Charles Bedford Morris (December 29, 1931 – August 22, 1996) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

—for his actions in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Biography

Morris joined the Army from

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...

, in 1953,Service Profile
/ref> and briefly served during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

before serving in Vietnam. By June 29, 1966, he was a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in Company A, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate). During a firefight on that day in the

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, Morris continued to lead his squad, fight the enemy, and help the wounded despite being wounded himself four separate times. For his actions during the battle, he was promoted to

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

and, on December 14, 1967, awarded the Medal of Honor. Morris reached the highest enlisted rank,

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in the ...

, before retiring from the Army. He died at age 64 and was buried in Morris Cemetery,

Fancy Gap, Virginia Fancy Gap is a census-designated place (CDP) in Carroll County, Virginia. The population was 237 at the 2010 census. Geography Fancy Gap is located at (36.669884, −80.700892). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total are ...

Medal of Honor citation

Staff Sergeant Morris' Medal of Honor citation reads:

References

: * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Charles B. 1931 births 1996 deaths United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers People from Carroll County, Virginia Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor

Biography

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References