Roger Hugh Charles Donlon (born January 30, 1934) is a former

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. He is the first person to receive 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 ...

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 ...

, as well as the first member of the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

to be so honored.

Early life and education

Donlon was born in

Saugerties, New York Saugerties () is a town in the northeastern corner of Ulster County, New York. The population was 19,038 at the time of the 2020 Census, a decline from 19,482 in 2010. The village of the same name is located entirely within the town. Par ...

, the eighth child of ten. He attended the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University for a year. He joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...

in 1953 and was admitted to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1955, but resigned for personal reasons. He re-enlisted, this time in the United States Army, in 1958, went to

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typ ...

, and served as a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

's aide. In August 1963 he joined the

Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. He earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kn ...

in 1967.

Career

In May 1964, Donlon's team was sent to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

where they established an outpost at Nam Dong, about from the border with Laos. Early in the morning of July 6, 1964, the base was attacked by a large force of

Vietcong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

. Under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Donlon's leadership, the two-

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

attack was repelled. Donlon received the

for his actions. Donlon later retired at the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

. Donlon was awarded the key to the city of Lexington, Kentucky, by mayor Fred Fugazzi on June 28, 1965. In 1965, Donlon received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet o ...

. Donlon has written two books about his experiences in the Vietnam War: ''Outpost of Freedom'' and ''Beyond Nam Dong''. He lives in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

with his wife Norma and children.

Medal of Honor citation

Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army. Place and date: Near Nam Dong, Republic of Vietnam, July 6, 1964. Entered service at:

Fort Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center is an Army National Guard installation in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith. Established as Camp Chaffee in 1941, renamed to Fort Chaffee in 1956, Fort Chaffee has served as a United ...

, Arkansas. Born: January 30, 1934, Saugerties, New York. General Orders No. 41: December 17, 1964. Citation:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donlon, Roger 1934 births Living people People from Saugerties, New York State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry alumni Members of the United States Army Special Forces United States Army colonels United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army Medal of Honor recipients Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam Recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor

Early life and education

Career

Medal of Honor citation

See also

References

Further reading

External links