David H. McNerney Medal of Honor Recipient David Herbert McNerney (June 2, 1931 – October 10, 2010) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. A native of Massachusetts who moved to Houston, Texas, as a child, McNerney served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War before enlisting in the Army. He was recognized with the Medal of Honor when, as a first sergeant in Vietnam on March 22, 1967, his company came under attack by a numerically superior North Vietnamese force. They nearly split the company and killed or wounded all of the officers. Although wounded, McNerney took command of the company and organized the unit's defense, exposing himself to hostile fire to mark and clear a helicopter landing site. He refused to be evacuated for an entire day until a new commander came. After serving four tours of duty in Vietnam and 16 years of service, McNerney retired in 1969 and began a career as a customs inspector in Houston. McNerney served two combat tours in Korea with the Navy before joining the Army.[6] He enlisted in the Army in 1953 at Fort Bliss, Texas In 1962, he volunteered for special warfare training and was among the first 500 U.S. military advisers sent to Vietnam. He was deployed to that country a second time in 1964. In 1965, McNerney was sent to Ft. Lewis, Washington, to train soldiers. McNerney had a hard reputation and was seen as a tough, no-nonsense man. He was selected to lead Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. After they completed training and were sent to Vietnam, McNerney was not scheduled to go with them. However, during their year of training together, McNerney and the company developed an extremely strong bond, and McNerney volunteered to return to Vietnam with Company A During the Battle of Polei Doc, A Company's (totaling 108 troops) casualties include 22 men killed in action and 42 wounded, a 60% casualty rate. After the battle, U.S. troops identified 139 NVA KIA around the A 1/8 perimeter, and another 400 NVA graves were located in the area a short time later. As a result of their actions during the battle that day, two men were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, 7 the Silver Star, 25 the Bronze Star, and 65 a Purple Heart. McNerney was awarded the Medal of Honor. To evacuate wounded and bring in fresh supplies, helicopter pilot CWO Donald Rawlinson repeatedly returned to the company's position despite heavy enemy small-arms fire. Lt. Col. Rick Sauer later said, "He came and flew out the wounded. He risked his life multiple times. … The back of his Huey helicopter was just flowing in blood from continually taking out the wounded people. He did quite a job. ” Rawlinson was recognized with the Distinguished Flying Cross and was adopted as a member of A Company by its troops. The battalion was one of the most highly decorated battalions of the Vietnam War. Four members were recognized with Medals of Honor within a 60-day period. McNerney returned to the United States in August 1967 and worked as a training instructor at Fort Dix, New Jersey. During a ceremony at the White House on September 19, 1968, he was formally presented with the Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He volunteered for a fourth tour in Vietnam with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, before retiring as a first sergeant in December 1969 Medal of Honor citation Medal of Honor McNerney's Medal of Honor citation reads: 1st Sgt. McNerney distinguished himself when his unit was attacked by a North Vietnamese battalion near Polei Doc. Running through the hail of enemy fire to the area of heaviest contact, he was assisting in the development of a defensive perimeter when he encountered several enemy at close range. He killed the enemy but was painfully injured when blown from his feet by a grenade. In spite of this injury, he assaulted and destroyed an enemy machinegun position that had pinned down 5 of his comrades beyond the defensive line. Upon learning his commander and artillery forward observer had been killed, he assumed command of the company. He adjusted artillery fire to within 20 meters of the position in a daring measure to repulse enemy assaults. When the smoke grenades used to mark the position were gone, he moved into a nearby clearing to designate the location to friendly aircraft. In spite of enemy fire he remained exposed until he was certain the position was spotted and then climbed into a tree and tied the identification panel to its highest branches. Then he moved among his men readjusting their position, encouraging the defenders and checking the wounded. As the hostile assaults slackened, he began clearing a helicopter landing site to evacuate the wounded. When explosives were needed to remove large trees, he crawled outside the relative safety of his perimeter to collect demolition material from abandoned rucksacks. Moving through a fusillade of fire he returned with the explosives that were vital to the clearing of the landing zone. Disregarding the pain of his injury and refusing medical evacuation 1st Sgt. McNerney remained with his unit until the next day when the new commander arrived. First Sgt. McNerney's outstanding heroism and leadership were inspirational to his comrades. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country

David H. McNerney Past Commander's Percy Scott 1948-1949 Edwin Swanson 1950 Joe Krauskoppf 1921-1957 Ike Patrick 1592-1953, 1959 Felix Dlouhy JR. 1954-1955 Percy Scott 1956 Frank Zalesak 1958, 1960, 1968 Marion Ripkowski 1961, 1965 Edwin Hylton 1962 Lee Roy Weselka 1963 Rudy Rucka 1964, 1966 Charlie Cream 1967, 1969 Gerald Michalsky 1970-1971 Ronald Hechler 1972 E.M Hill 1973 Donald Busker 1974-1975 Clarence Brooks 1976-1978 Larry Stasney 1979-1984 James D Manley 1985 Andres G. Soto 1986 E.L Sirocka 1987-1988, 1992, 1995, 1999 Zeb D Adams 1989-1990 Ronald Stasney 1991 Dennis G. Rusher 1993-1994 Melissa A. Sanders 1996 Gordon Holy 1997-1998 Frank Wilder 2000-2001, 2006-2007 Joe Anselmo 2002-2003 Don Guillory 2004-2005 Gerald Blankenship 2008 Patrick Yancey 2009-2011 Ruth Sholler 2011-2012 Bob Boyles 2012-2014 Don Guillory 2014- Present