I didn't know him personally, but from what I understand he was an okay Spec-Five tank driver who pulled his own weight, and after the incident during which he earned his MOH, those who worked with him were neither surprised nor overawed that the recognition had come his way: he was just one of the crew doing his job, and circumstances made it such that his job became a little busier than for most of them.
But when he and four others received his Medal of Honor from President Johnson on , one of the others that day was a troop I'm glad to call a personal friend, one of four I've known who wear that precious decoration with the multi-starred pale blue ribbon. And he confirmed that the former M48A3 driver and treadhead would have just as easily fit in in his outfit too. There wasn't much fancy or pretentious about those guys.
And when I hear the word *hero* misapplied, I think of those guys, and I sometimes get more than a little annoyed.
These five Army heroes were presented with the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam by President Lyndon Johnson at the White House. Shown outside of the Executive Mansion after the ceremony, Left to right: Capt. James A. Taylor, Ft. Knox, Ky.; Spc. 4 Gary G. Wetzel, Oak Creek, Wis.; Sgt. Sammy L. Davis, Martinsville, Ind.; Spc. 5 Dwight. H. Johnson, Detroit; and Capt. Angelo J. Liteky, a chaplain and native of Washington D.C. November 19, 1968