Roy Benavidez receives the Distinguished Service Cross from Army Gen. William Westmoreland in September 1968.

ROY P. BENAVIDEZ Loc Ninh, Vietnam May 2, 1968

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A 12-man Special Forces recon- naissance team, inserted into the jungle west of Loc Ninh to gather intelligence, met heavy resistance May 2, 1968, and requested an emer- gency extraction. Three helicopters responded but were turned back by enemy fi re. Army Staff Sgt. Roy Benavidez was at the forward oper- ating base at Loc Ninh, monitoring the mission by radio, and volun- teered to assist in another extrac- tion attempt. Upon realizing all of the team members were dead or wounded and unable to move to the pickup zone, Benavidez directed the aircraft to a nearby clearing. Then, in the face of horrifi c enemy fi re, he jumped from the hovering helicop- ter and ran nearly 75 meters to the crippled team, receiving wounds to his face, head, and right leg. Despite his injuries, Benavidez took control of the operation, re- positioning the team members and

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directing their fi re to facilitate the landing of an extraction helicopter and the loading of wounded and dead team members. Under intense fi re from the enemy, Benavidez car- ried and dragged half the wounded team members to the waiting air- craft and provided protective fi re by running alongside the helicopter as it moved to pick up the remaining team members. As the enemy fi re intensifi ed,

Benavidez recovered the body and classifi ed documents of the dead team leader. When he reached the man’s body, Benavidez was wounded severely by small-arms fi re in the ab- domen and grenade fragments in the back. Almost simultaneously, the ex- traction helicopter’s pilot was killed, causing the craft to crash. Though injured, Benavidez se- cured the classifi ed documents and made his way to the wreckage, where he helped the wounded out of the craft and had them estab- lish a defensive perimeter. He then called in tactical air strikes and directed the fi re of supporting gunships to aid another extraction attempt. Benavidez was wounded again in the thigh while admin- istering fi rst aid to a wounded

team member, but he was able to help move the injured to the heli- copter. On his second trip, he killed a North Vietnamese soldier, then con- tinued to carry the wounded, under increasing enemy fi re. Upon reach- ing the helicopter, he shot and killed two more enemy soldiers who were rushing the craft from an oblique position. Only after a fi nal run to en- sure all classifi ed material had been gathered and all the wounded had been recovered did Benavidez allow himself to be placed in the extrac- tion craft. According to his Medal of Honor citation, Benavidez’s heroic actions that day saved the lives of at least eight soldiers.

IMAGES: ABOVE, COLIN HAYES; TOP LEFT, BENAVIDEZ FAMILY; TOP RIGHT, U.S. ARMY