U.S. Army Special Forces Honors

The awards that the men and units of the Special Forces earned in the course of the ten years that the Special Forces served in Vietnam speak for themselves. Twelve men received the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for conspicuous gallantry and exceptional heroism under fire:

Ashley, Sergeant First Class Eugene, Jr.*

Bryant, Sergeant First Class William M.*

Dix, Staff Sergeant (later captain) Drew D.

Donlon, Captain (later major) Roger H. C.

Hosking, Master Sergeant Charles E.*

Howard, Sergeant First Class (later first lieutenant) Robert L.

Kendenburg, Specialist Five John J.*

Miller, Staff Sergeant Franklin D.

Sisler, First Lieutenant George K.*

Williams, Captain Charles Q.

Yntema, Sergeant Gorden*

Zabitosky, Sergeant First Class Fred W.

*Awarded posthumously

In addition men of the Special Forces earned the following number of awards:

Distinguished Service Cross

60
Silver Star

814
Bronze Star

10,160
Purple Heart

2,658
Distinguished Service Medal

1
Legion of Merit Award

235
Distinguished Flying Cross

46
Soldier's Medal

232
Bronze Star with V Device

3,074
Air Medal with V Device

394
Air Medal

4,527
Army Commendation Medal with V Device

1,258
Army Commendation Medal

5,650

 

The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, earned the following unit awards in the Vietnam conflict:

Presidential Unit Citation 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Vietnam, 1 November 1966-31 January 1968
Meritorious Unit Citation 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Vietnam, 31 January-31 December 1968
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Detachment B-52, Project Delta, 15 May 1964-16 August 1968; Detachment A-322 (Soui Da), 18-25 August 1968; and 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1 October 1964-17 May 1969
Valorous Unit Award Detachment B-52, Project Delta, 4 March-4 April 1968
Vietnam Civic Action Medal 5th Special Forces Group, (Airborne), 1 January 1968- 24 September 1970
Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon Detachment B-52, Project Delta, 17 April-17 June 1967 and 15 July-17 August 1967
Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Detachment A-101 (Lang Vei), Forward Operations Base 3 (Khe Sanh), and Command and Control (Da Nang), 20 January-1 April 1968

United States Army Special Forces campaign participation credits number twelve for the Vietnam conflict and range from 15 March 1962 to 31 December 1970.

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