1. Master Sergeant Raul Perez "Roy" Benavidez was a United States Army soldier who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his valorous actions in combat near Loc Ninh, South Vietnam on May 2,1968, while serving as a member of the United States Army Special Forces during the Vietnam War.
Roy P Benavidez was born in Lindenau near Cuero, Texas, in DeWitt County.
Roy Benavidez is a descendant of the founders of Benavides, Texas, and was the son of a Mexican farmer, Salvador Benavidez, Jr.
Roy Benavidez shined shoes at the local bus station, labored on farms in Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, and worked at a tire shop in El Campo.
Roy Benavidez dropped out of school at age 15, in order to work full-time to help support the family.
Roy Benavidez enlisted in the Texas Army National Guard in 1952 during the Korean War.
Roy Benavidez returned to Fort Bragg and began training for the elite Army Special Forces.
Roy Benavidez heard the radio appeal for help and boarded a helicopter to respond.
Roy Benavidez pulled it out, drew his own knife, killed him and kept going, leaving his knife in the NVA soldier's body.
Roy Benavidez later killed two more NVA soldiers with an AK-47 while providing cover fire for the people boarding the helicopter.
The doctor was about to zip up the body bag when Roy Benavidez managed to spit in his face to show that he was alive.
Roy Benavidez had a total of 37 separate bullet, bayonet, and shrapnel wounds from the six-hour fight with the enemy battalion.
Roy Benavidez was evacuated to Fort Sam Houston's Brooke Army Medical Center, where he eventually recovered.
Roy Benavidez received the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism and four Purple Hearts.
In 1973, after more detailed accounts became available, Special Forces Lieutenant Colonel Ralph R Drake insisted that Benavidez receive the Medal of Honor.
The Army required an eyewitness account from someone present during the action; Roy Benavidez believed that there were no living witnesses of the events of that day, which by then had become known as "Six Hours in Hell".
Unbeknownst to Roy Benavidez, there was a living witness, who would later provide the eyewitness account necessary: Brian O'Connor, the former radioman of Roy Benavidez's Special Forces team in Vietnam.
O'Connor immediately contacted Roy Benavidez and submitted a ten-page report of the encounter, confirming the accounts provided by others, and serving as the necessary eyewitness.
Roy Benavidez's Distinguished Service Cross accordingly was upgraded to the Medal of Honor.
Roy Benavidez then threw smoke canisters to direct the aircraft to the team's position.
Roy Benavidez then provided protective fire by running alongside the aircraft as it moved to pick up the remaining team members.
Roy Benavidez was wounded again in his thigh by small arms fire while administering first aid to a wounded team member just before another extraction helicopter was able to land.
Roy Benavidez then continued under devastating fire to carry the wounded to the helicopter.
Roy Benavidez devoted his remaining years to the youth of America, speaking to them about the importance of staying in school and getting an education.
In 1983, Roy Benavidez told the press that the Social Security Administration planned to cut off disability payments he had been receiving since his retirement, as well as the disability payments for thousands of other veterans.
Roy Benavidez went to Capitol Hill and pleaded with the House Select Committee on Aging to abandon their plans, which they finally did.
Roy Benavidez was in demand as a speaker by United States armed forces, schools, military and civic groups, and private businesses.
Roy Benavidez spoke in Greece, Panama, Korea, and Japan, where he visited American military personnel and even joined them on field exercises.
Roy Benavidez received complimentary letters from students, service members, and private citizens throughout the world.
Roy Benavidez wrote three autobiographical books about his life and military experience.
In 1986, he published The Three Wars of Roy Benavidez, which described his struggles growing up as a poor Mexican-American orphan, his military training and combat in Vietnam, and the efforts by others to get recognition for his actions in Vietnam.
Roy Benavidez later wrote The Last Medal of Honor with Pete Billac and Medal of Honor: A Vietnam Warrior's Story in 1995.
Roy Benavidez died on November 29,1998, at the age of 63 at Brooke Army Medical Center, having suffered respiratory failure and complications of diabetes.
Roy Benavidez's body was escorted to St Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church, where he had married, where his three children were married, and where he attended Mass every Sunday.
Roy Benavidez's body was then returned to Fort Sam Houston's Main Chapel for a public viewing.
Master Sergeant Roy Benavidez was buried with full military honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.