Doug Latulippe

Roy P. Benavidez was born in Texas in August 1935. Benavidez enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1952 during the Korean War, but later switched to Army active duty in June 1955. On May 2, 1968, Benavidez heard a plea for help over the radio. A group of his fellow soldiers were surrounded by the North Vietnamese Army and couldn't hold them off for much longer. Benavidez sprang into action, jumping out of a helicopter and straight into enemy fire armed with only a knife. He was shot several times while running toward the wounded soldiers, but he persisted and began carrying them to safety. ⁠ ⁠ When one enemy soldier stabbed him with a bayonet, Benavidez pulled the blade out of his arm, thrust his own knife into the man's chest, and continued helping his wounded comrades, leaving his only weapon behind. During the six-hour battle, Benavidez suffered 37 bullet, bayonet, and grenade shrapnel wounds. At one point, he was seen holding in his own intestines while his eyes were crusted shut with blood from his head injury. And when the fighting was over, he was in such bad shape that medics thought he was dead and placed him in a body bag — until Benavidez managed to spit in a doctor's face to get his attention. He was presented the Medal of Honor in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. The president said, "If the story of his heroism were a movie script, you would not believe it."