Lewis Albanese

He cleared a trench alone and saved his platoon from ambush.

Lewis Albanese was born on 27 April 1946 in Italy. He moved to the United States as a small child and grew up in Seattle. After graduating from Franklin High School in 1964, he worked for Boeing. He entered the Army in October 1965, trained at Fort Carson, Colorado, and deployed to Vietnam in August 1966. He served as a private first class with Company B, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

On 1 December 1966 near Phu Muu II, Vietnam, concealed fire threatened his platoon's left flank. Albanese entered an enemy trench and advanced along it, silencing the positions that blocked his comrades' movement. He continued fighting after exhausting his ammunition and was mortally wounded. His action allowed the platoon to advance.

Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor presented his posthumous Medal of Honor to his family at the Pentagon on 16 February 1968. He is buried in Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle. His medal is held by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Pfc. Albanese's platoon, while advancing through densely covered terrain to establish a blocking position, received intense automatic-weapons fire from close range. As other members maneuvered to assault the enemy position, Pfc. Albanese was ordered to provide security for the left flank of the platoon. Suddenly, the left flank received fire from enemy located in a well-concealed ditch. Realizing the imminent danger to his comrades from this fire, Pfc. Albanese fixed his bayonet and moved aggressively into the ditch. His action silenced the sniper fire, enabling the platoon to resume movement toward the main enemy position. As the platoon continued to advance, the sound of heavy firing emanated from the left flank from a pitched battle that ensued in the ditch which Pfc. Albanese had entered. The ditch was actually a well-organized complex of enemy defenses designed to bring devastating flanking fire on the forces attacking the main position. Pfc. Albanese, disregarding the danger to himself, advanced 100 meters along the trench and killed six of the snipers, who were armed with automatic weapons. Having exhausted his ammunition, Pfc. Albanese was mortally wounded when he engaged and killed two more enemy soldiers in fierce hand-to-hand combat. His unparalleled actions saved the lives of many members of his platoon who otherwise would have fallen to the sniper fire from the ditch, and enabled his platoon to successfully advance against an enemy force of overwhelming numerical superiority. Pfc. Albanese's extraordinary heroism and supreme dedication to his comrades were commensurate with the finest traditions of the military service and remain a tribute to himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Citation source: Congressional Medal of Honor Society.