Yano was born in Hawaii. His grandparents were Japanese immigrants. Yano was a Sansei, which means that he was a third generation Japanese-American.[2]
Soldier
Yano left high school without graduating, joined the Army from Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, and served in the field of helicopter maintenance.[3] By January 1, 1969, he was serving as a Staff Sergeant in the Air Cavalry Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. On that day, near Biên Hòa in the Republic of Vietnam, Yano, who was normally a technical inspector, volunteered to act as helicopter crew chief and door gunner on the aircraft commanded by John Bahnsen during combat action in Operation Toan Thang II. As one of two door gunners, he delivered machine gun fire while marking enemy positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades, enabling Bahnsen to direct artillery fire against them.
During the fight, a white phosphorusgrenade exploded prematurely inside the aircraft; the pilot and co-pilot could not see because of the smoke, and the aircraft began to descend. Despite being burned and partially blinded and having lost the use of one arm, Yano proceeded to throw and kick the remaining ammunition off the helicopter as flaming grenade fragments caused it to catch fire and detonate. Yano received additional wounds as a result of these actions, which caused his death later that day. His actions enabled the crew to regain control of the aircraft, fly to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital, and land safely. Yano's actions were credited with saving the lives of the others on board the helicopter. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class.
Sergeant First Class Yano's official Medal of Honor citation reads:
Sfc. Yano distinguished himself while serving with the Air Cavalry Troop. Sfc. Yano was performing the duties of crew chief aboard the troop's command-and-control helicopter during action against enemy forces entrenched in dense jungle. From an exposed position in the face of intense small arms and antiaircraft fire he delivered suppressive fire upon the enemy forces and marked their positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades, thus enabling his troop commander to direct accurate and effective artillery fire against the hostile emplacements. A grenade, exploding prematurely, covered him with burning phosphorus, and left him severely wounded. Flaming fragments within the helicopter caused supplies and ammunition to detonate. Dense white smoke filled the aircraft, obscuring the pilot's vision and causing him to lose control. Although having the use of only 1 arm and being partially blinded by the initial explosion, Sfc. Yano completely disregarded his welfare and began hurling blazing ammunition from the helicopter. In so doing he inflicted additional wounds upon himself, yet he persisted until the danger was past. Sfc. Yano's indomitable courage and profound concern for his comrades averted loss of life and additional injury to the rest of the crew. By his conspicuous gallantry at the cost of his life, in the highest traditions of the military service, Sfc. Yano has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.[1]
Yano Fitness Center at Camp Zama, Japan, Sgt. Yano Library at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii and Yano Hall Helicopter Maintenance Facility at Fort Rucker, Alabama are named in his honor.
Yano Hall – Recreational Public Facility – Captain Cook, Kona, Big Island of Hawaii
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Rodney James Takahashi Yano Japanese surname 矢野 December 13 1943 January 1 1969 was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military s highest decoration the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Vietnam War 1 Rodney J T YanoRodney YanoBorn 1943 12 13 December 13 1943Kealakekua Kona district Territory of Hawaii now State of Hawaii DiedJanuary 1 1969 1969 01 01 aged 25 near Bien Hoa Dong Nai Province Republic of VietnamPlace of burialNational Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Honolulu HawaiiAllegianceUnited States of AmericaService wbr branchUnited States ArmyYears of service1963 1969RankSergeant First ClassUnit11th Armored Cavalry RegimentBattles warsVietnam War DOW AwardsMedal of HonorAir MedalPurple Heart Contents 1 Early life 2 Soldier 3 Medal of Honor citation 4 Namesake 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditYano was born in Hawaii His grandparents were Japanese immigrants Yano was a Sansei which means that he was a third generation Japanese American 2 Soldier EditYano left high school without graduating joined the Army from Honolulu Hawaii in 1961 and served in the field of helicopter maintenance 3 By January 1 1969 he was serving as a Staff Sergeant in the Air Cavalry Troop 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment On that day near Bien Hoa in the Republic of Vietnam Yano who was normally a technical inspector volunteered to act as helicopter crew chief and door gunner on the aircraft commanded by John Bahnsen during combat action in Operation Toan Thang II As one of two door gunners he delivered machine gun fire while marking enemy positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades enabling Bahnsen to direct artillery fire against them During the fight a white phosphorus grenade exploded prematurely inside the aircraft the pilot and co pilot could not see because of the smoke and the aircraft began to descend Despite being burned and partially blinded and having lost the use of one arm Yano proceeded to throw and kick the remaining ammunition off the helicopter as flaming grenade fragments caused it to catch fire and detonate Yano received additional wounds as a result of these actions which caused his death later that day His actions enabled the crew to regain control of the aircraft fly to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital and land safely Yano s actions were credited with saving the lives of the others on board the helicopter He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class Yano aged 25 at his death was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Honolulu Hawaii Medal of Honor citation Edit Rodney J T Yano Sergeant First Class Yano s official Medal of Honor citation reads Sfc Yano distinguished himself while serving with the Air Cavalry Troop Sfc Yano was performing the duties of crew chief aboard the troop s command and control helicopter during action against enemy forces entrenched in dense jungle From an exposed position in the face of intense small arms and antiaircraft fire he delivered suppressive fire upon the enemy forces and marked their positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades thus enabling his troop commander to direct accurate and effective artillery fire against the hostile emplacements A grenade exploding prematurely covered him with burning phosphorus and left him severely wounded Flaming fragments within the helicopter caused supplies and ammunition to detonate Dense white smoke filled the aircraft obscuring the pilot s vision and causing him to lose control Although having the use of only 1 arm and being partially blinded by the initial explosion Sfc Yano completely disregarded his welfare and began hurling blazing ammunition from the helicopter In so doing he inflicted additional wounds upon himself yet he persisted until the danger was past Sfc Yano s indomitable courage and profound concern for his comrades averted loss of life and additional injury to the rest of the crew By his conspicuous gallantry at the cost of his life in the highest traditions of the military service Sfc Yano has reflected great credit on himself his unit and the U S Army 1 Namesake EditYano is the namesake of the USNS Yano T AKR 297 a Shughart class cargo ship She is a roll on roll off non combat United States Navy designated a Large Medium speed roll on roll off LMSR ship Yano Fitness Center at Camp Zama Japan Sgt Yano Library at Schofield Barracks Hawaii and Yano Hall Helicopter Maintenance Facility at Fort Rucker Alabama are named in his honor Yano Hall Recreational Public Facility Captain Cook Kona Big Island of HawaiiYano Street Ft CarsonSee also Edit Biography portalList of Medal of Honor recipients List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam WarReferences Edit a b US Army Center of Military History CMH Medal of Honor Recipients Vietnam M Z retrieved 2012 12 31 Big Island Salute Rafu Shimpo Los Angeles July 12 2012 retrieved 2012 12 31 Yano Rodney J T MOH SFC at TogetherWeServed com retrieved 2012 12 31 External links EditRodney Yano at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rodney J T Yano amp oldid 1094262143, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
