Douglas E. Dickey

He covered a live grenade to protect the wounded beside him.

Douglas Eugene Dickey earned a posthumous Medal of Honor near Gio An in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, on 26 March 1967. A private first class with Company C, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, he protected fellow Marines during close fighting in dense jungle.

Dickey was born in Greenville, Ohio, on 24 December 1946. After graduating from high school in 1965, he enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve that December and entered the regular Marine Corps in April 1966. He completed recruit and infantry training in California before joining the 4th Marines in Vietnam in October. He fought in Operations Prairie, Deckhouse and Desoto before the final action.

During Operation Beacon Hill 1, Dickey moved forward to replace a radio operator who had been wounded. As a Navy corpsman treated that Marine, an enemy grenade landed among the group. Dickey immediately covered the grenade with his body. The explosion killed him but protected the wounded radio operator and other nearby Marines from the full blast.

Secretary of the Navy Paul R. Ignatius presented the Medal of Honor to Dickey's family at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., on 16 April 1968. Dickey is buried in Brock Cemetery, Ohio. His citation records the protection of comrades, including a man unable to move to safety himself.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While participating in Operation Beacon Hill 1, the 2d Platoon was engaged in a fierce battle with the Viet Cong at close-range in dense jungle foliage. Pfc. Dickey had come forward to replace a radio operator who had been wounded in this intense action and was being treated by a medical corpsman. Suddenly an enemy grenade landed in the midst of a group of marines, which included the wounded radio operator who was immobilized. Fully realizing the inevitable result of his actions, Pfc. Dickey, in a final valiant act, quickly and unhesitatingly threw himself upon the deadly grenade, absorbing with his body the full and complete force of the explosion. Pfc. Dickey's personal heroism, extraordinary valor and selfless courage saved a number of his comrades from certain injury and possible death at the cost of his life. His actions reflected great credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.