Larry G. Dahl

Covering a grenade, he saved the men near him in a gun truck

Larry Gilbert Dahl was born at Oregon City, Oregon, on 10 June 1949. He later lived in Washington State and entered the Army from Portland in 1969. He went to Vietnam in June 1970 and served in the 359th Transportation Company, 27th Transportation Battalion.

Dahl worked around the company’s armoured gun trucks and became friendly with the crew of Brutus. After the vehicle was attacked in November 1970, killing one crewman and wounding others, he and fellow soldiers took over its operation. Their task was to escort supply convoys along roads vulnerable to ambush.

On 23 February 1971, near An Khe in Binh Dinh Province, Brutus was among the gun trucks sent to help a convoy under attack. Dahl served as a machine gunner while the trucks delivered heavy covering fire against the ambushers. The firing subsided, and the crews prepared to return to their escort duties.

At that moment an enemy soldier threw a grenade into Brutus. Dahl immediately shouted a warning and threw himself onto it. The explosion killed him and wounded other crew members, but his body absorbed the blast which would otherwise have struck them directly. His action saved the other men in the truck.

He was buried at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland. Vice President Gerald Ford presented the posthumous Medal of Honor to his family at Blair House on 8 August 1974. The Navy later named a logistics ship USNS Larry G. Dahl in his honour, carrying the name of a transportation soldier whose final act protected his crew.

Official Medal of Honor citation

Sp4c. Dahl distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while serving as a machine gunner on a gun truck near An Khe, Binh Dinh Province. The gun truck in which Sp4c. Dahl was riding was sent with two other gun trucks to assist in the defense of a convoy that had been ambushed by an enemy force. The gun trucks entered the battle zone and engaged the attacking enemy troops with a heavy volume of machine-gun fire, causing a large number of casualties. After a brief period of intense fighting the attack subsided. As the gun trucks were preparing to return to their normal escort duties, an enemy hand grenade was thrown into the truck in which Sp4c. Dahl was riding. Instantly realizing the great danger, Sp4c. Dahl called a warning to his companions and threw himself directly onto the grenade. Through his indomitable courage, complete disregard for his safety, and profound concern for his fellow soldiers, Sp4c. Dahl saved the lives of the other members of the truck crew while sacrificing his own. Sp4c. Dahl's conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Congressional Medal of Honor Society recipient record.