Gary Ralph Schwellenbach-Barnard
| Born |
June 15, 1948 |
| Died |
December 27, 1967 |
| Service Branch |
Army |
| Rank |
Corporal |
| Rating or Job |
Airborne Medic |
| Unit |
173rd Airborne |
| Campaign |
Viet Nam |
| Military Citations |
Purple Heart, Distinguished
Service Cross |
| Honors |
|
| Family |
|
| Notes |
Cpl. Gary Ralph
Schwellenbach-Barnard
June 15, 1948 - Dec. 27,
1967
Chico
Gary Schwellenbach-Barnard joined
the Army in August 1966. He completed airborne training and
medics school and was shipped to Vietnam in September 1967.
On Dec. 27, Schwellenbach-Barnard made a helicopter assault
with his unit, the 173rd Airborne, near the coastal town of
Tuy Hoa, 250 miles north of Saigon.
The troops jumped off the choppers into an enemy-held landing
zone where the Viet Cong were dug in and waiting. In the barrage
of heavy sniper and automatic weapons fire, Schwellenbach-Barnard
was immediately wounded.
But, according to an account accompanying a medal citation,
“with complete disregard for his own safety he moved into the
most intense area of fire” and brought fallen comrades to safety.
He was wounded a second time, refuse aid, and continued to help
wounded men.
Schwellenbach-Barnard received his third and fatal wound while
he was trying to save the life of another man.
For his “gallantry, heroism and intrepidity” the Chico soldier
received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross. The DSC is
one of the U.S. Army’s rarest medals and only awarded for “extraordinary
heroism.”
Gary Schwellenbach-Barnard lived in Chico all his life and loved
fishing and motorcycling.
Courtesy Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988
|
| Sources |
National Archives
Chico News & Review
|
| Mementos |
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