Gary George Wetzel (born September 29, 1947) is a former

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 ...

Military career

Lyndon Johnson with 5 MOH recipients 29-2620M

Wetzel joined the

from

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, at age 18 in 1965. By January 8, 1968, he was a

private first class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

serving as a door gunner in the

173rd Assault Helicopter Company This is a List of aviation companies of the United States Army from the United States Army Aviation Branch The United States Army Aviation Branch is the administrative organization within the United States Army responsible for doctrine, manning ...

. On that day, near Ap Dong An,

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 ...

, his

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

was shot down and the survivors, including Wetzel, came under heavy enemy fire. Severely wounded by an explosion that nearly severed his left arm, he continued to man his machine gun and help other injured soldiers. Wetzel survived his wounds, although his left arm had to be

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indivi ...

. He was subsequently promoted to

specialist four Specialist is a military rank in some countries’ armed forces. Two branches of the United States Armed Forces use the rank. It is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the United States Army, above private (PVT), private (PV2), and private ...

and awarded the

for his actions.

Personal life

Wetzel lives in his hometown of

South Milwaukee, Wisconsin South Milwaukee is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History South Milwaukee was laid out in 1891 by the South Milwaukee com ...

, and works as a heavy equipment operator.

Medal of Honor citation

Wetzel's official Medal of Honor citation reads: cmoh army

References

Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wetzel, Gary George 1947 births Living people American amputees United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients United States Army soldiers Military personnel from Milwaukee Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from South Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Military career

Personal life

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References