Daniel D. Bruce

He carried that explosive charge away to save three Marines.

Daniel Dean Bruce earned a posthumous Medal of Honor at Fire Support Base Tomahawk in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, on 1 March 1969. A private first class and mortarman with Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, he saved three fellow Marines during an attack on their defensive position.

Bruce was born in Michigan City, Indiana, on 18 May 1950. He attended Garfield Grammar School, Barker Junior High School and Elston Senior High School. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve at Chicago on 20 May 1968 and entered the regular Marine Corps on 17 July. After training in California, he became a private first class on 1 January 1969 and received orders for Vietnam later that month. He served in the 1st Marine Division. His award was accredited to Chicago, Illinois.

While on watch early that morning, Bruce heard movement beyond the position. When an explosive charge was thrown toward him, he caught it and warned his companions. He then attempted to carry it away from the nearby Marines. The device exploded as he moved away, killing him while shielding the others from its force.

President Richard M. Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Bruce's family at the White House on 16 February 1971. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Michigan City. His citation commemorates an immediate decision to protect others at the cost of his own life.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a Mortar Man with Headquarters and Service Company, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division, against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. Early on the morning of 1 March 1969, Private First Class Bruce was on watch in his night defensive position at Fire Support Base Tomahawk in Quang Nam Province when he heard movements ahead of him. An enemy explosive charge was thrown toward his position and he reacted instantly, catching the device and shouting to alert his companions. Realizing the danger to the adjacent position with its two occupants, Private First Class Bruce held the device to his body and attempted to carry it from the vicinity of the entrenched Marines. As he moved away, the charge detonated and he absorbed the full force of the explosion. Private First Class Bruce's indomitable courage, inspiring valor and selfless devotion to duty saved the lives of three of his fellow Marines and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.