Army Lt. Col. Harold Fritz was mere weeks away from leaving the Vietnam Warfare unscathed and heading dwelling to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, till he discovered himself amid a bloody firefight that may change his life and earn him the distinguished Medal of Honor.
Fritz, 81, was born in Chicago however in 1949, his household moved north to Lake Geneva, a Wisconsin vacationer magnet. Fritz loved a fairly typical Midwestern upbringing, stuffed with looking, fishing and Boy Scouts. He performed sports activities and was a member of the Future Farmers of America chapter at Badger Excessive Faculty the place he graduated in 1962.
Even at a younger age, Fritz was accountable. His principal at Badger praised him as an individual “everybody anticipated to succeed.”
Fritz, pursuing an training diploma, attended the College of Tampa. When not at school, Fritz logged time at a manufacturing unit to help Mary Ellen, his highschool sweetheart who grew to become his bride. Mary Ellen had turn into pregnant with the couple’s first youngster, Kimberly.
To help his rising household, Fritz dropped a couple of courses and picked up extra manufacturing unit hours. Uncle Sam observed. He obtained a letter stating he was drafted. He selected to enlist and entered the Army in April 1966. He was chosen for officer candidate faculty and after graduating OCS, Fritz was despatched to the eleventh Armored Cavalry Regiment.
Supreme Act of Bravery
In January 1968, Fritz was assigned to Vietnam. He was promoted to platoon chief for Troop A of the eleventh’s 1st Squadron. Having survived almost a yr in a struggle zone, he was able to go dwelling. However his management can be put to the take a look at in a grueling firefight that appeared insurmountable.
Jan. 11, 1969, started like some other day. Fritz, a primary lieutenant on the time, was main an armored column of seven automobiles alongside a freeway heading south from the Quan Loi Army base in South Vietnam to satisfy up with a truck convoy. All of a sudden, about 270 North Vietnamese troopers ambushed his troops. Fritz was severely wounded when his car took a direct hit.
Bloody and shaken, however understanding he needed to do one thing, Fritz jumped into his flaming car and began repositioning about 24 of his troops that might nonetheless battle, together with the remaining automobiles, hoping it will give his platoon an opportunity to flee.
“You don’t have time to consider your self,” Fritz instructed the Veterans Historical past Venture. “You’ve received to recollect it’s important to survive lengthy sufficient to get your folks out of there.”
That’s when adrenaline actually kicked in. Fritz ditched his personal security, sprinting from totally different automobiles, completely out within the open, to maintain repositioning his troopers to strengthen their defenses. Fritz tended to the wounded, handed out ammunition, directed their assault on the NVA, and emboldened the few troops nonetheless functioning to maintain up the battle.
Fritz led by instance, selecting up a machine gun and blasting away, inspiring others to return hearth, frightening the enemies to desert the assault.
However they weren’t out of the woods but.
Minutes after, a second wave of attackers ventured to inside 7 ft of his platoon’s place. However Fritz didn’t take into consideration being overwhelmed. He had solely a bayonet and a pistol at this level, but it surely mattered little. Fritz rallied his small, battered group to cost the enemy, invoking important casualties and pushing them out of place.
“When the chances are the best, then you definately’ve received to be essentially the most daring in what you do to show them round,” Fritz stated. “That’s what occurred.”
Lastly, aid. Perhaps. A backup platoon arrived however Fritz realized it wasn’t deployed adequately. Once more, he ran by way of enemy hearth to redirect the platoon’s place, which prompted the NVA to nix the ambush fully.
“The North Vietnamese discovered we have been a bit more durable [of a] pressure than they thought,” Fritz instructed the Veterans Historical past Venture.
Lighter Saved Him
Regardless of being badly wounded, Fritz dismissed medical consideration till all his troops have been handled and evacuated. Ultimately, he was despatched to a hospital through helicopter and shrapnel was extracted from his neck and again, and some gunshot wounds have been handled.
What saved his life throughout this horrendous ordeal? Smoking. Form of.
Fritz not smokes however he did whereas in Vietnam and a present from his spouse – a Zippo lighter – stored in his breast pocket, prevented a bullet from penetrating his chest.
“If it had not been there, it most likely would have hit me within the coronary heart and killed me,” Fritz stated. “Not that I am advocating smoking however had I not been a smoker at that specific time limit, possibly I wouldn’t be right here to inform the story.”
He didn’t convey again many objects upon leaving Vietnam in March 1969, however he made certain that Zippo was packed.
Medal of Honor ‘Overwhelming’
He remained within the Army and was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington. In early 1971, he was on the point of relocate to Fort Benning, Georgia when he fielded a shock name.
“Congratulations, Capt. Fritz,” the caller stated. “You’ve simply been awarded the Medal of Honor.”
“At first, it was disbelief,” Fritz stated. “It takes some time for it to actually sink in.”
Fritz was invited to the White Home the place President Richard Nixon pinned the Medal of Honor – the nation’s highest award for valor – round his neck on March 2, 1971, becoming a member of 5 fellow Army troops and one Marine to obtain the honour.
“It was actually overwhelming,” Fritz stated. “I really feel very humble and proud to be a recipient.”
Fritz and Mary Ellen had two extra kids, sons Christopher and Jeffrey, and he stayed within the Army whereas ending up his diploma from the College of Tampa in 1975. In 1993, after nearly 28 years within the Army, Fritz retired as a lieutenant colonel.
For the previous three many years, Fritz has participated in a number of occasions tied to veterans and speaks to college students in regards to the Medal of Honor and its significance.
“I attempt to inform folks the necessary job that the navy performs in holding this nation secure,” he stated.
And the accolades didn’t finish after his navy retirement. About 10 years in the past, he served as president of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. In 2024, the Veterans Help Fee in Peoria, Illinois was named in his honor and the airfield at Fort Irwin, California was named Fritz Discipline.
