Richard A. Anderson

He shielded a fellow Marine from a grenade during an ambush.

Richard Allen Anderson earned the Medal of Honor during a reconnaissance patrol in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, on August 24, 1969. A lance corporal and assistant team leader with Company E, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, he continued fighting after wounds to both legs.

Anderson maintained suppressive fire against a larger concealed enemy force and was wounded again at close range. While another Marine treated him, a grenade landed between the two men. Anderson rolled over it, taking the explosion and protecting his companion and nearby Marines. He died in the action.

Born in Washington, D.C., on April 16, 1948, Anderson grew up in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Smiley High School in 1966 and attended San Jacinto College before enlisting in the Marine Corps on April 8, 1968. After training, he joined the 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam in November 1968 and transferred to its reconnaissance battalion in January 1969. He received the Medal of Honor posthumously. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew presented it to his family at the White House on September 15, 1971. Anderson is buried at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an assistant team leader with Company E, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy. While conducting a patrol during the early morning hours L/Cpl. Anderson's reconnaissance team came under a heavy volume of automatic-weapons and machine-gun fire from a numerically superior and well-concealed enemy force. Although painfully wounded in both legs and knocked to the ground during the initial moments of the fierce firefight, L/Cpl. Anderson assumed a prone position and continued to deliver intense suppressive fire in an attempt to repulse the attackers. Moments later he was wounded a second time by an enemy soldier who had approached to within eight feet of the team's position. Undaunted, he continued to pour a relentless stream of fire at the assaulting unit, even while a companion was treating his leg wounds. Observing an enemy grenade land between himself and the other marine, L/Cpl. Anderson immediately rolled over and covered the lethal weapon with his body, absorbing the full effects of the detonation. By his indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and selfless devotion to duty, L/Cpl. Anderson was instrumental in saving several marines from serious injury or possible death. His actions were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.