WASHINGTON — In a White House ceremony on March 2, 2026, President Donald J. Trump awarded the Medal of Honor to retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson, U.S. Army, for his heroic actions on September 14, 1968, while serving in Vietnam.
Then-Staff Sgt. Terry P. Richardson distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as the Lima Platoon Leader with Company A, 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division in the vicinity of Loc Ninh, Republic of Vietnam.
On that September 1968 day, while on a reconnaissance mission, he was engaged by intense automatic weapon and small arms fire from a well-entrenched North Vietnamese Army battalion. Richardson braved heavy machine gun fire on three occasions to rescue three severely-wounded Soldiers.
Upon returning to his unit, he realized that his entire company was surrounded. He again braved enemy fire to advance to the top of Hill 222, his company’s objective for the day, to secure a vantage point for directing tactical air strikes. Once on Hill 222, he realized it was an enemy regiment’s base camp. Nearing the enemy position, Richardson skillfully directed air strikes before being wounded by an enemy sniper.
Richardson continued to direct air strikes within close proximity of his position and that of his unit for seven more hours. After the enemy had fled, he was found alive. He declined medical evacuation to stay with his Soldiers. His gallant and selfless actions spared the lives of 85 fellow Soldiers.
Richardson was honorably discharged from active duty on May 9, 1969, and returned to Michigan. He worked in the construction and gas industry, married in 1971, and joined the Michigan National Guard in 1978 after a nine-year break in service. Richardson had a distinguished career and retired as the post command sergeant major of the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center on Jan. 31, 2008, almost 40 years removed from his tour in Vietnam.
“The National Guard thrives on citizen-warriors who answer the call,” said Air Force Gen. Steve Nordhaus, the 30th Chief of the National Guard Bureau. “Thank you, Command Sgt. Maj. Richardson, for exemplifying selfless service.”
The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of their own lives above and beyond the call of duty while:
- engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;
- engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or
- serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.
The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life. There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit.