Michael Joseph Crescenz

Michael Joseph Crescenz. United States Army. , Michael J. Crescenz enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1968 and shipped out to Vietnam in September 1968. Barely two months later, on November 20, 1968, his unit, the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, was sent into battle against deeply entrenched enemy forces on Nui Chom Mountain, the fortress in the clouds, tucked away in the far northwest corner of South Vietnam near the borders with North Vietnam and Laos. His Company was ambushed on the wet jungle mountainside. Michael J. Crescenz was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions that day., Crescenz received a posthumous promotion to the rank of Corporal. He was the only Philadelphian to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; his Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to his family by President Richard M. Nixon in a White House ceremony on April 7, 1970., [Photo caption reads] Michael J. Crescenz, To respect his parents' wishes, Cpl. Crescenz was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania. In 2008, after the death of his parents, Michael Crescenz was re-interred at Arlington National Cemetery., Due to a large grass-roots efforts that took 45 years, the Philadelphia VA Medical Center was renamed the "Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center" in Crescenz' honor. The medical center staff held a renaming ceremony May 2, 2015. Members of Crescenz' original unit flew in from all over the country to participate. More than 700 people attended the event., Corporal Michael Joseph Crescenz has his name inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial ("The Wall") in Washington, D.C. on Panel 38W Line 016., [Photo captions read] , (above) Statue of Corporal Michael J. Crescenz, Medal of Honor [recipient], at Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, (left) Corporal Michael J. Crescenz was reinterred at Arlington National Cemetery in 2008, CITATION, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Cpl. Crescenz distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action while serving as a rifleman with Company A. In the morning his unit engaged a large, well-entrenched force of the North Vietnamese Army whose initial burst of fire pinned down the lead squad and killed the two point-men, halting the advance of Company A. Immediately, Cpl. Crescenz left the relative safety of his own position, seized a nearby machine gun and, with complete disregard for his safety, charged 100 meters up a slope toward the enemy bunkers which he effectively silenced, killing the two occupants of each. Undaunted by the withering machine-gun fire around him. Cpl. Crescenz courageously moved forward toward a third bunker which he also succeeded in silencing, killing two more of the enemy and momentarily clearing the route of advance for his comrades. Suddenly, intense machine-gun fire erupted from an unseen, camouflaged bunker., Realizing the danger to his fellow soldiers, Cpl. Crescenz disregarded the barrage of hostile fire directed at him and daringly advanced toward the position. Assaulting with his machine gun, Cpl. Crescenz was within five meters of the bunker when he was mortally wounded by the fire from the enemy machine gun. As a direct result of his heroic actions, his company was able to maneuver freely with minimal danger and to complete its mission, defeating the enemy. Cpl. Crescenz's bravery and extraordinary heroism at the cost of his life are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army., CONFLICT/ERA: Vietnam War , RANK: Corporal , UNIT/COMMAND: Company [A], 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division , ENLISTED FROM: Philadelphia, PA, United States , BORN: January 14, 1949, Philadelphia, PA, United States , ACTION PLACE: Hiep Duc Valley Area, Republic of Vietnam , ACTION DATE: November 20, 1968 , PRESENTATION DETAILS: Presented by President Richard M. Nixon to his family , PRESENTATION DATE: April 7, 1970 , DIED: November 20, 1968, Republic of Vietnam , BURIED: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, United States