Word Celebrity Blog

Alfred V. Rascon



Early Years

Alfred Velasquez)Rascon was born on September 10, 1945, in Chihuahua, Mexico. He was the only child of Alfredo and Andrea Rascon.

The Rascon family, in search of a better way of life, immigrated to the United States. They settled in Oxnard, California, where Alfred Rascon received his primary and secondary education. On August 1963, he graduated from High school and he then enlisted in the United States Army.

Alfred Rascon received his Basic training in Fort Ord, California, and then he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas for basic and specialist medical training. After he graduated from his medical training, he volunteered for airborne training and attended the Army’s Airborne school in Fort Benning, Georgia.


Vietnam War

In February 1964, Alfred Rascon was then assigned to Headquarters Company, Medical Platoon, 1st Battalion,

503rd Infantry (Airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) stationed in Okinawa.

On May 1965, Alfred Rascon and his unit were deployed to the Republic of Vietnam where he served as a medic for a platoon of paratroopers. The brigade was the first major ground combat unit of the United States
Army to serve there. They were the first to go into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps and to introduce the use of small long-range patrols.

When he arrived in Vietnam in 1965, he was not even an American citizen; that occurred after the war. But he said that never mattered to him: "The fact is, this country has always been mine in my heart," He was 19 years old and served as medic in a reconnaissance platoon of 30 to 50 men.

"You basically are the savior of whoever you are with, and they depend on you and that's an emotional load to carry," he said. "You end up being the guardian angel of whoever."

On March 16, 1966, he was assigned as a medic to a Reconnaissance Platoon of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The Platoons mission was to reinforce a sister battalion which was under intense enemy attack near Long Khanh Province.

North Vietnamese soldiers ambushed Rascon and his platoon as they were walking down a well-used trail in the jungle northwest of Saigon.

When an American machine-gunner went down, Alfred Rascon, then 20, ignored orders to stay under cover in the jungle. He jumped onto the trail, amid an onslaught of enemy fire, to help the fallen soldier.

Although he was shot in the hip, Alfred Rascon dragged the solder off the trail, only to discover that he was dead. Then he saw the soldier's M-60 machine gun lying on the trail. He again ran out into enemy fire and grenades to retrieve the gun and 400 rounds of ammunition.

Eyewitnesses say this act alone saved the platoon. Had the North Vietnamese gotten hold of the gun, they say, they could all easily have died.

Alfred Rascon didn't stop there, even when a grenade fell near him and ripped open his face. When he saw other grenades land near one of his platoon members, Neil Haffey, he tackled Haffey, shielding him. Then he ran back to some other wounded soldiers to provide medical aid.

When he saw still more grenades land near his squad leader, Sgt. Ray Compton, he dove on top of him. Again he got up to aid his friends, refusing offers of morphine for his wounds.

"Boy, I'll tell you, he was shot to hell himself," said Master Sgt. Larry M. Gibson of University Place, Washington, "And how he managed to do that is anybody's guess. It was an extreme effort on his part, very heroic, very gallant. I saw nothing braver."


























Neil Haffey, a fire captain in New Jersey, said that Alfred Rascon was one of the few medics who carried a gun, and the other soldiers appreciated that. "We didn't like going out without him," said Neil Haffey, "He was an airborne ranger in his heart."

Sgt. Gibson said none of it surprised him: "Rascon was the medic," he said. "We were his boys, his troops, and he was going to care for us come hell or high water."

"There was a standard there for medics," Larry Gibson said. "It was the norm for them to go forward, that was expected of them, but to do what Rascon did, and on top of that with his wounds, he exceeded expectations."


























A war photographer, Tim Page, captured a picture of Alfred Rascon walking off the battlefield that day; he is drenched in sweat and blood and held up by a soldier on either side because he could not walk.

Today, Rascon bears no visible trace of the battle. He does not limp; he does not have any scars where the grenade blew his face open, although he said he carries shrapnel in his jaw. Nor does he seem to have emotional scars; he has held steady jobs for most of his adult life.

Specialist Four Alfred Rascon was transferred to Johnson Army Hospital in Japan where he spent six months recovering from his wounds. For his actions, he was nominated for the Medal of Honor. However, his nomination for some unknown reason did not go through and instead he was awarded a Silver Star. In May 1966, he was honorably discharged from active duty and placed in the Army Reserves. Alfred Rascon attended college after he was discharged. In 1967, Alfred V. Rascon became a Naturalized United States Citizen.



























In 1970 he graduated from the Army's Infantry Officers Candidate School and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry. He then returned to Vietnam for a second tour, this time as a military adviser. In 1976, Alfred Rascon was once again honorably discharged from active duty with the rank of Captain.


Post Vietnam

In 1976, Second Lieutenant Rascon was offered the position of U.S. Army military liaison officer, in the Republic of Panama and he accepted. Alfred Rascon has also worked for the Department of Justice’s, Drug Enforcement Administration, INTERPOL (U.S. National Central Bureau), and the Immigration & Naturalization Service.

During a 1985 reunion of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Captain Alfred Rascon's comrades discovered that he never received the Medal of Honor. His former platoon members Ray Compton, Neil Haffey and Larry Gibson, whose lives he saved, sought to correct the oversight and renewed their efforts in favor of a Medal of Honor for Captain Rascon. The Pentagon would not reconsider Alfred Rascon's case because so much time had elapsed. Therefore, Captain Alfred Rascon's comrades sought the help of Congressman Lane Evans from Illinois.

In 1997, Congressman Evans gave President Bill Clinton a packet containing the information about Captain Alfred Rascon. The President then convinced the Pentagon to reopen the case.



























On February 8, 2000, President Bill Clinton bestowed upon Alfred V. Rascon the Medal of Honor in a ceremony held in the East Room of the White House.




















Later years

On May 22, 2002, Alfred Rascon was confirmed by the United States Senate as the 10th Director of the Selective Service System, he served in this position until 2003.



















On September 1, 2002, Alfred Rascon returned to the Army as an Army Reserve Major in the Army Medical Service Corps. His position was Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Surgeon General’s Office. He served in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Medical Service Corps. He retired from the military with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Major Alfred Rascon received the degree of Doctor of Medical Jurisprudence, Honoris Causa on May 17, 2003, from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences' (USUHS) F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing.  The Army has honored Alfred Rascon by renaming their medical school at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Alfred V. Rascon School of Combat Medicine.

Alfred Rascon has been honored by the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Foundation in Washington, D.C., for his past contributions in the military. The Washington based CATO Institute also
honored him in its annual honors of past and present military contributors of Hispanic Americans.

Alfred Rascon resides in Laurel, Maryland and is married and has a daughter and a son.























U.S. Army Lt. Col. (Ret.) Alfred V. Rascon, took time to meet, speak and sign autographs for the troops in Iran and Iraq. (Photo by U.S. Army Spc. William E. Henry)




Medal Of Honor

ALFRED V. RASCON

Rank and organization:
Specialist Four, U.S. Army,
Reconnaissance Platoon,
Headquarters Company,
1st Battalion (Airborne),
503rd Infantry,
173d Airborne Brigade (Separate)

Place and date:
Republic of Vietnam,
March 16, 1966

Entered service at: ----

Born:
1945,
Chihuahua, Mexico















Citation:

Specialist Four Alfred Rascon, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts on March 16, 1966, while assigned as a medic to the Reconnaissance Platoon, Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). While moving to reinforce its sister battalion under intense enemy attack, the Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. The intense enemy fire from crew-served weapons and grenades severely wounded several point squad soldiers. specialist Rascon, ignoring directions to stay behind shelter until covering fire could be provided, made his way forward. He repeatedly tried to reach the severely wounded point machine-gunner laying on an open enemy trail, but was driven back each time by the withering fire. Disregarding his personal safety, he jumped to his feet, ignoring flying bullets and exploding grenades to reach his comrade. To protect him from further wounds, he intentionally placed his body between the soldier and enemy machine guns, sustaining numerous shrapnel injuries and a serious wound to the hip. Disregarding his serious wounds he dragged the larger soldier from the fire-raked trail.

Hearing the second machine-gunner yell that he was running out of ammunition, Specialist Rascon, under heavy enemy fire crawled back to the wounded machine-gunner stripping him of his bandoleers of ammunition, giving them to the machine-gunner who continued his suppressive fire. Specialist Rascon fearing the abandoned machine gun, its ammunition and spare barrel could fall into enemy hands made his way to retrieve them. On the way, he was wounded in the face and torso by grenade fragments, but disregarded these wounds to recover the abandoned machine gun, ammunition and spare barrel items, enabling another soldier to provide added suppressive fire to the pinned-down squad. In searching for the wounded, he saw the point grenadier being wounded by small arms fire and grenades being thrown at him. Disregarding his own life and his numerous wounds, Specialist Rascon reached and covered him with his body absorbing the blasts from the exploding grenades, and saving the soldier's life, but sustaining additional wounds to his body. While making his way to the wounded point squad leader, grenades were hurled at the sergeant. Again, in complete disregard for his own life, he reached and covered the sergeant with his body, absorbing the full force of the grenade explosions. Once more Specialist Rascon was critically wounded by shrapnel, but disregarded his own wounds to continue to search and aid the wounded. Severely wounded, he remained on the battlefield, inspiring his fellow soldiers to continue the battle. After the enemy broke contact, he disregarded aid for himself, instead treating the wounded and directing their evacuation. Only after being placed on the evacuation helicopter did he allow aid to be given to him.

Specialist Rascon's extraordinary valor in the face of deadly enemy fire, his heroism in rescuing the wounded, and his gallantry by repeatedly risking his own life for his fellow soldiers are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.


Honors

Major Rascon received the degree of Doctor of Medical Jurisprudence, Honoris Causa on May 17, 2003, from the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences' (USUHS) F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing. The Army has honored Rascon by renaming their training school for medics at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Alfred V. Rascon School of Combat Medicine.

Rascon has been honored by the American Immigration Lawyers Association and Foundation in Washington,
D.C., for his past contributions in the military. The Washington-based CATO Institute also honored him in its annual honors of past and present military contributors of Hispanic Americans. 
























Awards and Recognitions

Among Alfred V. Rascon's decorations and medals are the following:

Medal of Honor
Silver Star
Bronze Star
Purple Heart
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Staff Service Medal (First Class)
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Streamer
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Medical Badge
Master Parachutist Badge
Pathfinder Badge