Katharina Buczek
On Tuesday, July 5, President Biden awarded the Medal of Honor to four Vietnam War Soldiers during a White House ceremony.
Their outstanding bravery and commitment defended countless ally lives, and here are their stories.
Staff Sergeant Edward Kaneshiro
First was Staff Sergeant Edward Kaneshiro, who received the medal posthumously. Kaneshiro was serving near a Kim Son Valley village in 1966 when, on December 1, two U.S. squadrons were ambushed.
According to the U.S. Army, “enemy forces had killed his platoon leader and several other Soldiers, and had his two sister squads pinned down.”
Kaneshiro analyzed the situation and realized that enemy forces were attacking from a machine-gun bunker and a massive concealed trench. Instead of taking his men with him, though, Kaneshiro sent them to take cover and trekked on by himself.
He managed to eliminate the bunker threat by expertly throwing a grenade. Afterward, “he leaped into the trench and single-handedly worked his way down its entire thirty-five-meter length, destroying one group of enemies with his rifle and two more enemy groups with grenades.”
Kaneshiro’s bravery is what allowed his squadron to survive and prepare to evacuate the victims of the attack.
U.S. Army; pictured above are the men who were awarded this week
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