As the helicopters unloaded the young soldiers near a rice paddy in Vietnam, the enemy began to rain fire on them from three sides.  More than 30 young soldiers fell wounded in the opening minutes.  Heedless of the danger, one lone medic moved among them.  Wounded in the shoulder, still he made repeated trips under the enemy guns to rescue his comrades.

Twice more the brave aid man's body was struck by enemy fire, the last rendering his legs useless.  Bleeding badly, struggling to maintain consciousness, he continued to render first aid to the broken bodies of young American soldiers.   Paralyzed from the waist down, he dragged his body 100 yards through the mud to rescue one soldier.  It was not enough, there were many more in need of his help.   For FIVE HOURS the brave young medic continued to force his body to do the impossible.  If his legs wouldn't work, he would crawl.  And he did...saving life after life...heedless of the danger to himself.  When finally the battle subsided and helicopters arrived to remove the wounded he lay on the ground, unable to move further, but refusing to be evacuated until every other wounded soldier had been flown to safety.