Rank: Sergeant
Unit: B Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11D – Armor Reconnaissance Specialist
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge
Unit awards: Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Selected Service
Date of birth: 5-Apr-1947
Hometown: Barnesville, Minnesota
Marital status: Married to Susan D. Lantz
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 20-Sep-1966
Start of tour: 20-Aug-1967
Incident date: 16-May-1968
Date of casualty: 16-May-1968
Age at death: 21
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Small Arms Fire. Gun or small arms fire.
Gary Lee Lantz died as a result of gunshot wound received while commander on military vehicle on combat operation when engaged hostile force in firefight.
Location of fatality: Hua Nghia, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Saint Marys Cemetery, Barnesville Township, Minnesota, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
SERGEANT GARY LEE LANTZ
16 MAY 1968
B TROOP, 1st SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Sergeant Lantz distinguished himself by valorous actions on 16 May 1968, while serving as an Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle Commander with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a reconnaissance in force mission against a well-entrenched North Vietnamese Army force in the Republic of Vietnam. When his troop came in contact with the enemy, Sergeant Lantz repeatedly braved rocket, machine gun and small arms fire in order to direct the fire of his men against the fortified positions. His courageous and selfless actions greatly influenced the successful outcome of the engagement. Sergeant Lantz’s personal bravery and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself his unit and the United States Army.
Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division General Orders No. 4698 (14 June 1968)