Alfred Velasquez Rascon
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
Vietnam War

Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Velasquez Rascon is a retired U.S. Army officer who began his career as a medic in the Army. Rascon was awarded the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest award for valor, for his actions near Long Khanh Province during the Vietnam War. On more than one occasion Rascon exposed himself to enemy fire and grenades by covering the bodies of those whom he was aiding with his own.

Alfred Velasquez Rascon, a Mexican national, was born on 10 September 1945 in Chihuahua, Mexico as the only child of Alfredo and Andrea Rascon. The Rascon family, in search of a better way of life, immigrated to the U.S. They settled in Oxnard, CA, where Rascon received his primary and secondary education. On August 1963, he graduated from High school and enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Rascon received his Basic training at Fort Ord, CA, after which he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston, TX 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 at Fort Benning, GA.

Vietnam War

In February 1964, Rascon was assigned to Headquarters Company, Medical Platoon, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry (Airborne) of the 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) stationed in Okinawa.

On May 1965, 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 U.S. Army to serve there. They were also the first to go into War Zone D to destroy enemy base camps and to introduce the use of small long-range patrols.

On 16 March 1966, Rascon was assigned as a medic to a Reconnaissance Platoon of the 173d Airborne Brigade. The platoon's mission was to reinforce a sister battalion which was under intense enemy attack near Long Khanh Province. The Reconnaissance Platoon came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force. Several point squad soldiers were wounded and Sp4 Rascon made his way forward to aid his fallen comrades. More than once, Rascon exposed himself to enemy fire and grenades by covering the bodies of those whom he was aiding and absorbing the blast and fragments of the grenades with his own body. Each time he would drag his comrades to safety and crawl back to help someone else. Rascon was so badly wounded that day, that he was given the last rites.

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, for some unknown reason his nomination did not go through and he was instead awarded the Silver Star. In May 1966, he was honorably discharged from active duty and placed in the Army Reserves. Rascon attended college after he was discharged and, in 1967, he became a Naturalized U.S. Citizen.

In 1970, Rascon 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, Rascon was once again honorably discharged from active duty with the rank of Captain.

In 1976, Rascon was offered the position of U.S. Army military liaison officer, in the Republic of Panama and he accepted. 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, 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 Rascon. However, the Pentagon would not reconsider Rascon's case because so much time had elapsed. Therefore, Rascon's comrades sought the help of Congressman Lane Evans from Illinois. In 1997, Evans gave President Bill Clinton a packet containing the information about Rascon. The President then convinced the Pentagon to reopen the case.

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

Medal of Honor

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

Citation: Specialist Four Alfred Rascon, distinguished himself by a series of extraordinarily courageous acts on 16 March 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. Sp4 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, Sp4 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. Sp4 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, Sp4 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 Sp4 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. Sp4 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.

Later Years

On 22 May 2002, 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 1 September 2002, 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. Rascon served in Afghanistan and Iraq for the Medical Service Corps. He retired from the military with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Silver Star Medal
Bronze Star Medal
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

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, KY, 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.

He resides in Laurel, MD, is married, and has a daughter and a son.