Danny J. Petersen

Covering a withdrawal from a disabled armored vehicle

Danny John Petersen earned a posthumous Medal of Honor in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam, on 9 January 1970. An armored personnel carrier commander with Company B, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry, he screened another disabled vehicle with suppressive fire. When his own carrier was hit, Petersen carried its wounded driver across exposed ground to safety. He then returned to his disabled vehicle and covered the platoon’s withdrawal from an exposed position. Enemy fire mortally wounded him while he stood firing from the vehicle, preventing further losses among his men.

Medal of Honor citation

Sp4c. Petersen distinguished himself while serving as an armored personnel carrier commander with Company B during a combat operation against a North Vietnamese Army force estimated to be of battalion size. During the initial contact with the enemy, an armored personnel carrier was disabled and the crewmen were pinned down by the heavy onslaught of enemy small-arms, automatic-weapons, and rocket-propelled-grenade fire. Sp4c. Petersen immediately maneuvered his armored personnel carrier to a position between the disabled vehicle and the enemy. He placed suppressive fire on the enemy's well- fortified position, thereby enabling the crewmembers of the disabled personnel carrier to repair their vehicle. He then maneuvered his vehicle, while still under heavy hostile fire, to within 10 feet of the enemy's defensive emplacement. After a period of intense fighting, his vehicle received a direct hit and the driver was wounded. With extraordinary courage and selfless disregard for his own safety, Sp4c. Petersen carried his wounded comrade 45 meters across the bullet-swept field to a secure area. He then voluntarily returned to his disabled armored personnel carrier to provide covering fire for both the other vehicles and the dismounted personnel of his platoon as they withdrew. Despite heavy fire from three sides, he remained with his disabled vehicle, alone and completely exposed. Sp4c. Petersen was standing on top of his vehicle, firing his weapon, when he was mortally wounded. His heroic and selfless actions prevented further loss of life in his platoon. Sp4c. Petersen's conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.