Jesus Santiago Duran

He advanced his machine gun to protect his wounded comrades.

Jesus Santiago Duran was born at Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on 26 July 1948, one of twelve children. His family made its home in the United States, and he entered the Army in May 1968. He trained as an infantryman and deployed to Vietnam with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.

On 10 April 1969 in Tay Ninh Province, his company encountered a heavily defended enemy position. Intense fire threatened the command post and pinned down wounded soldiers. Duran moved forward with his M60 machine gun, firing from the hip as he advanced. He attacked the positions holding up the company and brought effective fire onto men occupying covered emplacements.

His continued movement under fire helped protect the wounded and disrupted the enemy's resistance. He was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The action was reviewed decades later as part of the examination of cases involving Jewish and Hispanic servicemen whose gallantry might not have received appropriate recognition.

After leaving the army, Duran worked as a juvenile corrections officer in San Bernardino County, California. He took an active interest in the young people in his care, including arranging outings and trying to give them experiences beyond their immediate circumstances. He married twice and had two children. He died at Riverside on 17 February 1977 and was buried in Olivewood Memorial Park.

His Distinguished Service Cross was upgraded to the Medal of Honor, which President Barack Obama presented to his daughter, Tina Duran Ruvalcaba, on 18 March 2014. The ceremony brought national recognition to an action whose participant had not lived to see the review. His family remembered both his military courage and the concern for young people that shaped his work after Vietnam.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Specialist Four Jesus S. Duran distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an acting M-60 machine gunner in Company E, 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) during combat operations against an armed enemy in the Republic of Vietnam on April 10, 1969. That afternoon, the reconnaissance platoon was moving into an elaborate enemy bunker complex when the lead elements began taking concentrated ambush fire from every side.

The command post was in imminent danger of being overrun. With an M-60 machinegun blazing from his hip, Specialist Four Duran rushed forward and assumed a defensive position near the command post. As hostile forces stormed forward, Specialist Four Duran stood tall in a cloud of dust raised by the impacting rounds and bursting grenades directed towards him and thwarted the enemy with devastating streams of machinegun fire.

Learning that two seriously wounded troopers lay helplessly pinned down under harassing fire, Specialist Four Duran assaulted the suppressive enemy positions, firing deadly bursts on the run. Mounting a log, he fired directly into the enemy’s foxholes, eliminating four and cutting down several others as they fled. Specialist Four Duran then continued to pour effective fire on the disorganized and fleeing enemy.

Specialist Four Duran’s extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.