Raymond Richard Wright (December 5, 1945 – September 24, 1999) was a United States Army soldier from New York and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.
On November 4, 2000, a former World War I Veterans park, in the hamlet of Mineville, Town of Moriah, New York, was renamed in honor of Wright. Among the additions to the park was a monument in tribute to Wright and a monument honoring five servicemen from the Town of Moriah that died serving in Vietnam:
Specialist Four Wright's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a rifleman with Company A, Sp4 Wright distinguished himself during a combat patrol in an area where an enemy ambush had occurred earlier. Sp4 Wright's unit suddenly came under intense automatic weapons and small-arms fire from an enemy bunker system protected by numerous snipers in nearby trees. Despite the heavy enemy fire, Sp4 Wright and another soldier leaped to the top of a dike to assault the position. Armed with a rifle and several grenades, he and his comrade exposed themselves to intense fire from the bunkers as they charged the nearest one. Sp4 Wright raced to the bunker, threw in a grenade, killing its occupant. The 2 soldiers then ran through a hail of fire to the second bunker. While his comrade covered him with his machinegun, Sp4 Wright charged the bunker and succeeded in killing its occupant with a grenade. A third bunker contained an automatic rifleman who had pinned down much of the friendly platoon. While his comrade again covered him with machinegun fire, Sp4 Wright charged in and killed the enemy rifleman with a grenade. The 2 soldiers worked their way through the remaining bunkers, knocking out 4 of them. Throughout their furious assault, Sp4 Wright and his comrade had been almost continuously exposed to intense sniper fire from the treeline as the enemy desperately sought to stop their attack. Overcoming stubborn resistance from the bunker system, the men advanced into the treeline forcing the snipers to retreat, giving immediate chase, and driving the enemy away from the friendly unit so that it advanced across the open area without further casualty. When his ammunition was exhausted, Sp4 Wright returned to his unit to assist in the evacuation of the wounded. This 2-man assault had driven an enemy platoon from a well prepared position, accounted for numerous enemy casualties, and averted further friendly casualties. Sp4 Wright's extraordinary heroism, courage, and indomitable fighting spirit saved the lives of many of his comrades and inflicted serious damage on the enemy. His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.[1][7]
"Raymond R. Wright". Claim to Fame: Medal of Honor recipients. Find a Grave. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
April 13, 2024
raymond, wright, marine, corps, officer, usmc, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, boo. For the U S Marine Corps officer see Raymond R Wright USMC This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Raymond R Wright news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Raymond Richard Wright December 5 1945 September 24 1999 was a United States Army soldier from New York and a recipient of the United States military s highest decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War Raymond Richard WrightRaymond WrightNickname s BuzzBorn 1945 12 15 December 15 1945Moriah New YorkDiedSeptember 24 1999 1999 09 24 aged 53 Place of burialGerald B H Solomon Saratoga National CemeteryAllegianceUnited States of AmericaService wbr branchUnited States ArmyRankSpecialist FourUnit60th Infantry Regiment 9th Infantry DivisionBattles warsVietnam WarAwardsMedal of HonorSilver Star Contents 1 Biography 2 Medal of Honor citation 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksBiography editWright joined the Army from his birth city of Moriah New York and by May 2 1967 was serving as a Specialist Four in Company A of the 3d Battalion 60th Infantry Regiment 9th Infantry Division 1 On that day in Ap Bac Zone Republic of Vietnam Wright and fellow soldier Sergeant Leonard B Keller stormed a series of enemy bunkers which were firing on their unit 2 For their actions both Wright and Keller were awarded the Medal of Honor 3 4 Wright died at age 53 and was buried in Gerald B H Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery Schuylerville New York 1 5 On November 4 2000 a former World War I Veterans park in the hamlet of Mineville Town of Moriah New York was renamed in honor of Wright Among the additions to the park was a monument in tribute to Wright and a monument honoring five servicemen from the Town of Moriah that died serving in Vietnam John P Drake PFC US Army David L Jarvis HM3 US Navy Joseph J Ribeiro PFC US Army Marcus W Stoddard PFC USMC Michael D Baker SN US Navy 6 Medal of Honor citation editSpecialist Four Wright s official Medal of Honor citation reads For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty While serving as a rifleman with Company A Sp4 Wright distinguished himself during a combat patrol in an area where an enemy ambush had occurred earlier Sp4 Wright s unit suddenly came under intense automatic weapons and small arms fire from an enemy bunker system protected by numerous snipers in nearby trees Despite the heavy enemy fire Sp4 Wright and another soldier leaped to the top of a dike to assault the position Armed with a rifle and several grenades he and his comrade exposed themselves to intense fire from the bunkers as they charged the nearest one Sp4 Wright raced to the bunker threw in a grenade killing its occupant The 2 soldiers then ran through a hail of fire to the second bunker While his comrade covered him with his machinegun Sp4 Wright charged the bunker and succeeded in killing its occupant with a grenade A third bunker contained an automatic rifleman who had pinned down much of the friendly platoon While his comrade again covered him with machinegun fire Sp4 Wright charged in and killed the enemy rifleman with a grenade The 2 soldiers worked their way through the remaining bunkers knocking out 4 of them Throughout their furious assault Sp4 Wright and his comrade had been almost continuously exposed to intense sniper fire from the treeline as the enemy desperately sought to stop their attack Overcoming stubborn resistance from the bunker system the men advanced into the treeline forcing the snipers to retreat giving immediate chase and driving the enemy away from the friendly unit so that it advanced across the open area without further casualty When his ammunition was exhausted Sp4 Wright returned to his unit to assist in the evacuation of the wounded This 2 man assault had driven an enemy platoon from a well prepared position accounted for numerous enemy casualties and averted further friendly casualties Sp4 Wright s extraordinary heroism courage and indomitable fighting spirit saved the lives of many of his comrades and inflicted serious damage on the enemy His acts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the U S Army 1 7 See also edit nbsp Biography portalList of Medal of Honor recipients List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam WarReferences edit nbsp This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army Center of Military History a b c Raymond Buzz Wright Historic Port Henry Moriah Moriah Chamber of Commerce August 4 2015 Retrieved 2015 08 04 Moriah community rallies for Medal of Honor recipient The Sun Community News Denton Publications Inc April 21 2011 Archived from the original on 2020 03 27 Retrieved 2015 08 04 Goodman Christy December 1 2009 Medal of Honor recipient Sgt Leonard B Keller laid to rest The Washington Post Retrieved 2015 08 04 Taylor Michael May 31 1999 Tracking Down False Heroes Medal of Honor recipients go after impostors SF Gate Retrieved 2015 08 04 Gerald B H Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery National Cemetery Administration United States Department of Veterans Affairs August 4 2015 Retrieved 2015 08 04 Raymond Buzz Wright Park Port Henry Moriah www porthenrymoriah com Retrieved 2016 09 07 Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients United States Army Center of Military History October 3 2003 Archived from the original on 2008 04 24 Retrieved 2007 05 29 External links edit Raymond R Wright Claim to Fame Medal of Honor recipients Find a Grave Retrieved 2007 05 29 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Raymond R Wright amp oldid 1176878991, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
