{"id":113808,"date":"2021-05-20T20:55:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-21T00:55:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=113808"},"modified":"2021-05-20T20:55:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T00:55:01","slug":"lieutenant-colonel-hagemeister-moh-recipient-passes-at-age-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=113808","title":{"rendered":"Lieutenant Colonel Hagemeister, MoH recipient, passes at age 74"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Then-Spec 5 Charles Hagemeister receiving the Medal of Honor from President Johnson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Devtun wanted to make sure we were all aware of the passing of a true American hero. Army Times is reporting that, at age 74, retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel Charles Hagemeister has died. Hagemeister had earned the Medal of Honor in 1967 as a Specialist Four combat medic. His passing leaves only 66 living Medal of Honor recipients.<\/p>\n

From Army Times;<\/p>\n

Former combat medic Charles C. Hagemeister, 74, who received the Medal of Honor after he raced through withering enemy fire during a Vietnam War ambush to care for wounded comrades, died Wednesday in Leavenworth, Kansas.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Hagemeister\u2019s Medal of Honor actions took place March 20, 1967, in Vietnam\u2019s Binh Dinh province. At the time, he was a specialist fourth class serving as a medic with 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.<\/p>\n

Hagemeister\u2019s platoon was sent to secure a local village and prevent the escape of North Vietnamese regulars, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.<\/p>\n

As the Americans moved through the village\u2019s graveyard under nightfall, the enemy surrounded them on three sides, and began firing from well-concealed, fortified positions.<\/p>\n

Two soldiers were seriously wounded in the opening salvo, prompting Hagemeister to run through a hail of gunfire to provide medical aid. When he heard that the platoon leader and several others had also been wounded, Hagemeister crawled to them to provide lifesaving treatment.<\/p>\n

As he tried to evacuate the wounded, Hagemeister was targeted at close range by an enemy sniper.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealizing that the lives of his fellow soldiers depended on his actions, [Hagemeister] seized a rifle from a fallen comrade, killed the sniper, [three] other enemy soldiers who were attempting to encircle his position and silenced an enemy machine gun that covered the area with deadly fire,\u201d the citation reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnable to remove the wounded to a less exposed location and aware of the enemy\u2019s efforts to isolate his unit, he dashed through the fusillade of fire to secure help from a nearby platoon,\u201d the citation added.<\/p>\n

When he returned with help, Hagemeister placed the men in positions to cover his advance as he evacuated the wounded.<\/p>\n

Hagemeister\u2019s actions were credited with saving many of his fellow soldiers\u2019 lives. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson May 14, 1968, in a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From photos I see he also received the Silver Star and an Air Medal prior to his Medal of Honor. Not bad for a guy drafted at age 20.<\/p>\n

Here’s a fantastic write up from his hometown paper<\/a>. It includes the anecdote that at the time of his award ceremony the President inquired about how much time he had left in the Army, “72 hours, sir.”<\/p>\n

If you’d like to hear about the circumstances of his heroics from his perspective, here’s the Medal of Honor Book’s story on him;<\/p>\n