I Know of a Hero

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Threw himself on a grenade in the mud
Fortunately for him, it was a dud. 

Not I, but it know of a hero who...
Flew his helicopter in with enemy all around
Tried to fly away, was shot to the ground. 

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Threw his body on a grenade to soften the blast
Gave of his own life so others will last. 

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Shot six snipers, plus two more by hand
Sacrificed himself, while his platoon made a stand. 

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Made five charges to create a perimeter gap
Enabling his company to exit the trap

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Encouraged and directed his men where to return fire
Pushed back the enemy outside the wire

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Positioned himself to protect his friend
Watched the enemy aim, knowing it's the end

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Sees a grenade come in, his own life to give
Covers with his helmet, all men will live

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Single handily reduced the enemy into defeat
Provided cover, while the wounded made a retreat

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Fell on a grenade and survived the blast
Gave aid to his comrade, before he passed

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Pulled the wounded to safety, giving CPR as he went
Aided his comrades, until he himself was spent

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Pilot can't survive the crash, but the navigator can
Ditched plane in the water, to save the other man

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Destroyed 10 enemy bunkers and more
Saved his own life, and those of his corps

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Utilized 3 helicopters, to evacuate 51
It's hard to comprehend what he had just done

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Caught an incoming grenade and held it to his chest
Saved 3 of his comrades, from the blast he suppressed

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Was seriously wounded and driven to win
Took a rocket, to do him in

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Destroyed a bunker and performed without a flaw
Forcing enemy troops, to quickly withdraw

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Organized a retreat to save his men
Went back in, to do it all again

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Malfunctioned his grenade, seconds to react
To save his platoon, he absorbed the impact

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Was a POW who adhered to the code
Gained respect from the enemy, for the valor he showed

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Rolled over on grenade so comrades wouldn't pass away
Energized his team, to defeat the NVA

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Crossed a river to recover his wounded when success was slim
Moved them all to safety, even though he couldn't swim

Not I, but I know of a hero who...
Kept his damaged jet in the air to complete his mission
Silenced the enemy defensive position


These two line poems are snapshots of the actions of Medal of Honor recipients from the Vietnam War. Each Medal of Honor award is accompanied by a citation that describes the recipients war actions in detail. The citation is rather lengthy and written in military language, so very few people ever read them or understand them. My goal here is to respect the actions of these courageous and unselfish men who fought for their country and to make their story available to the general public in a short clever read. Thank you for reading this. 

PS. The Medal of Honor is the highest award the military has to offer. There were 254 Medal of Honor recipients in the Vietnam War.