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Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson.
Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson relaxes during some down time while deployed in Vietnam.
Episode 2731 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson 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: Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson. It was submitted by Katie Lange, a writer for DOD News.
Lange, in her story, reported that during a fierce firefight in Vietnam, 21-year-old Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson watched as a grenade landed near his injured legs. Without hesitation, he made the decision to save the Marine helping him instead of himself. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Lange added this about Anderson; he was born April 16, 1948, in Washington, D.C., but his family moved to Houston when he was young. He liked to play football and compete in track and field before graduating from high school in May 1966. Anderson remained in the area to attend San Jacinto Junior College for about a year and a half.
By then, the war in Vietnam was raging, so Anderson left college. On April 8, 1968 — a week before he turned 20 — he joined the Marine Corps. He received training in Southern California and was shipped to Vietnam that fall.
Anderson was reassigned to the 3rd Marine Division shortly after he got there. He started as a rifleman and worked his way up to be assistant team leader of Company E of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. He was promoted to lance corporal on June 1, 1969.
Less than three months later, Anderson would be put to the ultimate test. During the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 1969, Anderson’s recon team was patrolling near Vandegrift Combat Base in the Quang Tri province.
Listen to episode 2731 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard A. Anderson and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
