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Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley Jr. was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for valorous actions near Lang Vei, South Vietnam, Feb. 6-7, 1968. He was assigned to Detachment A-101, Company C, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at the time of his death.
Episode 2704 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Vietnam Vet Eugene Ashley Jr. and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Monday: Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley Jr. It was submitted by Katie Lange, a writer for DOD News.
Lange in her story reported that according to DoD documents, Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley Jr.’s bravery was integral in rescuing Special Forces troops during the Battle of Lang Vei, which marked the first enemy use of tanks in the Vietnam War. Ashley, a Green Beret, never made it home from the war, but his determination earned him unending respect and the Medal of Honor.
Lange also reported that Ashley was born on Oct. 12, 1931, in Wilmington, North Carolina, to Eugene and Cornelia Ashley. He had two sisters, Gertrude and Louise.
Not long after Ashely was born, the family moved to New York City, where he grew up and attended Alexander Hamilton High School. After graduation, Ashley was weary of going into a dead-end job, so on Dec. 7, 1950, he joined the Army.
Since the Korean War was in progress, Ashley was initially sent to serve there with the 187th Regimental Combat Team. In the years after he returned, he served in many capacities, including as an infantryman, ambulance driver, anti-aircraft ammunition handler and as a specialist in heavy weapons and parachute repair. He also served as a cavalry and armored battle group squad leader, as well as a company sergeant.
According to Lange’s story, Ashley was sent to Vietnam in January 1968, in February, 1968 Ashley was serving as a senior advisor in the 5th SFG’s Detachment A-101 at Special Forces Camp Lang Vei in the northwest corner of South Vietnam. Located about a mile from the Laos border and 8 kilometers west of the U.S. Marine base at Khe Sanh, the camp was established in December 1966 as an outpost where Ashley’s detachment could train and equip locally recruited Vietnamese soldiers.
Listen to episode 2704 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Eugene Ashley Jr. and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
