- Rank at action
- Sergeant First Class
- Service
- U.S. Army
- Conflict
- Vietnam War
- Unit or command
- 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Howard (then Sfc .), distinguished himself while serving as platoon sergeant of an American-Vietnamese platoon which was on a mission to rescue a missing American soldier in enemy controlled territory in the Republic of Vietnam. The platoon had left its helicopter landing zone and was moving out on its mission when it was attacked by an estimated 2-company force. During the initial engagement, 1st Lt. Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion. 1st Lt. Howard saw his platoon leader had been wounded seriously and was exposed to fire. Although unable to walk, and weaponless, 1st Lt. Howard unhesitatingly crawled through a hail of fire to retrieve his wounded leader. As 1st Lt. Howard was administering first aid and removing the officer's equipment, an enemy bullet struck 1 of the ammunition pouches on the lieutenant's belt, detonating several magazines of ammunition. 1st Lt. Howard momentarily sought cover and then realizing that he must rejoin the platoon, which had been disorganized by the enemy attack, he again began dragging the seriously wounded officer toward the platoon area. Through his outstanding example of indomitable courage and bravery, 1st Lt. Howard was able to rally the platoon into an organized defense force. With complete disregard for his safety, 1st Lt. Howard crawled from position to position, administering first aid to the wounded, giving encouragement to the defenders and directing their fire on the encircling enemy. For 3 1/2 hours 1st Lt. Howard's small force and supporting aircraft successfully repulsed enemy attacks and finally were in sufficient control to permit the landing of rescue helicopters. 1st Lt. Howard personally supervised the loading of his men and did not leave the bullet-swept landing zone until all were aboard safely. 1st Lt. Howard's gallantry in action, his complete devotion to the welfare of his men at the risk of his life were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Sources & record notes
General Order comparison: pending. Current-profile review does not mean that the underlying original order has been examined.
- Robert Lewis Howard — current Society profile ↗Congressional Medal of Honor Society · Checked 2026-08-30
current identity, service, action metadata, and citation comparison
Transcription, metadata & provenance notes
- Award ID
- MOH-AW-002060
- Transcription status
- Legacy full text · current reference profile matched
- Last source check
- 2026-08-30
- Later or highest recorded rank
- Colonel
- Entered service at
- Montgomery, Ala.
- Archive transcription SHA-256
- 9b4059e93e1d4f0f4968b56c7da15e772ec699d226503fb61382ad13206e72e8
Legacy transcription retained without substantive editing; rendered current reference profile variants documented in the Phase 10 evidence snapshot.
The current authoritative source expands or normalizes the inherited name from Robert L. Howard to Robert Lewis Howard; both renderings remain preserved. The controlled action rank is Sergeant First Class. The inherited rank is First Lieutenant; the current profile also records First Lieutenant (rank at time of action: Sergeant First Class; final rank: Colonel). Action, presentation, and later/highest ranks remain separately attributed. The current historical action-place wording replaces only the controlled canonical geocoder field; the complete inherited place remains preserved. The current authoritative profile classifies the action under Vietnam War; the inherited Not yet classified value remains preserved in the audit record.
