On the night of 19 July 1953, In the vicinity of Mundung-ni, Korea, Lt. Richard S. Agnew (40th ID) was leading a combat patrol deep behind UN lines when he and the assistant patrol leader fell from a cliff. Although injured from the fall, Lt. Agnew ordered the patrol to return to friendly lines and establish plans to rejoin allied forces the following evening.
That next night, Agnew and his comrade scaled the cliff and proceeded towards friendly territory. When challenged by an enemy soldier, Agnew simply hurled a hand grenade towards the soldier, killing him instantly but seriously wounding himself in the process.
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With the echo of the explosion, the enemy retaliated with a hail of small arms and grenade fire. An enemy soldier ran towards Agnew armed with a knife, and while ignoring his weakened condition, he engaged him in hand to hand combat and killed him with his own weapon.
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Hearing other enemy forces advancing, Lt. Agnew had no intentions of becoming a prisoner, so pulled the pin on his remaining hand grenade and tied it to his hand before falling to the ground in exhaustion. He was later found in a semi-conscious condition by a friendly patrol hours later.
Agnew survived his wounds and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions. *Photo doesn't depict person, action, or place* #stayzero #zerofoxtrot