FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Alfred V Rascon ~ 02 July 2018

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[Kathy in Alaska]

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~ Hall of Heroes ~

Alfred V. Rascon

Info from this website.

           

Major Alfred V. Rascon (born 1945) was a medic in the United States Army who was awarded the Medal of Honor—the United States' highest military decoration—for his actions near Long Khanh Province during the Vietnam War. On more than one occasion Rascon exposed himself to enemy fire and grenades by covering the bodies of those whom he was aiding with his own.

Rascon, a Mexican national, was born in Chihuahua, Mexico as the only child of Alfredo and Andrea Rascon. The Rascon family, in search of a better way of life, immigrated to the United States. They settled in Oxnard, California, where Rascon received his primary and secondary education. On August 1963, he graduated from High school and enlisted in the United States Army.

Rascon received his Basic training in Fort Ord, California, and after completing he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for basic and specialist medical training. After he graduated from his medical training, he voluteered for airborne training and attended the Army’s Airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia.

In February 1964, Rascon was then assigned to Headquarters Company, Medical Platoon, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) stationed in Okinawa.

On May 1965, Rascon and his unit were deployed to the Republic of Vietnam where he served as a medic for a platoon of paratroopers.

The brigade was the first major ground combat unit of the United States Army to serve there. They were the first to go into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps and to introduce the use of small long-range patrols.

On March 16, 1966, Rascon was assigned as a medic to a Reconnaissance Platoon of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The Platoons mission was to reinforce a sister battalion which was under intense enemy attack near Long Khanh Province. The Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. Several point squad soldiers were wounded and SP4 Rascon made his way forward to aid his fallen comrades. On more than one occasion Rascon exposed himself to enemy fire and grenades by covering the bodies of those whom he was aiding and absorbing the blast and fragments of the grenades with his own body. Each time he would drag his comrades to safety and crawled back to aid someone else. Rascon was so badly wounded that day that he was given his last rites.

Rascon was transferred to Johnson Army Hospital in Japan where he spent six months recovering from his wounds. For his actions, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. However, his nomination for some unknown reason did not go through and instead he was awarded a Silver Star.

In May 1966, he was honorably discharged from active duty and placed in the Army Reserves. Rascon attended college after he was discharged and in 1967 he became a Naturalized United States Citizen.

In 1970 he graduated from the Army's Infantry Officers Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He then returned to Vietnam for a second tour, this time as a military adviser. In 1976, Rascon was once again honorably discharged from active duty.

In 1976, Rascon was offered the position of U.S. Army military liaison officer, in the Republic of Panama and he accepted. Rascon has also worked for the Department of Justice’s, Drug Enforcement Administration, INTERPOL (U.S. National Central Bureau), and the Immigration & Naturalization Service.

During a 1985 reunion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Rascon's comrades discovered that he never received the Medal of Honor. His former platoon members Ray Compton, Neil Haffey and Larry Gibson, whose lives he saved, sought to correct the oversight and renewed their efforts in favor of a Medal of Honor for Rascon. The Pentagon would not reconsider Rascon's case because so much time had elapsed. Therefore, Rascon's comrades sought the help of Congressman Lane Evans from Illinois. In 1997, Evans gave President Bill Clinton a packet containing the information about Rascon. The President then convinced the Pentagon to reopen the case.

On February 8, 2000. President Bill Clinton bestowed upon Alfred V. Rascon the Medal of Honor in a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House.

ALFRED V. RASCON Rank and organization:  Specialist Four, U.S. Army, Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry,173d Airborne Brigade (Separate) Place and date:  Republic of Vietnam, March 16, 1966 Entered service at: ---- Born:   1945, Chihuahua, Mexico
Citation:Specialist Four Alfred Rascon, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts on March 16, 1966, while assigned as a medic to the Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). While moving to reinforce its sister battalion under intense enemy attack, the Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. The intense enemy fire from crew-served weapons and grenades severely wounded several point squad soldiers. Specialist Rascon, ignoring directions to stay behind shelter until covering fire could be provided, made his way forward. He repeatedly tried to reach the severely wounded point machine-gunner laying on an open enemy trail, but was driven back each time by the withering fire. Disregarding his personal safety, he jumped to his feet, ignoring flying bullets and exploding grenades to reach his comrade. To protect him from further wounds, he intentionally placed his body between the soldier and enemy machine guns, sustaining numerous shrapnel injuries and a serious wound to the hip. Disregarding his serious wounds he dragged the larger soldier from the fire-raked trail. Hearing the second machine-gunner yell that he was running out of ammunition, Specialist Rascon, under heavy enemy fire crawled back to the wounded machine-gunner stripping him of his bandoleers of ammunition, giving them to the machine-gunner who continued his suppressive fire. Specialist Rascon fearing the abandoned machine gun, its ammunition and spare barrel could fall into enemy hands made his way to retrieve them. On the way, he was wounded in the face and torso by grenade fragments, but disregarded these wounds to recover the abandoned machine gun, ammunition and spare barrel items, enabling another soldier to provide added suppressive fire to the pinned-down squad. In searching for the wounded, he saw the point grenadier being wounded by small arms fire and grenades being thrown at him. Disregarding his own life and his numerous wounds, Specialist Rascon reached and covered him with his body absorbing the blasts from the exploding grenades, and saving the soldier's life, but sustaining additional wounds to his body. While making his way to the wounded point squad leader, grenades were hurled at the sergeant. Again, in complete disregard for his own life, he reached and covered the sergeant with his body, absorbing the full force of the grenade explosions. Once more Specialist Rascon was critically wounded by shrapnel, but disregarded his own wounds to continue to search and aid the wounded. Severely wounded, he remained on the battlefield, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue the battle. After the enemy broke contact, he disregarded aid for himself, instead treating the wounded and directing their evacuation. Only after being placed on the evacuation helicopter did he allow aid to be given to him. Specialist Rascon's extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire, his heroism in rescuing the wounded, and his gallantry by repeatedly risking his own life for his fellow soldiers are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

On May 22, 2002, Rascon was confirmed by the United States Senate as the 10th Director of the Selective Service System, he served in this position until 2003.

On September 1, 2002, Rascon returned to the Army as an Army Reserve Major in the Army Medical Service Corps. His position was Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Surgeon General’s Office. Rascon served in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Medical Service Corps.

Major Rascon received the degree of Doctor of Medical Jurisprudence, Honoris Causa on May 17, 2003, from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences' (USUHS) F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing.  The Army has honored Rascon by renaming their medical school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Alfred V. Rascon School of Combat Medicine.

Rascon has been honored by the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Foundation in Washington, D.C., for his past contributions in the military. The Washington-based CATO Institute also honored him in its annual honors of past and present military contributors of Hispanic Americans.

Rascon resides in Laurel, Maryland and is married and has a daughter and a son.

Please remember the Canteen is here to honor, support and entertain our troops and their families.  This is a politics-free zone!  Thanks for helping us in our mission!

[radu]

Indeed she did.

She has an effervescent personality and whacky sense of humor.

[mylife]

she’s a goofball but makes me smile

[mylife]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE1Ig33Ng7g

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...any dry-out time today?

Into the 70s for the next 3 days...fans at the ready.

[radu]

That’s a good album. I’ve played it many, many times over the years. Surprised it isn’t worn out. LOL

[luvie]

I'll bet that's right, but I'll bet he has some awesome memories of epic wipe outs. LOL! Is he rested now after his trek south?

I got this snap of Ghost and one of his little buddies.

[radu]

Hey there, Kathy.

No rain for us today though there were a few showers and storms not too far off. They were close enough to hear thunder rumble.

It’s just HOT! Trade ya our 90s for your 70s. LOL! We’d LOVE to have your highs in the 70s for a while. It’s going to be scorching all week long. *sigh*

[radu]

Yep, he’s brought up a few of his wipe-outs. And they have a lot to do with his creaky joints nowadays. LOL!

He seems to have recovered from yesterday. I was shocked to wake up and find out he was at the garage instead of in the cool house. He was hanging out with one of his buddies in the horrendous heat. Crazy!

I went out there at one point to see what was still on the trailer from the trip yesterday and took the camera to get a pic. Got a couple of other pix, too, and will get them into Fotki to post them.

What a sweet pic! Ghost is such a good daddy. And he’s so darn pretty! I just love his coloring.

[radu]

When I woke up and open the curtains on the bedroom window, I could see there was something on the trailer by the garage. Got out there and this is what it was ....

Turns out the museum wasn't interested in keeping this and they offered it to Hubby's cousin, who does want it. They were just too tired last night to offload it.

[radu]

Hubby also came home with a "present" ..... a bag full of .30 cal shells.

There are apparently a gazillion of them and the museum doesn't need all of them. He said he's going to make wind chimes with them. LOL! He took one over to his buffer and they'll buff out nice and shiny.

[luvie]

Wow!! What a cool piece! Wonder what he will do with it?

[luvie]

Men always seem to recover when there’s a change to do something in a garage or at a workbench. Crazy fellers! LOL!

Ghost has the most unusual markings I’ve seen on a kitty. And he really is sweet with those kittens. Amazingly so. I had always heard how dangerous it was to have the daddy anywhere near the little ones.

[radu]

I have no idea what his plans are for it. He collects primarily military Jeeps but does have a few other pieces as well. Now he has one more. LOL
A couple of his Jeeps are in the museum.

[radu]

He wasn't doing any work out there today, just hanging out with a buddy. They never hang out in the house, which is fine with me. But it was just too hot to sit out there today. I was soaked in the short time I was out there.

Our Piper has similar markings to Ghosts and has the blue eyes. But she doesn't have the pretty yellow stripes he does. Some of her markings have gotten darker over the years too.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Sorry...no deal!! I don’t have enough fans. d:o)

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Monday morning to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country.

((HUGS))Good morning, Ladies. Thanks for this morning's thread, Star. How's it going?

[luvie]

Wow! Those are some wicked big shells!

Guess I’d better go get some sleep. I’ve been fighting it all evening but I think the pillow won. LOL!

See ya tomorrow night. Thanks for the pictures. :) Hope your weather cools off soon. Everyone on the east side of the country seems to have what we usually have only more with the humidity.

[luvie]

Gorgeous! Now wouldn’t those two make pretty babies together! His coloring isn’t as golden as that picture makes it seem. Maybe because I was taking it through the glass door.

Anyhow...gotta hit the sheets. See ya! :)

[radu]

LOL! Just as well. Fans are no good in this kind of heat because they just blow hot, wet air around. They don’t cool well at all.

Guess we’re stuck with it. :-)

[radu]

They are. We’ll have to hang them from tree branches because they’re the only thing stout enough to handle the weight of wind chimes made from them. LOL!

No cooling off in sight for a while. We were overdue for a summer like this so I guess we’ll just have to deal with it, dang it.

Good night and sleep well. Catch ya tomorrow!