Medal of Honor: Donald E. Ballard – Vietnam War, May 16, 1968

Donald Everett Ballard
Hospital Corpsman Second Class (HC2c), U.S. Navy
Conflict: Vietnam War
Unit: Company M, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division (Rein), FMF
Date of Action: May 16, 1968
Location: Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam

Summary of Action:
It was a day like so many others in Vietnam—sweltering heat, shifting jungle, and the ever-present threat of sudden death. But on May 16, 1968, during a brutal ambush in Quang Tri Province, one Navy corpsman turned a moment of near-certain tragedy into a living miracle.

Hospital Corpsman Second Class Donald E. Ballard had just escorted two heat casualties to an evacuation landing zone when he rejoined Company M—only to walk straight into a coordinated North Vietnamese ambush. Mortars and machine gun fire tore through the ranks. Men fell in moments.

Then Ballard saw a Marine go down.

Without hesitation, he sprinted across the kill zone under withering enemy fire to treat the wounded man. As he worked, he called four nearby Marines to help move the casualty to safety. That’s when an enemy soldier emerged from the brush and hurled a grenade into the center of the group.

There was no time. No hesitation.

Ballard shouted a warning, then threw himself onto the grenade—choosing, in an instant, to give his life to save four others.

But fate had another plan. The grenade did not detonate.

Calmly, Ballard stood back up, dusted himself off—and went right back to treating the wounded.

His actions that day embodied everything it means to wear the caduceus on your collar. Courage. Sacrifice. Selflessness under fire. He didn’t flinch when death stared him down—and because of that, others lived.

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 a Hospital Corpsman with Company M. During the afternoon hours while Company M was moving to join the remainder of the battalion, it was ambushed by a North Vietnamese Army unit employing automatic weapons and mortars, resulting in numerous casualties.

Upon observing a wounded Marine, Petty Officer Ballard unhesitatingly moved across the fire-swept terrain to the injured man and swiftly rendered medical assistance. Then, as he directed four Marines to carry the casualty to a position of relative safety, an enemy soldier suddenly appeared and threw a hand grenade into the midst of the group.

Instantly realizing the danger to his comrades, Petty Officer Ballard threw himself upon the grenade to protect the others from the explosion. When the grenade failed to detonate, he calmly resumed his efforts and continued to treat the wounded.

Petty Officer Ballard's courageous actions and selfless devotion to duty epitomize the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Armed Forces."*