Army Medic to Receive Silver Star for Valor in Vietnam

Sometimes, in the confusion and aftermath of war, things that should be remembered are forgotten.

On Nov. 10, one of those forgotten things will be made right when Kenneth Hughes, an Army medic (Spc. 4) with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, receives his Silver Star for his valor on March 3, 1969, on Hill 947 in Vietnam.

Hughes told his story to the Army Medical Department Historian in August 2015.

He was drafted in the spring of 1968. In his own words, he was an "unusual soldier". He describes himself as a "pacifist" and initially considered applying to be recognized as a conscientious objector. He dropped his pursuit of CO status after he had the opportunity to train as a medic.

After basic training at Fort Campbell, it was on to Fort Sam Houston to train as medic. In the 1960s, medic training was 10 weeks and mostly first aid training.

He learned to draw blood and start IVs. There were classes on field sanitation, general first aid, and what to do to stop bleeding.

Hughes is now a family practice physician; he says that he uses some of what he learned at Fort Sam every day.

After medic training, it was on to Camp Bullis to train for what to expect in Vietnam. Still, Hughes arrived in Saigon knowing "almost nothing" about Vietnam or how to live out of a backpack. He wished that he had known more about care for malaria, which was prevalent all around Vietnam.

The biggest decision he learned to face was when to call in the medevac helicopter; at that time, the decision was usually made by the medic unless the combat situation dictated otherwise. Other serious problems he faced were fungal and skin infections and sunburn.

During the six months he spent in Vietnam near Pleiku, he mostly stayed in base camp and infrequently went on patrols. He described the area as "relatively quiet", with few North Vietnamese soldiers patrolling nearby.

Eventually action heated up. Hughes described the pursuit of a North Vietnamese Army soldier through the rubble of a dried stream bed.

The NVA soldier was cornered in a cave-like formation in the boulders where he sought shelter to avoid the grenades lobbed at him. Despite being completely surrounded, he wouldn't surrender. Because he was dangerous, he couldn't be left alone. The only option seemed to be to go in and shoot the NVA soldier.

Hughes offered to go retrieve the NVA soldier. It turned out the soldier was pinned under rocks shifted by the grenades. Near the soldier was one of his own grenades that had failed to explode because of a wet fuse.

Hughes received the Bronze Star for disarming and capturing the NVA soldier.

But his most memorable day was the afternoon and night in early March 1969 when he was wounded on Hill 974. His actions that day earned him the Silver Star.

At the time, he was lead medic for Alpha Company, which had been moved by helicopter and truck from north of Pleiku to the interior highlands near Kontum and the borders of Laos and Cambodia. They stayed one night at a Special Forces base at Polei Kleng. The next day Alpha Company was transported by helicopter to the Plei Trap valley as part of Operation Wayne Grey.

After a 10 kilometer march, the company climbed the side of the mountain through bamboo and trees.

Late in the day on a saddle between two peaks, NVA soldiers were spotted and the forward platoon was ordered to pursue.

That was trouble. A regiment of NVA was bivouacked nearby; the forward platoon ran into them and took heavy fire. The medic with the forward platoon was killed, and Hughes volunteered to go ahead alone to help the wounded.

He passed one dead soldier shot in the neck. As rounds buzzed past him, he reached what was left of the platoon; about 10 were dead already. Hughes began working to stop the bleeding on soldiers who had a chance to survive and a few who didn't.

Fighting continued for another 10 minutes. Hughes was shot in the left arm, and while bandaging that arm he was shot in the right shoulder. That round ended up in this chest, temporarily paralyzing the right arm and leaving him with only partial use of his left.

The platoon leader ordered a fall back; Hughes only had one partly functional arm and he could not provide aid to any more wounded soldiers, although he could walk on his own.

Hughes stumbled down the mountain to where the remains of the company, perhaps 60 men, had reformed and set up a perimeter.

One of the platoon medics began to bandage his wounds. Just as he finished, the platoon medic helping Hughes took a round and was killed, probably saving Hughes' life.

Hughes continued to provide advice and answer questions for the only remaining medic--junior in experience to Hughes--on how to handle some of the injuries.

1st Lt. Felix "Buddy" Williams--now the company commander--asked Hughes about the remaining seriously wounded and whether a dust off helicopter--it's now dark--should be called before morning.

Three Soldiers had serious wounds, including Hughes. One of the seriously wounded had been shot in the back, and Hughes didn't think he'd make it through the night.

Three separate dust off crews made attempts during the next hour to locate the company under the bamboo, in the dark, all the while avoiding NVA fire. On the ground, soldiers shined a strobe light through an empty mortar tube, making the light visible to the copter crew but not NVA. The copters couldn't land, and the crew on attempt number three lowered a "jungle penetrator" basket to try and lift the wounded.

Even so, the chopper pilot had to turn on a spotlight so Williams and Sgt. Sam Jones could see to tie the wounded to the basket, exposing everyone to the NVA.

Hughes and the other two seriously wounded were hoisted into the helicopter.

"I am one of the luckier ones," said Hughes. Nearly half of the 100 men of Alpha Company were killed.

The dust off copter flew to a MASH near Kontum, where Hughes was stabilized. Then it was on by helicopter on to a hospital near Pleiku, where he spent 2 weeks for additional surgery.

Hughes medical journey wasn't over. He flew by fixed wing aircraft to Camron Bay for more extensive surgery. His care continued at Camp Zama, Japan, and then at Letterman Hospital, at the time new, in the Presidio, San Francisco.

At Letterman, surgeons performed a thoracotomy and removed the bullet. He continued to convalesce; from the hospital's solarium, Hughes could look out over the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.

After he recovered, he was briefly reassigned to the 3rd Armored Calvary at Fort Lewis and finally medically discharged.

Hughes went on to graduate from Portland State University in Oregon and receive a medical degree from Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine. A residency in family practice followed, and eventually he moved back to Minnesota, where he still practices today.

The lieutenant who tied Hughes onto the basket, now Lt. Col. (ret.) Williams, put him in for the Silver Star after they met at a reunion in San Antonio in 2015.

Hughes said that he visits military bases and "really appreciates the opportunity to feel the camaraderie and pride." He added, "There's a community and a pride in the military that's worth something, and I didn't realize it then," referring to his days in Vietnam.

On Nov. 10, Hughes will receive his Silver Star in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial near the Minnesota State House.

Then, Hughes will also be an enduring part of the camaraderie, pride, dignity, and honor he deserves for his valor on Hill 974.

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