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US. ARMY From top left, clockwise: Specialist 5 Dwight W. Birdwell, Specialist 5 Dennis M. Fujii, the late Edward N. Kaneshiro and Major John J. Duffy. |
The medals were awarded by President Biden following a review ordered by Congress into the military service of Asian Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders who may have been overlooked because of racial bias in awarding honors.
The highest military honor was bestowed on Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro (posthumous), Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell, Specialist Five Dennis M. Fujii, and retired Major John J. Duffy. upgrading previous honors they had already received.
“They stood in the way of danger, risked everything … to defend our nation and our values,” Biden said at the start of the White House ceremony. “However, not every service member has received the full recognition they deserve. Today we’re setting the record straight. We’re upgrading the awards of four soldiers who performed acts of incredible heroism during the Vietnam conflict”.
“They stood in the way of danger, risked everything … to defend our nation and our values,” Biden said at the start of the White House ceremony. “However, not every service member has received the full recognition they deserve. Today we’re setting the record straight. We’re upgrading the awards of four soldiers who performed acts of incredible heroism during the Vietnam conflict”.
“Honestly, it’s been a long journey to this day for those heroes and their families,” Biden said. “And more than 50 years have passed — 50 years — since the jungles of Vietnam where as young men these soldiers first proved their mettle.”
“But,” he added, “time has not diminished their astonishing bravery, their selflessness in putting the lives of others ahead of their own and the gratitude that we as a nation owe them.”
Birdwell, Fujii and Duffy were at the White House to receivet their medals. John Kaneshiro accepted on behalf of his father, Edward Kaneshiro, who died from his wounds suffered in combat.
Staff Sergeant Kaneshiro received the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an infantry squad leader with Troop C, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, near Phu Huu 2, Kim Son Valley, Republic of Vietnam, on Dec. 1, 1966.
Specialist Five Birdwell received the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on January 31, 1968. That day, a large enemy element initiated an assault on the Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon. They disabled or destroyed many of the unit’s vehicles and incapacitated Birdwell’s tank commander.
Duffy
“But,” he added, “time has not diminished their astonishing bravery, their selflessness in putting the lives of others ahead of their own and the gratitude that we as a nation owe them.”
Birdwell, Fujii and Duffy were at the White House to receivet their medals. John Kaneshiro accepted on behalf of his father, Edward Kaneshiro, who died from his wounds suffered in combat.
Kaneshiro
Staff Sergeant Kaneshiro received the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an infantry squad leader with Troop C, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, near Phu Huu 2, Kim Son Valley, Republic of Vietnam, on Dec. 1, 1966.
Kaneshiro and his team entered the village of Phu Huu 2 while on a search and destroy mission and were attacked by North Vietnamese. Kaneshiro destroyed one enemy group with rifle fire and two others with grenades, which enabled the orderly extrication and reorganization of the platoon and ultimately led to a successful withdrawal from the village. He served in Vietnam between July 18, 1966, until his death on March 6, 1967, as a result of a hostile gunshot wound.
Fujii
Specialist Five Fujii received the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as crew chief aboard a helicopter ambulance during rescue operations in Laos and the Republic of Vietnam from February 18 – 22, 1971.
During a mission to evacuate seriously wounded Vietnamese military personnel, Specialist Five Fujii’s medevac helicopter took on enemy fire and was forced to crash land. Although injured, he waved off a rescue from another helicopter and remained behind as the only American on the battlefield. During that night and the next day, although wounded, he administered first aid to allied casualties.
On the night of February 19, he called in American helicopter gunships to assist in repelling an enemy attack. For more than 17 hours, he repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire as he left the security of his entrenchment to better observe enemy troop positions and to direct air strikes against them until an American helicopter could attempt to airlift him from the area. Upon completion of his tour, he joined the Army Reserve and today resides in Hawaii.
Birdwell
Specialist Five Birdwell received the Medal of Honor for acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam on January 31, 1968. That day, a large enemy element initiated an assault on the Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon. They disabled or destroyed many of the unit’s vehicles and incapacitated Birdwell’s tank commander.
Under heavy enemy small-arms fire, Birdwell moved the tank commander to safety and fired the tank’s weapons at the enemy force. Afterwards, he dismounted and continued fighting until receiving enemy fire to his face and torso.
He refused evacuation and led a small group of defenders to disrupt the enemy assault until reinforcements arrived. He then aided in evacuating the wounded until he was ordered to seek attention for his own wounds. He was honorably discharged on December 29, 1968, and today practices law in Oklahoma City.
Duffy
Major Duffy was serving as the senior advisor to the 11th Airborne Battalion, 2nd Brigade, Airborne Division, Army of the Republic of Vietnam, from April 14 – 15, 1972.
Two days earlier, the commander of the 11th Airborne Battalion had been killed, the battalion command post destroyed, and Major Duffy was twice wounded. He refused to be evacuated. In the morning hours of April 14, after a failed effort to establish a landing zone for resupply aircraft, he moved close to enemy anti-aircraft positions to call in airstrikes and was wounded again, but still refused evacuation. In the late afternoon, the enemy began a ground assault from all sides, and Duffy moved from position to position to adjust fire, spot targets for artillery and direct gunship fire. In the early morning of April 15, after an enemy ambush, he led evacuees, many of whom were seriously wounded, to an evacuation area, where he directed gunship fire on enemy positions and marked a landing zone for the helicopters.
Only after ensuring all evacuees were aboard, did he board as well, assisting a wounded friendly foreign soldier and administering aid to a wounded helicopter door gunner. Duffy’s service included three tours in Vietnam in a myriad of Special Forces assignments. He retired from the Army on May 31, 1977, and currently lives in Santa Cruz, California.
The upgraded awards were possible because Congress had ordered a review of cases in which “Asian-Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders” had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during the Korean and Vietnam wars, “to make sure we properly honor the contributions of Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and their service they've made over the years,” said the President.
Biden recalled that a similar effort had resulted in the Medal of Honor being awarded to 22 Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander veterans of the Second World War, including his friend, the late Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.
The upgraded awards were possible because Congress had ordered a review of cases in which “Asian-Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders” had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross during the Korean and Vietnam wars, “to make sure we properly honor the contributions of Asian Americans Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders and their service they've made over the years,” said the President.
Biden recalled that a similar effort had resulted in the Medal of Honor being awarded to 22 Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander veterans of the Second World War, including his friend, the late Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.
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