Joe Hooper ( Medal of Honor ) Captain Joe Ronnie Hooper ( August 8 , 1938 – May 6 , 1979 ) was a Vietnam veteran who was awarded more combat decorations than Audie Murphy or Alvin York . He was the recipient of the Medal of Honor , America ' s highest military decoration for valor in combat . During two tours of duty with Delta Company , 2nd Battalion ( Airborne ) , 501st Airborne Infantry , 101st Airborne Division , he received the Medal of Honor ( February 21 , 1968 outside of Hue ) , two Silver Star s for gallantry , 6 Bronze Star s for heroism , 8 Purple Heart s , and the Combat Infantryman Badge . He is credited with 115 enemy kills in ground combat , 22 of which occurred on February 21 , 1968 . Biography . Joe Ronnie Hooper was born on August 8 , 1938 in Piedmont , South Carolina . His family moved when he was a child to Moses Lake , Washington where he attended Moses Lake High School . Hooper enlisted in the United States Navy in December 1956 . After graduation from boot camp at San Diego , California he served as an Airman aboard and . He was discharged in July 1959 , shortly after being promoted to Petty Officer 3rd Class . Hooper reenlisted in the United States Army in May 1960 as a Private First Class and attended Basic Training at Fort Ord , California . After graduation , he volunteered for Airborne School at Fort Benning , Georgia and then was assigned to Company C , 1st Airborne Battle Group , 325th Infantry , 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg , North Carolina and was promoted to corporal during his assignment . He then served a tour of duty in Korea with the 20th Infantry in October 1961 and shortly after arriving he was promoted to sergeant and was made a Squad Leader . He left Korea in November 1963 and was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood , Texas for a year as a Squad Leader and then became a Squad Leader with Company D , 2nd Battalion ( Airborne ) , 502nd Infantry , 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell , Kentucky . He was promoted to staff sergeant in September 1966 and volunteered for service in Vietnam . Instead he was assigned as Platoon Sergeant in Panama with the 3rd Battalion ( Airborne ) , 508th Infantry , first with HQ Company and later with Company B . Hooper couldn ’ t stay out of trouble and suffered several Article 15 hearings , being reduced to Corporal in July 1967 . He was promoted once again to Sergeant in October 1967 and was assigned to Company D , 2nd Battalion ( Airborne ) , 501st Infantry , 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell and deployed with the division to Vietnam in December as a Squad Leader . He returned from Vietnam and was discharged in June 1968 . He reenlisted in the Army in September and served as a Public Relations Specialist . From July 1969 to August 1970 he served as a Platoon Sergeant with the 3rd Battalion , 5th Infantry in Panama . He managed to finagle a second tour in Vietnam . From April to June 1970 he served as a Pathfinder with the 101st Aviation Group , 101st Airborne Division ( Airmobile ) and from June to December 1970 he served as a Platoon Sergeant with Company A , 2nd Battalion , 327th Infantry , 101st Airborne Division ( Airmobile ) . In December 1970 he received a direct commission to Second Lieutenant and served as a Platoon Leader with Company A , 2nd Battalion , 501st Infantry , 101st Airborne Division ( Airmobile ) until April 1971 . Upon his return to the United States he attended the Infantry Officer Basic Course at Fort Benning and was then assigned as an instructor at Fort Polk , Louisiana Despite wanting to serve twenty years Hooper was forcibly retired in February 1974 as a First Lieutenant , mainly because he barely had a GED and had taken only a handful of college courses . As soon as he was released from active duty he joined a unit of the Army Reserve ' s 12th Special Forces Group ( Airborne ) in Washington state , as a Company Executive Officer . In February 1976 he transferred to the 104th Division ( Training ) , also based in Washington . He was promoted to Captain in March 1977 . He attended drills only intermittently and was separated from the service in September 1978 . Rumors persist that he became distressed by the anti - war politics of the time and took to excessive drinking which contributed to his death . He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Louisville , Kentucky May 6 , 1979 at the age of 40 . Captain Joe R . Hooper holds a place with SGT Alvin York , MAJ Audie Murphy , and COL Robert L . Howard as one of the most decorated soldiers in US Military history . Captain Hooper is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 46 , adjacent to the Memorial Amphitheater . Awards and decorations . During the course of his 17 years of military service , Hooper received 37 citations .