangers and hope to go on to SF selection. HOOAH!

[recon24d]

@RedRogueRocket this was the only man to look at chuck norris and say look here son this is how its done.... chuck still wont speak of that day

[PtownBazementcuts503]

Thank you for posting this and for honoring this brave man.



[Benedanti]

@rharmc4602 Out of 19, Five of these men were awarded both the Army and Navy Medal of Honor for the same action. Since February 1919, no single individual can be awarded more than one Medal of Honor for the same action although a member of one branch of the armed forces can receive the Medal of Honor from another branch, if the actions for which it was awarded were under the authority of the said branch. The maximum number of Medals of Honor earned by any service member has been two.

[Benedanti]

@rharmc4602 I can give you a list if you need it.

[Benedanti]

@rharmc4602 First an MOH can be "Downgraded" to Distinguish Service Cross. Second their are 19 people who have received two MOH's.

[rharmc4602]

@Benedanti Why do some of you people continue to make fools of yourself? Who the hell do you think you are printing something like that when the whole world knows "One cannot receive more than one MOH" Downgraded???? To what? Gawwwwd.

[TheNondiscriminatory]

for people who say that soldiers aren't as tough as marines. FORGET THE BRANCH WARS AND RESPECT THE INDIVIDUALS THEMSELVES.