On April 1, 1970, Gary B. Beikirch was serving as a sergeant with B.Co, 5th SFG, 1st Special Forces when the their camp (Dak Seang) was attacked by an overwhelming NVA force.
Learning that a fellow American soldier was wounded and lying in an exposed position, he ran through heavy fire to rescue the man. He was hit by shrapnel in the process, including one fragment which struck near his spine and partially paralyzed him. For the remainder of the battle, he had his Montagnard assistants carry him from one position to another as he treated the injured. He was wounded in the side while giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a Montagnard fighter and was then shot in the stomach.
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Despite all of his wounds, he continued to provide medical care and fire his weapon from his stretcher until losing consciousness. He was evacuated by helicopter (his balls by boat) and spent six months recovering at Valley Forge Medical Center. For his actions on that day, Sgt. Beikirch was awarded the Medal of Honor. #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #sf #ballsdeep #badass #vietnamwar #specialforces