Fallen Vietnam-era soldier’s award upgraded to DSC

bruno

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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2012/04/ap-soldier-distinguished-service-cross-042812/

For those of you who frequent West Point- you will recognize this name from the Hockey Arena
"A generation before Pat Tillman made headlines in 2002 by giving up a professional football career to serve in the Army, there was Don Holleder.

Holleder, a former Rochester, N.Y.-area high school athlete for Aquinas Institute who went on to become a 1954 All-American football player at West Point and chose a military career over the New York Giants, which wanted to draft him.

Both men died in the line of duty.

Tillman died in 2004 in Afghanistan, a victim of what the Pentagon eventually said was friendly fire.

Holleder was killed by an enemy sniper Oct. 17, 1967, during the Battle of Ong Thanh northeast of Saigon"...

"Holleder led three volunteers to assist 142 soldiers being fired on by 1,400 enemy troops protected by underground bunkers.

“When the intense sniper fire impeded the evacuation of the wounded, Maj. Holleder unhesitatingly moved forward to reconnoiter the evacuation route,” the citation stated. “He refused to seek cover from the deadly volleys of insurgent sniper fire and continued to assess the enemy situation until he was mortally wounded from the heavy ground fire. His tremendous courage and poise in the face of overwhelming odds had a stabilizing effect on his men and was instrumental in saving many lives.”
 
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