Charles Chris Hagemeister (August 21, 1946 – May 19, 2021) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer 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 valo ...

, for his actions in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by 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 Vietnam a ...

Early life

Hagemeister was born in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

, on August 21, 1946. He was the youngest of four siblings in his family. He attended Lincoln Southeast High School, before studying at the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Univers ...

Vietnam War

Hagemeister was drafted into the

from his birth city of Lincoln, Nebraska, in May 1966, during a break from his university studies. By March 20 of the following year, he was serving as a specialist four in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion,

5th Cavalry Regiment The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service on August 3, 1861, when an act of Congress enacted "that the two regiments of dragoons, the regiment of mounted riflemen, and the t ...

, 1st Cavalry Division (Air mobile). He was previously serving as a medic. During a firefight on that day, in Binh Dinh Province,

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 t ...

, Hagemeister repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire in order to aid wounded comrades. He was subsequently promoted to specialist five and awarded the

for his actions.

Post-war life

Upon his return from military service, Hagemeister became a commissioned officer. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel before retiring in June 1990. He also served on the board of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

Personal life

Hagemeister was married to Barbara until his death. Together, they had two children. Hagemeister died on May 19, 2021, at Saint John Hospital in Leavenworth, Kansas. He was 74, and was one of only two surviving Medal of Honor recipients from Nebraska (the other being

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...

). He is buried at Leavenworth National Cemetery.

Medal of Honor citation

Specialist Hagemeister's Medal of Honor citation reads:

References