Charlie Liteky, Army chaplain in Vietnam who gave back Medal of Honor, dies
Source: CBS
SAN FRANCISCO -- Charlie Liteky, an Army chaplain in Vietnam who won the Medal of Honor for rescuing more than 20 wounded men but later gave it back in protest and became a peace activist, has died.
Longtime friend Richard Olive said Liteky died Friday night at the Veterans Administration Hospital in San Francisco. He was 85.
The Army awarded Liteky the highest military decoration for his actions on Dec. 6, 1967, when his company came under intense fire from an enemy battalion in Bien Hoa province. Despite painful wounds in the neck and foot, Liteky carried more than 20 men to the landing zone to be evacuated during the fierce firefight.
“Noticing another trapped and seriously wounded man, Chaplain Liteky crawled to his aid,” the Army’s official citation reads. “Realizing that the wounded man was too heavy to carry, he rolled on his back, placed the man on his chest and through sheer determination and fortitude crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels to push himself along.”
Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-liteky-dead-vietnam-medal-of-honor/
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Met him at a VFP meeting around a picnic table in somebody's backyard. Brian Willson was there, too. Both were impressive, and I later got some helpful phone counseling from Charlie on peace activism. He was truly a wise and compassionate man, a humanitarian with both physical and moral courage.
R.I.P., Charlie.
