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Detachment, 61st Medical Battalion, 67th Medical Group. The team's mission was to evacuate seriously wounded Vietnamese military personnel from the midst of a raging battlefield. During the second landing attempt, the enemy concentrated a barrage of flak at the air ambulance, which damaged the aircraft and caused it to crash, injuring Fujii. A second helicopter was able to land and load all of his fellow downed airmen. However, Fujii was not able to board because the enemy directed fire on him. Rather than endanger the lives aboard the second helicopter, Fujii waved it off to leave the combat area. Subsequent attempts to rescue him were aborted due to the violent anti-aircraft fire. Fujii secured a radio and informed the aviators in the area that the landing zone was too hot for further evacuation attempts. Fujii remained as the lone American on the ground, treating the injuries of South Vietnam troops throughout the night and the next day. On the night of Feb. 19, the allied perimeter came under ruthless assault by a reinforced enemy regiment supported by heavy artillery. Once again obtaining a radio transmitter, Fujii called in American helicopter gunships to assist the small unit in repelling the attack. For a period of over 17 consecutive hours, Fujii repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire as he left the security of his entrenchment to better observe enemy troop positions and to direct air strikes against them. At times, the fighting became so vicious that Fujii was forced to interrupt radio transmittal in order to place suppressive rifle fire on the enemy while at close quarters. Though wounded and severely fatigued by Feb. 20, the specialist bore the responsibility for the protection and defense of the friendly encampment until an American helicopter could land and attempt to airlift him from the area. As his air ambulance left the still blazing battlefield, it received numerous hits and was forced to crash land at another South Vietnamese Ranger base approximately four kilometers from his original location. The exhausted Fujii remained at the allied camp for two more days until yet another helicopter could return him to Phau Bai for medical assistance on Feb. 22. Fujii's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
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tanks. The
Rangers held on tenaciously throughout the night supported by gunships and flareships. Despite 32 tactical airstrikes since the morning, by the afternoon of the 20th, the 39th Ranger Battalion had been reduced from 500 to 323 men and aerial reconnaissance indicated that their position was
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Spc. 5 Dennis M. Fujii distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity beyond the call of duty while serving as crew chief aboard a helicopter ambulance during rescue operations in Laos and the
Republic of Vietnam from Feb. 18, 1971 to Feb. 22, 1971. Fujii was serving with the 237th
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PAVN attention then shifted to Ranger South, which was hit by 130mm artillery fire on the night of 21 February. On 22 February an intensive air and artillery bombardment around the base allowed 13 medevac helicopters to evacuate 122 wounded
Rangers and Fujii.
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Fujii enlisted in the Army in 1968 and was able to get his high school diploma while in the service.
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He went on to work as a utilities and logistics technician for Global
Associates at the
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medevac helicopter from the 237th
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surrounded by 4–500 PAVN and its commander ordered a retreat toward Ranger South (
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Fujii was presented with the Medal of Honor on 5 July 2022 in a ceremony at the
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Fujii returned to Hawaii on 28 February 1971, and was given a hero's welcome by
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would present the Medal of Honor to Fujii and three others on 5 July 2022.
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in 1968, he spent his first nine months assigned to the 2nd
Battalion,
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During his second tour in South
Vietnam on 18 February 1971, now an
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
239:(PAVN) fire and crash-landed at Landing Zone (LZ) Ranger North (
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The
Vietnam Experience South Vietnam on Trial: Mid-1970-1972
635:"Biden awards 4 Vietnam veterans with the Medal of Honor"
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The Blood Road: The Ho Chi Minh Trail and the
Vietnam War
395:The text of Fujii's Medal of Honor citation reads:
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Retired United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
505:. United States Army Center of Military History.
430:"MEDAL OF HONOR: Specialist Five Dennis M. Fujii"
663:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War
633:Maegan Vazquez; Oren Liebermann (5 July 2022).
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668:Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor
543:Fulgham, David; Maitland, Terrence (1984).
499:Indochina Monographs Operation Lam Sơn 719
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612:"President Biden to Award Medal of Honor"
547:. Boston Publishing Company. p. 78.
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571:. Time. 22 February 1971. Archived from
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590:. John Wiley and Sons. p. 339.
569:"Indochina: The Soft-Sell Invasion"
470:Invasion of Laos, 1971: Lam Son 719
168:(born March 1, 1949) is a retired
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472:. University of Oklahoma Press.
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220:as an assistant machine gunner.
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614:. The White House. 27 June 2022
176:in 2022 for his actions in the
683:Military personnel from Hawaii
336:and the Pacific Army Reserve.
332:. He later transferred to the
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339:Fujii was later awarded the
345:Distinguished Service Cross
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334:Hawaii Army National Guard
496:Nguyen, Duy Hinh (1979).
172:soldier who received the
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237:People's Army of Vietnam
114:237th Medical Detachment
70:United States of America
468:Sander, Robert (2014).
192:, one of six children.
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343:, later upgraded to a
586:Prados, John (1998).
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233:Operation Lam Son 719
218:4th Infantry Division
131:Operation Lam Son 719
93:Years of service
575:on 16 February 2008.
432:. United States Army
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235:when it was hit by
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306:16.736°N 106.472°E
258:16.744°N 106.493°E
208:Fujii deployed to
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87:United States Army
688:People from Kauai
359:Wildlife Refuge.
166:Dennis Marc Fujii
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119:Battles/wars
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53:1 March 1949
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390:White House
371:Fujii with
341:Silver Star
309: /
297:106°28′19″E
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249:106°29′35″E
204:Vietnam War
178:Vietnam War
126:Vietnam War
657:Categories
405:References
351:Later life
294:16°44′10″N
246:16°44′38″N
184:Early life
66:Allegiance
49:1949-03-01
383:Joe Biden
380:President
373:Joe Biden
180:in 1971.
96:1968–1975
517:Archived
327:Governor
76:Service/
618:28 June
272:Rangers
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149:Awards
78:branch
61:, U.S.
637:. CNN
520:(PDF)
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280:PT-76
229:UH-1H
225:Sp4c.
643:2022
620:2022
592:ISBN
549:ISBN
507:ISBN
474:ISBN
438:2022
284:T-54
282:and
111:Unit
101:Rank
43:Born
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136:WIA
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
