photo #9075604

On January 17, 1970, American soldiers moved quietly through the dense jungle near Hawk Hill Fire Base in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam.The patrol from Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment advanced in a single file line along a narrow jungle path.Among them was Specialist Four Donald Payne Sloat, a 20 year old machine gunner.The jungle was silent.Then suddenly—A soldier at the front of the patrol tripped a booby trap wire.A grenade was triggered.It rolled down the hill toward the group of soldiers.There were only seconds to react.Donald Sloat grabbed the grenade.At first, he tried to throw it away from the patrol.But he realized something terrifying.The grenade was about to explode.Several soldiers were standing only a few feet away.If it detonated there, they would not survive.In that instant, Sloat made a decision.He pulled the grenade into his chest and wrapped his body around it.The explosion followed immediately.Donald Payne Sloat absorbed the full force of the blast.The soldiers around him survived.He was 20 years old.More than 40 years later, the United States formally recognized his sacrifice.On September 15, 2014, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Honor to Sloat’s brother at the White House.A jungle patrol.A grenade.And a young soldier who gave his life to save the men beside him.