PFC. Frank  A.

Herda

(US Army)

 

57 years ago,

on June 29, 1968,

Private First Class

Frank A. Herda, age 20,

was serving with

Company A, 1st Battalion (Airborne),

506th Infantry Regiment,

101st Airborne Division

(Airmobile),

near Dak To in

Kontum Province,

Republic of Vietnam.

His unit was defending

a night perimeter

position on a ridge line

during a battalion-sized

operation.

At approximately 02 : 30

hours, a large North

Vietnamese force

launched a coordinated

attack.

The enemy initiated

indirect fire to the

western perimeter

while a 30-man sapper

unit attacked from the

east under the cover

of darkness.

 

Herda was positioned

in a foxhole with two

comrades,

one of whom had

already been wounded

and lay incapacitated

at the bottom of the

position.

As the sappers advanced, Herda fired his M79

grenade launcher

until the enemy closed

to within 10 meters.

He hit one of the

attackers directly in

the head with a

grenade round,

halting that man’s

advance.

The remaining enemy

soldiers lobbed grenades

toward Herda’s position.

One grenade landed

directly inside

the foxhole.

 

Recognizing the

immediate threat to

the lives of the

two men with him,

Herda made the decision

to absorb the blast.

He threw himself onto

the grenade.

The explosion caused

severe wounds to Herda

but spared the lives

of his fellow soldiers.

Despite his injuries,

Herda’s sacrifice

allowed the surviving

uninjured comrade

to return fire and kill

the remaining enemy

sappers who were

closing in

on the position.

 

For his actions,

Frank A. Herda was

awarded the

*Medal of Honor*.

He received the medal

from President

Richard Nixon during

a ceremony at

the White House

on May 14, 1970.

He survived his wounds

and returned home.

 

Frank Herda died on

September 29, 2023,

at the age of 75.

 

일병 프랭크 A. 

헤르다

(미 육군)

57년 전인 1968년

 6월 29일, 일등병 프랭크 A.
헤르다(20세)는 베트남 

공화국 콘툼 주 닥토 

인근에서 제101공수사단

(공수기동) 제506보병연대 

제1대대(공수) A중대 

소속으로 복무하고 

있었습니다. 

그의 부대는 대대 규모

작전 중 능선의 야간

방어선을 방어하고

있었습니다.

오전 2시 30분경, 대규모

북베트남군이 합동 공격을

개시했습니다.

적은 서쪽 방어선에

간접사격을 가하는 동안,

30명으로 구성된

공병 부대가 어둠을 틈타

동쪽에서 공격해 왔습니다.

헤르다는 두 명의 동료와

 함께 참호에 숨어 있었는데, 

그중 한 명은 이미 부상을 

입어 진지 아래쪽에 

무력화된 상태였습니다. 

공병들이 진격해 오자, 

헤르다는 M79 

유탄발사기를 발사하여 

적군이 10미터 이내로 

접근하도록 했습니다. 

그는 공격자 한 명의 머리에 

유탄을 명중시켜 진격을 

멈췄습니다. 

남은 적군은 헤르다의 

진지를 향해 수류탄을 

던졌습니다. 

그중 하나가 참호 바로 

안에 떨어졌습니다.

동료 두 명의 생명이

 위태로워지는 것을

 직감한 헤르다는 폭발을 

흡수하기로 결심했습니다. 

그는 수류탄 위로 몸을 

던졌습니다. 

폭발로 헤르다는 중상을 

입었지만, 동료 병사들은

 목숨을 건졌습니다. 

부상을 입었음에도 

불구하고, 헤르다의 희생 

덕분에 살아남은 무사한 

전우는 진지로 접근하던

 나머지 적 공병들을

 사살할 수 있었습니다.

이러한 공로로

프랭크 A. 헤르다는
*명예 훈장*을 받았습니다.

그는 1970년 5월 14일 

백악관에서 열린 

시상식에서 리처드 닉슨 

대통령으로부터 

메달을 받았습니다. 

그는 부상을 극복하고 

집으로 돌아왔습니다.

프랭크 헤르다는 

2023년 9월 29일 

75세의 나이로 세상을

 떠났습니다.