LAGRANGE — Keith Dunkel and Richard Rhodes wanted to place flags over the graves of veterans resting in LaGrange’s Greenwood Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day in part to honor
With more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients, 39 of those have walked and trained on the grounds of Fort Bragg or Camp Mackall.
But all share the same common honor.
The Medal of Honor is the nation s highest award for valor given to servicemembers.
These are the stories of Fort Bragg s recipients.
Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Ashley Jr. was a soldier with the C Co., 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces Command, when he died Feb. 7, 1968, in Vietnam.
His mission was to rescue entrapped U.S. Special Forces advisers at Camp Lang Vei.
When communications were lost, Ashley directed airstrikes and artillery support and led five assaults against the enemy exposing himself to enemy grenades, and machine gun and automatic-weapons fire.