March, 1966. Quảng Ngãi Province, Republic of Vietnam. Operation UTAH – a joint operation between the U.S. Marines and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) to battle North Vietnamese Army (NVA) within the province – is in full impact. 19 yr outdated Personal First Class Danny Hernandez of M Firm, third Battalion/1st Marines, has already misplaced 17 fellow Marines from his Firm in simply in the future.
What occurs subsequent is a story of long-forgotten bravery adopted by the battle to put these actions of their rightful spot in historical past. This unique interview with Army.com will spotlight Danny’s extraordinary heroism, the lengthy await recognition, and the committee devoted to upgrading his award to the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Operation Utah
When the Marines of M Firm, 3/1, commenced Operation Utah, they thought they might be preventing extra of the small firefights they’d gotten accustomed to since conducting an amphibious touchdown into South Vietnam in January. What they didn’t anticipate was the primary main engagement between the U.S. Marines and a regimental sized NVA ingredient.
Because the Marines started participating the NVA, they pushed into rice paddies and settled into the flat terrain. Instantly, they grew to become suppressed. As they grew to become closely engaged with an NVA unit in a close-by bunker complicated, Danny observed a badly wounded Marine, Personal First Class Joel Rodriguez, mendacity close to the enemy’s place. What occurs subsequent, based on his quotation, represents the utmost beliefs of braveness, bravery, and dedication to obligation – all with full disregard for his personal private well-being.
Personal First Class Hernandez, giving no thought to his personal security, fearlessly ran throughout an space of heavy enemy fireplace, picked up the wounded Marine, and carried him to security.
Within the course of, Danny himself was shot within the again. Despite this, he refused evacuation, stopping solely to permit a Corpsman to bandage the wound. He then returned to the battle, instantly resuming fireplace in assist of the bunker assault. Danny then hears loud shouts from a gaggle of wounded Marines, and worse – he sees enemy troopers advancing and firing upon his injured comrades.
Realizing that he was the one factor standing between life and demise for these Marines, PFC Hernandez leapt from his coated place and drew the enemy’s fireplace himself.
As soon as extra giving no thought to his personal private security and ignoring the ache of his earlier gunshot wound, he killed the enemy in a “livid trade of gunfire” and saved the lives of his wounded brothers. Danny himself described the incident in an interview with Army.com:
“I began listening to ‘oh my God, assist!’ from the MEDEVAC zone, and I see bullets capturing on the wounded. At that time, I made my peace with God and jumped again in. I simply began operating in the direction of the enemy with my machine gun totally loaded. I used to be firing away, going at them whereas the enemy jumped again into the tunnel – and I adopted them. Then the tunnel collapsed. I got here out, however after that I didn’t have something left in me.”
Danny tells the story in the present day in ferocious element. Recalling exact particulars of the battle. After what felt like an eternity, he regained his energy and went along with a group assembled to get the lifeless and wounded. As they pushed ahead, participating extra pockets of resistance, Danny himself can be shot once more, this time within the head. He crawled to the Corpsman to get patched up and was shortly taken to a MEDEVAC zone because the Marines have been in a position to set up a web site for a helicopter to land; Danny and the our bodies of deceased Marines have been then loaded into the plane.
“Within the helicopter I used to be the one one alive. The blood of all of the lifeless Marines was flowing out and obtained throughout me. Once they lastly put me on an working desk they thought my accidents have been even worse than they have been due to all of the blood. But it surely was everybody else’s blood.”
Danny was transferred to Guam for medical care and 4 months later he was again in Vietnam with the Marines of M Firm, 3/1. He would finally spend 16 months abroad with 12 months in fight.
Forgotten Heroism
Despite his heroic actions in 1966, it will take over 43 years till the U.S. army acknowledged his bravery. Attributable to a misunderstanding and misplaced paperwork, Danny’s Silver Star Quotation (written shortly after the incident) wouldn’t truly be submitted till many years later.
In a ceremony in 2009, Daniel was lastly awarded the Silver Star in a ceremony attended by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, himself a longtime advocate of the Marines, and offered by (then) MajGen John Kelly (later White Home Chief of Workers).
“There’s a distinction between motion heroes in films, and motion heroes in actual life. Danny is an actual motion hero,” Governor Schwarzenegger remarked on the ceremony.
Common Kelly’s glowing reward additionally paints an image of Danny’s sacrifice: “It takes a particular individual to know you’ve a ticket out of battle, and you continue to don’t take it. These males would have died had it not been for Danny.”
The Struggle to Improve to the Medal of Honor
A committee was shaped by advocates that acknowledged the heroic deeds of Danny Hernandez. Hubert Yoshida, a platoon commander in seventh Marines throughout Operation UTAH, took cost of the herculean effort to acknowledge Danny with the nation’s highest honor. He went by way of the painstaking technique of gathering witness statements, submitting all required paperwork, working by way of congressional representatives, and making all revisions alongside the best way as required.
Sadly, Yoshida handed away in April, 2025, after a battle with most cancers. However in his closing years as he was battling most cancers, he devoted every little thing he had left to making sure that Danny can be acknowledged for his heroism. In a assertion earlier than his passing, Yoshida remarked “In my analysis I got here throughout many heroic acts which I documented from eye witness accounts and award citations. Danny’s motion stood out as significantly brave and I started to check it with different increased awards that got for related actions in different battles in Vietnam, and got here to the conclusion that Danny ought to be certified for the very best award, the Congressional Medal of Honor.”
The battle from these brothers in arms stands out to Danny.
“I don’t know clarify it. Yoshida stored preventing for this whereas battling most cancers. Males like Lieutenant Lupori and Hubert Yoshida stored their phrase. That’s the actual story right here. The individuals who need somebody to have one thing and put the trouble in.”
Danny acknowledged in the course of the interview that the actual worth of Medal of Honor recognition can be what it means to the lads who sacrificed with Mike Firm, 3/1, and all of the veterans of Operation UTAH.
A Lifelong Dedication to Service
“I didn’t personal valor. Valor belongs to all those who fought in Operation Utah.” – Danny Hernandez
Within the lengthy years since Operation UTAH, Danny has maintained his dedication to service. Lengthy serving as a neighborhood chief within the better Los Angeles space – significantly as CEO of the Hollenbeck Youth Middle and founding father of the Inside-Metropolis Video games. A product of East Los Angeles within the 50s and 60s, Danny navigated excessive poverty and gang violence to make it in the US Marine Corps; finally rising to the event when his brothers in arms wanted him essentially the most.
Danny is an American hero who demonstrated conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity on the danger of his personal life, above and past the decision of obligation. This Nationwide Veterans Month, it’s time to acknowledge that.
For extra info concerning efforts to improve Danny’s Silver Star to a Medal of Honor, Danny’s e-book, and data concerning his upcoming documentary please see the “committee to improve Sgt. Danny Hernandez.”
