VIETNAM - PIERCE, BERNARD LAWRENCE

Pierce, Bernard Lawrence

VIETNAM - PIERCE, BERNARD LAWRENCE
PIERCE, BERNARD LAWRENCE

Rank: First Lieutenant

Unit: I Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment

MOS: 1204 – Armored Reconnaissance Unit Commander

Awards: Distinguished Service Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Unit awards: Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device

Enlisted by: Reserve

Commission Source: Armor OCS Class 30-67 D1, Fort Knox, Kentucky

Date of birth: 25-Oct-1946

Hometown: Windsorville, Connecticut

Marital status: Never Married

Campaign: Vietnam Conflict

Entered service: 6-Oct-1965

Start of tour: 5-Oct-1968

Incident date: 19-Jun-1969

Date of casualty: 19-Jun-1969

Age at death: 22

Cause of death: Hostile, died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Bernard Lawrence Pierce was killed while on a combat operation when a hostile force was encountered. / On combat operation.  Engaged hostile force in firefight.

Location of fatality: Binh Long, South Vietnam, XT 695 873

Place of interment: Saint Catherines Cemetery, Broad Brook, Connecticut, USA

View this soldier‘s Find a Grave page (opens in a new window)

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 22W 092 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)

 

DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
POSTHUMOUS

FIRST LIEUTENANT BERNARD LAWRENCE PIERCE, ARMOR
19 JUNE 1969
I TROOP, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT

First Lieutenant Pierce distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop I, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. First Lieutenant Pierce distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 19 June 1969 while serving as leader of an armored platoon near An Loc. Late in the afternoon his troop and an element of infantry came under intense hostile rocket grenade and automatic weapons fire. Seeing that the squad of foot soldiers was pinned down in an exposed position, Lieutenant Pierce directed his vehicle and another track to go to their aid. As the two tracks moved in, Lieutenant Pierce’s track was struck by an antitank rocket, the blast of which rendered him blind. Despite the pain of his serious wounds, he ordered the assault continued as he valiantly manned his machine gun, unleashing a fusillade of suppressive fire. Just after the other track succeeded in rescuing the wounded infantrymen, a rocket-propelled grenade again struck his vehicle and claimed Lieutenant Pierce’s life. First Lieutenant Pierce’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, 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, United States Army Vietnam General Orders No. 4281 (December 1, 1969)