Biography
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 30, 1944, Fernandez grew up in nearby Los Lunas. He had two younger brothers, Peter and James.
Fernandez joined the Army from Albuquerque in 1962 and by 1966 was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam. During that deployment, he served as a specialist four in Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), 25th Infantry Division. On February 18, 1966, in Củ Chi, Hậu Nghĩa province, his 16-man patrol was ambushed by a Viet Cong rifle company and forced to fall back. Fernandez and two others volunteered to follow a sergeant back to the ambush site and rescue a wounded soldier who had been left behind. After reaching the injured man, the sergeant was shot in the knee and Fernandez took over command of the patrol. All five men were pinned down by heavy fire when a rifle grenade landed in their midst. In the scramble to get away from the device, Fernandez accidentally kicked it closer to the rest of the group. He then shouted "move out", jumped over the immobile sergeant, and threw himself on the grenade. He was killed in the resulting explosion, but successfully saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.
For this action, Fernandez was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor in November 1966. He was the first of nine Mexican Americans to receive the medal in Vietnam.
A Requiem Mass was held for Fernandez at Los Lunas High School prior to his burial at Santa Fe National Cemetery. His name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("The Wall") on Panel 05E, Row 046.
Read more about this topic: Daniel Fernandez
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