List of Navy Cross recipients for the Vietnam War

This is a list of Navy Cross recipients for actions of valor carried out during the Vietnam War, awarded by the United States Department of the Navy.

The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was officially fought between North Vietnam, supported by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies, and South Vietnam, supported by the United States and other anti-communist allies. After the French military withdrawal from Indochina in 1954, the U.S. assumed financial and military support for the South Vietnamese state. U.S. involvement escalated under President John F. Kennedy, from just under a thousand military advisors in 1959 to 23,000 in 1964. After the Gulf of Tonkin incident in August 1964, the U.S. Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and gave President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authority to increase the U.S. military presence in Vietnam. Johnson ordered the deployment of combat units for the first time and increased troop levels, reaching a peak of 543,000 in April 1969. The Paris Peace Accords of January 1973 saw all U.S. forces withdrawn.

, this list is incomplete, showing 496 Navy Crosses awarded in all service branches for actions of valor during the Vietnam War: 124 to US Navy recipients; 369 to US Marine Corps recipients; one Republic of Vietnam Navy recipient; one Army of the Republic of Vietnam recipient; and one US Army recipient. By partial comparison, , the U.S. Department of Defense shows 126 awarded to Navy recipients and 370 to Marines Corps recipients, for acts of valor during the Vietnam War.

A

NameService Rank Place of action Date of action NotesLewis H. AbramsMarine CorpsColonelNorth VietnamOctober 25, 1967A6A Intruder PilotBobby W. AbshireMarine CorpsCorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceMay 21, 1966UH-1E Helicopter Crew ChiefRichard F. AbshireMarine CorpsSergeantQuảng Trị ProvinceMay 2, 1968Platoon sergeantJohn T. AdamsMarine CorpsLance CorporalHill 488, Quảng Tín ProvinceJune 16, 1966Provided covering fire which allowed his Marines to withdraw, and then assaulted the enemy outnumbering enemy force and killed three in hand-to-hand combat before he himself was killed.Laurence R. Adams IIIMarine CorpsCaptainAn Hoa, Quảng Nam ProvinceJanuary 12, 1969Helicopter PilotGeorge AjdukovichNavyChief Boatswain's MateMuo Hai CanalOctober 7, 1969PBRVincent AlfonsoMarine CorpsPrivate First ClassDong Ha Airstrip, Quảng Trị ProvinceJuly 20, 1966Machine gunnerYale G. AllenMarine CorpsCorporalQuảng Trị ProvinceMarch 5, 1969Fire team leaderRussel V. AlmeidaMarine CorpsLance CorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceDecember 20, 1965Placed his body between fellow Marines and a live grenadeTimothy D. AlspaughNavySeamanCai Lon River, Kien Giang ProvinceSeptember 25, 1969PBRKenneth A. AltazanMarine CorpsSergeantQuảng Nam ProvinceMay 9, 1969CH-46 Helicopter crew chief, originally awarded Silver Star which was upgraded in 2015Gerald D. AmbroseMarine CorpsLance CorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceJanuary 8, 1970Squad leaderWillet R. AmendolaMarine CorpsCorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceNovember 2, 1967Mortar manJohn J. AndersonMarine CorpsSergeantSouth VietnamOctober 27, 1965Squad leaderRussell P. ArmstrongMarine CorpsStaff SergeantCon Thien, Quảng Trị ProvinceSeptember 7–8, 1967Platoon commanderElpidio A. ArqueroMarine CorpsStaff SergeantQuảng Nam ProvinceMay 10, 1967Platoon sergeantJames W. AshbyNavyHospitalman Third ClassQuảng Trị ProvinceJune 1, 1967CorpsmanJames M. AstonMarine CorpsPrivate First ClassQuảng Nam ProvinceMarch 19, 1969Smothered an explosive device with his own bodyStephen E. AustinMarine CorpsCorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceJune 8, 1968Squad leaderDarrell E. AyersMarine CorpsStaff SergeantQuảng Nam ProvinceMarch 19, 1970Shielded a fellow Marine from enemy fire with his own body, thus saving his life

B

NameService Rank Place of action Date of action NotesJames B. BackNavyLieutenantSouth VietnamFebruary 28, 1968Regimental surgeon, surgically removed a live B-40 rocket from a wounded MarineSamuel J. BadnekMarine CorpsPrivatenear Chu Lai, Quảng Tín ProvinceAugust 18, 1965Single-handedly assaulted and killed eight of the enemy, remaining in the fight despite being wounded in the headCurtis F. BaggettMarine CorpsStaff SergeantVillage of Phong Luc (1), Quảng Nam ProvinceFebruary 6, 1968Platoon sergeantWalter F. BaileyMarine CorpsSergeantLiberty Bridge, Quảng Nam ProvinceMarch 21, 1970Weapons platoon sergeantHarold L. BakerNavyRadioman Second ClassSouth VietnamDecember 20, 1970SEALRobert E. BaratkoNavyLieutenant, Junior GradeSouth VietnamSeptember 15, 1970Attack helicopter aircraft commanderWilliam B. BarberNavyHospitalman Third ClassQuảng Trị ProvinceNovember 25, 1968CorpsmanRobert C. BarnesMarine CorpsCorporalSouth VietnamDecember 17, 1966Squad leaderRobert L. BarnettMarine CorpsCorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceMay 9, 1969Machine gun squad leaderJames J. BarrettMarine CorpsCorporalCon Thien, Quảng Trị ProvinceSeptember 19, 1967Squad leaderJohn J. BarrettMarine CorpsCaptainnear An Hoa, Quảng Nam ProvinceFebruary 26, 1969CH-46 helicopter pilotRichard W. BaskinMarine CorpsSergeantHill 950, Quảng Trị ProvinceJune 6, 1967Squad leaderGordon D. BatchellerMarine CorpsCaptainnear Huế City, Thừa Thiên ProvinceJanuary 31, 1968Company commanderKent C. BatemanMarine CorpsMajorNorth VietnamOctober 25, 1967A6A Intruder PilotLeo V. BeaulieuMarine CorpsPrivate First Classnear Chu Lai, Quảng Tín ProvinceMay 16, 1966Machine gunner who was badly wounded during the beginning of an ambush, however he was able to return accurate fire before he was killedVan D. Bell Jr.Marine CorpsLieutenant ColonelVillage of Phong Ho (2)June 6, 1966Second award (first was in Korean War). Led three Ontos to reinforce a besieged Marine platoon, killing 30 of the enemy. He was then wounded during an ambush while returning to his command post, but led his Marines in repelling the attack.David G. BendorfMarine CorpsLance CorporalQuảng Trị ProvinceMay 20, 1967Machine gun team leader who held his position with his gunner, putting heavy fire on the enemy and allowing their platoon to withdraw before they were both killedFrancis A. BenoitNavyHospitalman Third ClassQuảng Trị ProvinceMarch 16, 1967CorpsmanRonald R. BenoitMarine CorpsSecond LieutenantSouth VietnamFebruary 25, 1967Platoon commanderDonald J. BergerMarine CorpsSecond LieutenantSouth VietnamMarch 11–12, 1966Helicopter commanderRicardo C. BinnsMarine CorpsCorporalHill 488, Quảng Tín ProvinceJun 15–16, 1966Despite being wounded in both legs, he directed the fire of seven Marines in his scout team to repulse an NVA battalion throughout the night.William C. BirdMarine CorpsPrivate First Classnear An Hoa, Quảng Nam ProvinceMay 15, 1969RiflemanStephen BlannMarine CorpsLance CorporalQuảng Trị ProvinceFebruary 16, 1969Squad leader who was killed by enemy fire while shielding a wounded Marine with his own bodyThomas L. Blevins Jr.Marine CorpsCorporalQuảng Nam ProvinceMay 31, 1969Squad leaderThomas J. J. BlonskiNavyLieutenantNorth VietnamMay 10, 1972Jet pilotRichard E. BoganMarine CorpsLance CorporalVillage of Thon Ha Vinh, Thừa Thiên ProvinceApril 12, 1968Fire team leader who smothered an enemy grenade with his own body and was seriously woundedEugene R. BradyMarine CorpsLieutenant Colonelnear An Hoa, Quảng Nam ProvinceMay 15, 1969Helicopter squadron commanderMartin L. BrandtnerMarine CorpsCaptainVillage of Lan Phouc, Quảng Nam ProvinceSeptember 3, 1968First award, picked up two enemy hand grenades and threw them away from a group of Marines. He shielded them from the blast of the second grenade and was wounded.Martin L. BrandtnerMarine CorpsCaptainVillage of My Binh, Quảng Nam ProvinceSeptember 11, 1968Second award, led his company in repelling repeated enemy assaults, killing 67 NVA at the cost of one Marine KIALeroy BrantleyMarine CorpsCorporalVillage of Phu Nhuan, Quảng Nam ProvinceMarch 28, 1969Squad leaderKenneth R. BraunNavyHospital Corpsman Third ClassHill 70, Quảng Trị ProvinceMarch 30–31, 1967Corpsman, was not awarded Navy Cross until 2005Thomas D. BrindleyMarine CorpsSecond LieutenantHill 881, Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị ProvinceJanuary 20, 1968Platoon commanderCharles E. BrownMarine CorpsCorporalLoc Dien Village, Thừa Thiên ProvinceJanuary 31, 1968Squad leaderDavid H. BrownMarine CorpsSergeantHill 48, Quảng Trị ProvinceSeptember 10, 1967Platoon sergeantRandall A. BrowningMarine CorpsCorporalnear the DMZ, Quảng Trị ProvinceSeptember 10, 1967M-50 Ontos commanderCharles W. BryanMarine CorpsCorporalHill 881N, Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị ProvinceJanuary 20, 1968Patrol leaderJarold O. BryantMarine CorpsLance CorporalQuảng Ngãi ProvinceMarch 21, 1966Fire team leaderRichard W. BuchananMarine CorpsLance CorporalVillage of Le Bac (1), Quảng Nam ProvinceMay 24, 1968Automatic riflemanLyle F. BullNavyLieutenantHanoi, North VietnamOctober 30, 1967Bombardier/Navigator A-6John R. BurkeMarine CorpsCorporalHill 950, Khe Sanh, Quảng Trị ProvinceJune 6, 1967Sniper team leaderRobert W. Burnand Jr.NavyLieutenantNorth VietnamOctober 12–16, 1966Commander of a search and rescue helicopterThomas R. BurnhamMarine CorpsCorporalNong Son, Quảng Nam ProvinceOctober 1, 1967Fire team leader who threw himself on an enemy grenade which failed to detonateDewey R. Burns Jr.NavyHospitalman Third ClassVillage of An Phong, Quảng Ngãi ProvinceSeptember 13, 1969CorpsmanLeon R. BurnsMarine CorpsStaff SergeantDMZ, Quảng Trị ProvinceJuly 2, 1967Platoon commanderJames B. Busey IVNavyLieutenant CommanderHanoi, North VietnamAugust 21, 1967Pilot

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