Roger Donlon

Roger Hugh Charles Donlon ( born January 30, 1934 in Saugerties, Ulster County, New York ) is a Colonel ret. the Special Forces and was the first soldier of the U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor was awarded in the Vietnam War.

Life

Donlon was born as the seventh of eight children and attended for one year the New York State College of Forestry (Eng. "New York State College of Forestry " ) at Syracuse University. He then joined the U.S. Air Force and in 1953 transferred to West Point, where he quit college for personal reasons after two years.

In 1958 he re-entered the U.S. armed forces, this time however in the U.S. Army. After he had completed the officer training in the Officer Candidate School, he first served as adjutant of a general staff officer. In August 1963 he was admitted to the Special Forces. 1964 Donlon unit was moved to Vietnam and his first assignment as Captain and commander, was to establish an outpost in the Central Highlands near the village of Nam Dong.

On the night of July 6, 1964, there was an attack by two battalions of the Vietcong to the outpost. In an all-night battle succeeded the defenders consisting of the ODA -726 (Operational Detachment, German train ), the South Vietnamese armed forces and Australian soldiers to hold the base against the numerically far superior enemy.

Captain Roger Donlon was born on December 17, 1964 awarded for his outstanding leadership during the Battle of Nam Dong with the first Medal of Honor, which was awarded in this war.

Later Donlon retired as Colonel from the military service. On June 28, 1965, he was mayor of Fred Fugazzi the key to the city of Lexington, Kentucky, (corresponds to the honorary citizenship ) awarded. Today he lives with his wife Norma and their two children in Kansas.

Work

Donlon wrote two books in which he tried to process his Vietnam experiences:

• Outpost of Freedom
• Beyond Nam Dong