FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Kern Dunagan ~ 23 April 2018

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC and The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

 

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---

~ Hall of Heroes ~

COL Kern W. Dunagan

Info from here.

           

Kern W. Dunagan (February 20, 1934 - December 27, 1991) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Dunagan joined the Army from Los Angeles, California, and by May 13, 1969 was serving as a captain in Company A, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division. During a firefight on that day, in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam, Dunagan showed conspicuous leadership as he organized his men and rescued wounded soldiers despite his own wounds. He was subsequently promoted to major and awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions. Dunagan reached the rank of colonel before leaving the Army. He died at age 57 and was buried in San Francisco National Cemetery, San Francisco, California.

Major Dunagan's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Maj. (then Capt.) Dunagan distinguished himself during the period May 13 and 14, 1969, while serving as commanding officer, Company A. On May 13, 1969, Maj. Dunagan was leading an attack to relieve pressure on the battalion's forward support base when his company came under intense fire from a well-entrenched enemy battalion. Despite continuous hostile fire from a numerically superior force, Maj. Dunagan repeatedly and fearlessly exposed himself in order to locate enemy positions, direct friendly supporting artillery, and position the men of his company. In the early evening, while directing an element of his unit into perimeter guard, he was seriously wounded during an enemy mortar attack, but he refused to leave the battlefield and continued to supervise the evacuation of dead and wounded and to lead his command in the difficult task of disengaging from an aggressive enemy. In spite of painful wounds and extreme fatigue, Maj. Dunagan risked heavy fire on 2 occasions to rescue critically wounded men. He was again seriously wounded. Undaunted, he continued to display outstanding courage, professional competence, and leadership and successfully extricated his command from its untenable position on the evening of May 14. Having maneuvered his command into contact with an adjacent friendly unit, he learned that a 6-man party from his company was under fire and had not reached the new perimeter. Maj. Dunagan unhesitatingly went back and searched for his men. Finding 1 soldier critically wounded, Maj. Dunagan, ignoring his wounds, lifted the man to his shoulders and carried him to the comparative safety of the friendly perimeter. Before permitting himself to be evacuated, he insured all of his wounded received emergency treatment and were removed from the area. Throughout the engagement, Maj. Dunagan's actions gave great inspiration to his men and were directly responsible for saving the lives of many of his fellow soldiers. Maj. Dunagan's extraordinary heroism above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

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! 

[The Mayor]

Yes, did well today too. Now to take on the week and get things done.

Thank you for the thread my FRiend!

[radu]

Hangin’ in there tonight. Didn’t do much of anything today because this crappy weather has the ol’ body aching.
It’s cooler than it was yesterday but not cold. We’ll be in the 60s this week rather than the 70s we enjoyed the last two days. And wet.

Didn’t even get sleepy this morning? Good for you! LOL

[radu]

Back roads are the way to go any time - - on a bike or in a car. Much more of a pleasant ride/drive any day.
Glad you and Blue are finally reunited. It was a looooong winter.

[Kathy in Alaska]

WOOHOO, Blue is home!!

Congratulations, ML...((HUGS))...did you ride her home? What does Penny think about sharing your affection?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Janey...((HUGS))...enjoy your evening and new friends.

Safe flights tomorrow.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, al...hope life is treating you well.

[mountainlion]

No use to go to town. There is only a Post Office and B&B and they are both closed. The road is closed most of the day for construction. I am an accidental hermit.

[luvie]

Sorry the damp chilly weather is making your back scream. That’s no fun for sure! I’m sure you would have preferred it warm enough to get outdoors in and check out your beautiful flowers! How much rain did you get?

I sat out on the patio for a bit this evening before the sun went down and it got cooler. It was really nice. No wind!! That was a huge plus. Ghost was out there but he scooted off pretty quickly and my fold up chair scared Ginger. LOL! She’s always skittish of something new.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, radu...so sorry about the misadventure with the museum. Nice weather today?

A little sun and possibility of a little rain overnight.

[Kathy in Alaska]

We did have a good time...very low key and LOTS of paperwork handled and mostly disposed of...stuff going back years. Peg said she doesn’t think Mom every threw away a Christmas card. Don’t I know as she wouldn’t let me get rid of any of them.

[radu]

Yep, this weather makes the back unhappy but we need the rain. We haven’t gotten much around here this month though other parts of the state have. We’ve gotten a little over an inch so far and they said we could get around 3 inches before the system clears out Tuesday.

No wind again? Cool! Nice that you were able to spend some time sitting out on the deck without choking on dust. No if Ghost would just start hanging around while you’re out there.

[left that other site]

Well...it went like this: I called Sis to drive me later in the day to Bro’s house to get the bike after which I planned on treating her and BIL for dinner. It was still early when I called, so I left a message. Then I got my backpack and water bottles and invited Penny to go for a hike, to which she responded with joy.

Halfway to our favorite hiking trail, Sis called on my cell phone and said she had a rehearsal this afternoon, so could we instead go to our favorite Irish Pub for their Breakfast Brunch and then proceed to Bro’s after a leisurely Breakfast Buffet and Irish music.

So I banged a Yuwie (Bostonese for “Made a U-Turn”) and headed home to get my helmet and Leather Jacket. Penny immediately knew that the hike had been canceled and took umbrage. She was not happy, so I gave her a bacon strip when we got home and headed out.

The Irish band consisted of one unamplified guitar and not one, but TWO penny whistles. It was truly awful! But the food was phenomenal.

Then Sis and BIL dropped me off at my Bro’s and Blue started up with barely a kiss on the ignition switch. The front tire was a little soft, so Bro filled it up, checked the tire pressure and cleaned my windshield.

And then I rode home through the lovely rolling hills of New England farm country.

And now Blue is home.

And Penny went for a walk with me afterwards.

So now I have my Trailer, My Harley, My Guitar, and my Pit Bull.

Even though I was born in Boston, I think I have become a Redneck! :-)

[radu]

Yes, yesterday was a disappointment. I always look forward to seeing what uniforms I’ll pull out of the tote next to clean up. Oh well, we’ll see what happens next weekend.

No sun at all today. It’s been raining all day and will rain all night. It’s been light but it looks like heavier stuff is heading up now.

Tornados down around Ft. Walton this afternoon and Dad’s widow is still there. I checked in with her and she’s fine, though tornados were close to her area.
Nothing like that headed here, thank goodness.

[radu]

LOL! I do NOT envy y’all dealing with her paperwork. She sounds a lot like Hubby’s aunt not throwing anything away. You have to go through EVERYTHING in case there really IS something important stuck in with the junk. It sounds like you made a good dent in it though. Gotta be a relief.

[Kathy in Alaska]

In first....The MayorL grabs the gold!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And in second....MS B snags the silver!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top three.... Pro bags the bronze!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[MS.BEHAVIN]

Of course I did!
He’s been doing a great job!

[radu]

LOL! I figured you did.
He HAS been doing a great job.
Don’t need mousies in da house!