David Gauntlett, a Vietnam War veteran, received the Bronze Star Medal with Valor on Oct. 19 during a ceremony in Salem, Oregon—57 years after he remained at his post operating radios during repeated mortar fire in 1969.
Gauntlett, then a 20-year-old Air Force sergeant, operated a radio at the Song Be Base Camp in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, from May 12-14, 1969. The compound came under repeated mortar fire, and he stayed in an exposed radio jeep for three days and nights with little rest. His radio was the only link for coordinating airstrikes and air support across the province. Mortar shrapnel wounded him in the shoulder, but he continued operating the radios. According to his award citation, his actions accelerated the effort to find and destroy the source of the attacks and reduced possible casualties.
The medal was recommended in 1969, but the paperwork was lost. Around 2000, Gauntlett reconnected with Dick Gerry, a former Air Force captain who had been in charge of the forward air control detachment at the base camp. Gerry found his original typed draft of the citation from 1969, launching a five-year effort to rebuild and validate the recommendation. Rep. Val Hoyle's office worked with the War Department on the case, and supporters tracked down eyewitnesses from 1969.
Rep. Hoyle said the delay was inexcusable. "It shouldn't have taken 57 years for a country that says we prioritize our veterans," she said. Hoyle noted that an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act would streamline the process for other veterans facing similar delays. She and Sen. Ron Wyden first presented the medal to Gauntlett at a town hall in Brookings, Oregon, before the formal ceremony.
During the ceremony, Gauntlett said he accepted the medal on behalf of everyone who served. He dedicated it to the more than 58,000 service members whose names are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the more than 300,000 who were wounded, the 7,484 women who served during the war, and the 2,700,000 young Americans who served in the war.
In his remarks, Gauntlett recognized the veterans who helped make the award possible. Robert Pryor, who served with the 5th Special Forces Group in 1969, said after the ceremony that Gauntlett saved his life. Pryor was gravely wounded on June 20, 1969, during an attack at Camp Bunard in Phuoc Long Province and received the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.
Army Brig. Gen. Russell Gibson, Oregon's assistant adjutant general, hosted the ceremony. He said Gauntlett's actions exemplified the qualities expected of National Guard members today—mastering basics, being competent in one's skill set, and having disciplined initiative.