Richard A. Penry

Infobox Military Person
name=Richard Allen Penry
born= Birth date|1948|11|18
died= Death date and age|1994|5|9|1948|11|18
placeofbirth=Petaluma, California
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=


caption=
nickname=
allegiance=United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=
rank=Sergeant
commands=
unit=12th Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade
battles=Vietnam War
awards=Medal of Honor Distinguished Service Cross
relations=
laterwork=

Richard Allen Penry (November 18, 1948–May 9, 1994) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Biography

Born in Petaluma, California, Penry joined the Army from Oakland, California, and by January 31 1970 was serving as a Sergeant in Company C, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade. On that day, in Binh Tuy Province of the Republic of Vietnam, his unit came under an intense enemy attack. After the company commander was wounded, Penry helped organize the defense of the area and repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to retrieve supplies and return fire.

Penry died at age 45 and was buried in Cypress Hill Memorial Park in Petaluma. Penry has two namesakes in his hometown: a park that was renamed in his honor, and a small military museum, the Sgt. Richard Penry Medal of Honor Memorial Military Museum, where his Medal of Honor is displayed.

Medal of Honor citation

Sergeant Penry's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

:For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sgt. Penry, Company C, distinguished himself while serving as a rifleman during a night ambush mission. As the platoon was preparing the ambush position, it suddenly came under an intense enemy attack from mortar, rocket, and automatic weapons fire which seriously wounded the company commander and most of the platoon members, leaving small isolated groups of wounded men throughout the area. Sgt. Penry, seeing the extreme seriousness of the situation, worked his way through the deadly enemy fire to the company command post where he administered first aid to the wounded company commander and other personnel. He then moved the command post to a position which provided greater protection and visual communication and control of other platoon elements.s approached, Sgt. Penry voluntarily left the perimeter, set up a guiding beacon, established the priorities for evacuation and successively carried 18 wounded men to the extraction site. After all wounded personnel had been evacuated, Sgt. Penry joined another platoon and assisted in the pursuit of the enemy. Sgt. Penry's extraordinary heroism at the risk of his own life are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

ee also

*List of Medal of Honor recipients
*List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War

References

*findagrave|7862085 Retrieved on 2007-06-27

*cite web
publisher = U.S. Army Center of Military History
title = Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipients (M-Z)
work = Medal of Honor Citations
date = October 3 2003
url = http://www.army.mil/cmh/html/moh/vietnam-m-z.html
accessdate = 2007-06-27

*cite web
publisher = Petaluma Visitor Center
title = Museums in Petaluma
work = Military Museum
date = 2004
url = http://www.visitpetaluma.com/activities_Museums.asp?action=view&id=20
accessdate = 2008-01-30

Persondata
NAME= Penry, Richard A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= United States Army Medal of Honor recipient
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=