Medal of Honor

BELLRICHARD, LESLIE ALLEN

Private First Class, U.S. Army
Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 20 May 1967.

Entered service at: Oakland, Calif. Born: 4 December 1941, Janesville, Wisconsin.

Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Acting as a fire team leader with Company C, during combat operations PFC Bellrichard was with 4 fellow soldiers in a foxhole on their unit's perimeter when the position came under a massive enemy attack. Following a 30-minute mortar barrage, the enemy launched a strong ground assault. PFC Bellrichard rose in face of a group of charging enemy soldiers and threw hand grenades into their midst, eliminating several of the foe and forcing the remainder to withdraw. Failing in their initial attack, the enemy repeated the mortar and rocket bombardment of the friendly perimeter, then once again charged against the defenders in a concerted effort to overrun the position. PFC Bellrichard resumed throwing hand grenades at the onrushing attackers. As he was about to hurl a grenade, a mortar round exploded just in front of his position, knocking him into the foxhole and causing him to lose his grip on the already armed grenade. Recovering instantly, PFC Bellrichard recognized the threat to the lives of his 4 comrades and threw himself upon the grenade, shielding his companions from the blast that followed. Although severely wounded, PFC Bellrichard struggled into an upright position in the foxhole and fired his rifle at the enemy until he succumbed to his wounds. His selfless heroism contributed greatly to the successful defense of the position, and he was directly responsible for saving the lives of several of his comrades. His acts are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

Wikipedia link here.


All Email addresses are in picture format only to discourage web bots from harvesting for junk mail lists. Type them into your mail manually. Site designed for Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or higher, viewed with text size medium and desktop resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels.


Webmaster:Homer R. Steedly Jr. (Email: Swamp_fox at earthlink.net) Copyright 08/12/1995 - 01/29/24. Commercial Use of material on this site is prohibited.