Vietnam veteran owes his life to soon-to-be Medal of Honor recipient

Veteran owes his life to soon-to-be Medal of Honor recipient

By Jeff Schogol
Stars and Stripes
Published: September 20, 2010

ARLINGTON, Va. — John Daniel owes his life to Chief Master Sgt. Richard L. Etchberger, who will be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor on Tuesday, more than 42 years after he saved Daniel and two other airmen during an attack on their base in Laos.

Etchberger and Daniel were part of a secret mission in Laos to call in airstrikes on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. On March 11, 1968, the enemy overran their mountaintop base.

He and Etchberger were with three other airmen perched on the ledge of a cliff that dropped off about 3,000 feet.

The enemy was firing and dropping grenades on them from above.

As the shooting progressed, Daniel was hit twice in the legs and two airmen were killed. Another was hit and presumed dead but was just unconscious. At one point, Daniel used the body of one his fallen comrades to absorb the blast from a grenade.
read more here and watch the video account of this veteran's story
Medal of Honor recipient