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.
By RACHAEL RILEY | The Fayetteville Observer, N.C. | Published: February 17, 2021 FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (Tribune News Service) On what would have been Sgt. 1st Class William M. Bryant s 88th birthday, his family gathered Tuesday at the Fort Bragg building that bears his name to donate his Medal of Honor for a display there. Bryant, a 5th Special Forces Group soldier, was killed March 24, 1969, in Vietnam. He was posthumously awarded the nation s highest military decoration on Feb. 16, 1971, on what would have been Bryant s 37th birthday. A few years later, in June 1973, the six-story Bryant Hall was named in his honor as part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
Bryant, a 5th Special Forces Group soldier, was killed March 24, 1969, in Vietnam.
He was posthumously awarded the nation s highest military decoration on Feb. 16, 1971, on what would have been Bryant’s 37th birthday.
A few years later, in June 1973, the six-story Bryant Hall was named in his honor as part of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.
The building was rededicated in a ceremony Tuesday, along with the dedication of a gallery to showcase Bryant s photos and Medal of Honor.
Bryant’s oldest son, Gregory Bryant, said that all of his life, his friends would look at the medal, say it was nice, then walk away. The importance of it, it seemed, was lost on most people.