Almost 40 years after battling to save nine civilians from their Viet Cong captors, Drew Dix is a member of a small and dwindling fraternity – the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Pueblo native Dix, 62, one of 107 living recipients of the medal, was in Denver today to promote the group’s upcoming convention at the Adams Mark.
“I’m looking forward to showing the medal recipients some good Colorado hospitality,” Dix, a member of the host committee, said of the upcoming event, Sept. 16 through Sept. 20.
Dix, who now lives in New Mexico, didn’t aim to be a hero when he led a patrol of Vietnamese soldiers to assist in the defense of Chau Phu.
Pinned down and outnumbered by Viet Cong, Dix was tasked with taking control of the town. “There was this look on everybody’s face, like ‘What are we going to do?’ I thought that I knew what to do. It wasn’t that I thought I was the only one that could do it. I just felt that I could do it.”
Dix went on to lead two raids, rescuing one nurse and eight civilians trapped in a building under heavy mortar and small arms fire.
In a third raid he killed six Viet Cong and rescued two Filipinos.
The following day he led his men in clearing the VC from a number of buildings.
“It was momentum,” he said.
Dix and other medal of honor recipients will be available to speak at schools and other places to young people during the convention.
“We talk to them about determination and service and good priorities in their lives,” said Robert Howard, president of the society and a medal of honor winner.
Howard, the most decorated soldier in the Vietnam war, was recommended for the nation’s highest honor twice before finally receiving it for actions he took when his platoon was ambushed by more than 200 north Vietnamese.
Howard was wounded and his weapon destroyed by a grenade explosion when he saw that his platoon leader was seriously wounded and exposed to fire. Unable to walk, he crawled through a hail of fire to rescue the man.
He then rallied his platoon into an organized defense force, according to the citation for his medal of honor.
Typically, 50 to 60 recipients come to the annual convention. But many are World War II veterans and the number grows smaller each year, said Howard.
“Our numbers are getting smaller; there are is a significant number who are over 80,” Howard said.
Tom McGhee: (303)954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
