Robert James Yered was a

United States coast guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

sman who was awarded the

Silver Star Medal The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

for his actions during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Career

According to the ''

Milford Daily News ''The Milford Daily News'' is an American daily newspaper covering Milford, Massachusetts, and several nearby towns in Norfolk and Worcester counties. The newspaper is managed and printed by ''The MetroWest Daily News''. Both are owned by Ganne ...

'', his local paper, Yered enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard at seventeen years old. He rose to the highest enlisted rank, master chief petty officer, prior to his retirement after 24 years of service. Yered's 82-foot ''Point''-class cutter was moored in a river port at

Cát Lái Ge () is a surname of Chinese origin. One branch of the family became the compound surname Zhuge. In 2013 it was found to be the 110th most common surname, composed of 1.95 million people or 0.150% of the total national population, with the provin ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, on February 18, 1968, when the base was attacked by

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

and

rockets A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

.Kelley, p 5-95 According to his official biography: : Yered was also awarded a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Personal life

After he retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Yered was a groundskeeper at a high school in Massachusetts.

Legacy

In 2010, when the U.S. Coast Guard decided that all the new

Sentinel-class cutter The Sentinel-class cutter, also known as the Fast Response Cutter or FRC due to its program name, is part of the United States Coast Guard's Deepwater program. At , it is similar to, but larger than, the lengthened 1980s-era s that it replaces. ...

s would be named after U.S. Coast Guardsmen who had been recognized for their heroism, Yered was one of those to be honored. The fourth cutter in the class was named the .

References

Notes

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yered, Robert J. 2009 deaths 1939 births United States Coast Guard non-commissioned officers Recipients of the Silver Star People from Millis, Massachusetts United States Coast Guard personnel of the Vietnam War Military personnel from Massachusetts