David H. McNerney

David Herbert McNerney was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States militarys highest decorationthe Medal of Honorfor 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 units 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 andyears of service, McNerney retired in 1969 and began a career as a customs inspector in Houston.

McNerney was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1931, into an Irish Catholic family with a history of military service. He was one of five children of Edward and Helen McNerney his siblings were Ruth, Edward, Richard, and Susan. His father was a decorated World War I veteran who received the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and two Purple Hearts. Two of his siblings served in World War II, Ruth as an Army nurse and Edward as a submariner on the USS160Dace, and a third, Richard, was an Air Force fighter pilot during the Vietnam War.

Source: Wikipedia