[QUOTE=GH85Carrera;11638987]
Private First Class Raymond "Mike" Clausen served as crew chief aboard the helicopter piloted by Walt Ledbetter in January 1970. A series of alcohol-related incidents and NJPs kept Clausen at the same rank he'd achieved 4 years earlier when he enlisted, but his commitment and skills trumped any concern over his single stripe. As Ledbetter dropped his chopper into the minefield, Clausen guided him to a crater to touch down. Clausen saw the Marines on the ground, unable to move after watching many of their buddies blown apart by mines. Without any concern for himself, Clausen left the aircraft and began carrying casualties through the minefield back to the hovering chopper. When everyone was aboard, he guided Ledbetter into the second and third locations where Marines were stranded, performing the same actions each time the helicopter touched down. He entered the minefield a total of 6 times, carrying wounded to safety. When another mine detonated near the helicopter, Clausen was outside carrying a Marine. The explosion killed the corpsman and wounded 3 more Marines. Clausen helped them aboard and recovered the body of the corpsman. Not until all 19 Marines were accounted for aboard the CH-46 did Clausen give Ledbetter the signal to depart.
Shortly after the mission, Clausen again managed to get himself in trouble and was busted from PFC back to Private. He was discharged from the Marines in August 1970 when he returned home. For his heroism and incredible courage, in June 1971 President Nixon called Clausen to the White House to award him the Medal of Honor. Clausen was the only Marine Private of the war to receive the award. He died in May 2004 at age 56 from liver failure.
We had a Medal of Honor winner in my company in the Army. He was 30+ years old & a Pfc. He never did anything, & the only time we saw him was the evening before inspections. He would come in & place his certificate on his bunk and therefore not have to show up for inspection. None of us talked to him & most didn't even know what he did. We could have found out since my company had a unit in it that handled all of the officer & enlisted records. Nobody was interested enough to ask. For a while I wondered who he was & how he never had to show up for anything or have any responsibilities, until I asked somebody who had been there a while. He just said, "Oh him? He has a Medal of Honor."