Riley Pitts received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his actions this day against communist forces in Vietnam, when he led his company against entrenched Viet Con troops before he was mortally wounded. Honor and remember him!

Pitts was a company commander in 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division in late 1967. When an enemy grenade fell close to him, he jumped on it to shield his solders, though it thankfully failed to detonate. he urged his company onwards, coming to the relief of a fellow company and destroying several bunkers. 

Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to Pitts’ widow, Eula, on December 10, 1968, saying, “What this man did in an hour of incredible courage will live in the story of America as long as America endures – as he will live in the hearts and memories of those who loved him. He was a brave man and a leader of men. No greater thing could be said of any man.”