5th Special Forces Group

Medal of Honor

Recipient

Sergeant Gary B. Beikirch

5 January 1970

U.S. Army

Company B

5th Special Forces Group,

 1st Special Forces

Kontum Province

Republic of Vietnam

Entered service at: Buffalo, New York

Born: 29 August 1947, Buffalo, New York

Citation:

SERGEANT GARY B. BEIKIRCH, UNITED STATES ARMY, Detachment B-24, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, distinguished himself while serving as a medical aidman on 1 April 1970, during the defense of Camp Dak Seang, Republic of Vietnam. The allied defenders suffered a number of casualties as a result of an intense, devastating enemy attack. With utter disregard for his own personal safety, Sergeant Beikirch moved unhesitatingly through the withering enemy fire to his fallen comrades, applied first aid, and assisted them to a medical aid station. He ran through a hail of fire to aid a seriously wounded American officer lying in an exposed position. Although seriously wounded by mortar shell fragments, Sergeant Beikirch carried the officer to a medical aid station. Ignoring his own serious injuries, he again left the safety of the bunker to search for and evacuate other men who had been injured. He was again wounded as he dragged a critically injured Vietnamese to a medical aid bunker and applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to sustain his life. Sergeant Beikirch again refused treatment and continued his search for other casualties until he collapsed.