Harold Bascom Durham Jr.

His last warning saved wounded men as he directed artillery.

Harold Bascom Durham Jr. was born at Rocky Mount, North Carolina, on 12 October 1942 and grew up in Tifton, Georgia. Known to his family as Pinky, he finished high school in 1960, attended college in Colorado and worked in the hotel industry before enlisting in the Army in February 1964.

His first Vietnam tour was as an aircraft mechanic. He subsequently completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned in December 1966. Returning to Vietnam in September 1967, he served with Battery C, 6th Battalion, 15th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, as a forward observer supporting infantry operations.

On 17 October 1967, he accompanied Company D, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, on a reconnaissance mission near Ong Thanh. The battalion encountered a concealed enemy force. Durham exposed himself to adjust artillery fire and, during a lull, treated wounded men. When another forward observer was killed, he took over that officer's work as well.

A grenade seriously wounded Durham's head and impaired his vision. Refusing evacuation to cover, he continued directing fire close to the American position. Machine-gun fire wounded him again. As he lay dying, he saw enemy soldiers approaching and shooting the helpless wounded. His shouted warning enabled a nearby American to stop them. Durham died still holding his radio handset, five days after his twenty-fifth birthday.

His mother, Grace, received his posthumous Medal of Honor from Vice President Spiro Agnew and General William Westmoreland on 31 October 1969. He was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Tifton. His family and community continued to commemorate the officer whose final battlefield work combined artillery direction, medical assistance and protection of other casualties.