First Black physician to hold a military commission and the first woman commander of a military hospital

Clotilde (Klow-TILL-da) Dent Bowen was one of many outstanding women who served with distinction. She was the first African American woman to graduate from Ohio State University's School of Medicine, one of the first female doctors in the Army, the first Black physician to hold a military commission, and the first woman commander of a military hospital. In 1970, Colonel Bowen served in Vietnam as the Neuro-Psychiatric Physician for the entire U.S. Army. She was an advocate on issues related to drugs and alcohol and post-traumatic stress disorder and worked to lessen racial conflicts during the Vietnam War. She was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the American Legion of Merit in 1971, and the Meritorious Service Medal in 1974.

Medal of Honor Recipient

In June 1965, First Lieutenant Charles Williams was serving in Detachment A, 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces when hostile forces attacked his camp. In a nightmarish fight that lasted 14 hours, he was wounded multiple times but still directed defenses using flares as reference points to air strikes. He inspired his team to hold out against the insurgent forces. As the Vietcong continued to besiege the stronghold, firing a machine gun directly south of the building, Williams and a volunteer took a rocket launcher and worked their way across open terrain. The sight was faulty on the rocket launcher, but they hit the machine gun and took it out of action. Both men were wounded on the way back, but Williams continued to direct the air strikes, and evacuated his team. An inspiration to his men, he was undaunted by the assault.

Medal of Honor Recipient

Sergeant First Class Rodney Yano (YAH-no) served with the Air Calvery Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. In 1969, in dense jungle near Bien Hao (Bin-WHA), he was aboard a command-and-control helicopter when they began receiving intense fire. He fired back and marked their positions with smoke and white phosphorous grenades, so the commander could direct more accurate artillery fire against the enemy. One of those grenades exploded prematurely, covering him with burning phosphorous and detonating the ammunition in the helicopter. The pilot lost control, but Yano began hurling burning ammunition from the helicopter. His bravery cost him his life, but the pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft because of Yano's actions, which helped save the lives of the other crew members.

Medal of Honor Recipient

Before entering the Army, Clarence Eugene Sasser was a chemistry major at the University of Houston. He came from a poor farming family and paying for college was a challenge, so he decided to pick up more work hours and go part-time at school, making him eligible for the draft. At 19 years old, the Army trained him to be a medic. In January of 1968, Private First Class Clarence Eugene Sasser was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. On a reconnaissance force operation during an air assault in the Mekong (ME-Kong) Delta, his unit took heavy fire from a well-fortified enemy position. In just 30 minutes, they had 30 casualties. He recalled the attack and said, “We go in, and the helicopter started taking fire. One of the helicopters got hit, and went down. Fire was all around us, with the helicopter down, there wasn't any choice, we had to go in.” Without hesitation, Sasser ran across an open rice paddy through a hail of fire to assist the wounded.

He said, “I learned early on the best way to get around that day was to simply grab the rice and slide yourself along, you can move better like that, and if you stand up you’re dead, especially if they see your bag, they know you're a medic and if they killed a medic, probably a lot of people would die. That was the rationale.” Despite being attacked and wounded, he searched the rice paddy for hours, bringing others to safety and attending to their wounds.

After a harrowing night, they were evacuated early in the morning. Receiving the Medal of Honor was a confirmation to him that he had done a good job. He said, “I don't think what I did was above and beyond. I never have. And I haven't made a point of it, but being one of two Black guys (who were awarded the Medal of Honor) who are alive now, I think it means a lot to the country that I am who I am.”

Medal of Honor Recipient

Master Sergeant Jose Rodela (Ro-DEL-ah) received the Medal of Honor for valorous actions on September 1, 1969, while serving in Detachment B-36, Company A, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. He was a company commander in Phuoc Long (Foo-OCK-long) Province, Vietnam. Rodela commanded his company throughout eighteen hours of continuous attack. Throughout the battle, in spite of his wounds, Rodela repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to attend to the fallen and eliminate an enemy rocket position.

Medal of Honor Recipient

In May of 1968, Staff Sergeant Roy Benavidez (Ben-ah-VEE-dez) was assigned to Detachment B56, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces. He volunteered to help extract a Special Forces Reconnaissance Team, but when he arrived, he realized everyone on the team was either dead or wounded. President Ronald Reagan, who awarded Benavidez (Ben-ah-VEE-dez) the Medal of Honor, remarked that, “If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it.” He was severely wounded while saving lives as well as classified materials, and was taken for dead when he arrived back at base camp. He ultimately was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, four Purple Hearts and the Medal of Honor. His citation noted that “His fearless personal leadership, tenacious devotion to duty and extremely valorous actions in the face of overwhelming odds were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him and the United States Army.”

It took almost thirteen years to recognize Benavidez (Ben-ah-VEE-dez), and he was not the only one to be awarded the Medal of Honor many years after his heroic acts. More than a decade ago, Congress directed a review of military records to ensure that leadership had not overlooked or rejected acts of heroism deserving of the Medal of Honor because of prejudice or discrimination.