Daniel D. Fernández (June 30, 1944 – February 18, 1966) was a
United States Army soldier in the
Vietnam War who received the U.S. military's highest decoration, the
Medal of Honor, for his actions in
Hậu Nghĩa province,
Republic of Vietnam, in February 1966 — throwing himself on a live grenade, he sacrificed his life to save lives of the soldiers around him.
Early years
Born in
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
, on June 30, 1944, Fernández grew up in nearby
Los Lunas.
He had two younger brothers, Peter and James, and a sister, Rita.
Fernández joined the Army from Albuquerque in 1962
Service Profile
/ref> and by 1966 was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam. During that deployment, he served as a specialist four
Specialist is a military rank in some countries’ armed forces. Two branches of the United States Armed Forces use the rank. It is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the United States Army, above private (PVT), private (PV2), and private ...
in Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), 25th Infantry Division. On February 18, 1966, in Củ Chi
Củ Chi is a township
A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to t ...
, Hậu Nghĩa province, his 16-man patrol was ambushed by a Viet Cong rifle company and forced to fall back. Fernández and two others volunteered to follow a sergeant back to the ambush site and rescue a wounded soldier who had been left behind. After reaching the injured man, the sergeant was shot in the knee and Fernández took over command of the patrol. All five men were pinned down by heavy fire when a rifle grenade landed in their midst. In the scramble to get away from the device, Fernández accidentally kicked it closer to the rest of the group. He then shouted "move out", jumped over the immobile sergeant, and threw himself on the grenade. Fernández was killed in the resulting explosion, but successfully saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
to receive the medal in Vietnam.
Medal of Honor
His official Medal of Honor citation reads:
A Requiem Mass was held for Fernández at Los Lunas High School prior to his burial at Santa Fe National Cemetery
Santa Fe National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of Santa Fe, in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It encompasses , and as of 2021, had 68,000 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it ...
.
Honors
In Fernández's hometown of Los Lunas, a number of structures have been named in his honor. In March 1966, the newly opened Los Lunas Junior High School was renamed Daniel Fernández Junior High School in his honor. It has since been reorganized as Daniel D. Fernández Intermediate School. A park and recreation facility, Daniel D. Fernández Memorial Park, was dedicated in 1972. The local Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...
post bears his name, as does a road, Fernandez Street.
See also
* List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
*List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients
The Medal of Honor was introduced during the American Civil War and is the highest military decoration presented by the United States government to a member of its armed forces. The recipient must have distinguished themselves at the risk of their ...
References
:
External links
Daniel Fernández, Medal of Honor
at mishalov.com
SP4 Daniel Fernandez
by Rattler/Firebird Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Daniel
1944 births
1966 deaths
People from Los Lunas, New Mexico
United States Army soldiers
United States Army Medal of Honor recipients
Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor
Deaths by hand grenade
Burials at Santa Fe National Cemetery
United States Army personnel killed in the Vietnam War