Charles Liteky Charles James " Charlie " Liteky ( born February 14 , 1931 ) , formerly known as Angelo Liteky , is an American peace activist who served as a United States Army chaplain in the Vietnam War and was awarded the U . S . military ' s highest decoration , the Medal of Honor . A Roman Catholic priest , Liteky received the award for braving intense fire to carry 20 wounded soldiers to safety during a 1967 battle . He later left the priesthood , became a social activist , and in 1986 renounced his Medal of Honor . Military service . Born on February 14 , 1931 , in Washington , D . C . , Liteky joined the Army from Fort Hamilton , New York . He served in Vietnam as a captain and chaplain in Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 199th Infantry Brigade . On December 6 , 1967 , near Phuoc - Lac in South Vietnam ' s Biên Hòa Province , he was accompanying Company A , 4th Battalion , 12th Infantry Regiment , on a search and destroy mission when they came under heavy fire from a numerically superior enemy force . Seeing two wounded men lying from an enemy machine gun , Liteky shielded them with his body and , once the volume of fire had sufficiently decreased , dragged them to the relative safety of a helicopter landing zone . Although wounded in the neck and foot , he continued to expose himself to hostile fire in order to rescue more of the wounded and administer last rites to the dying . When the landing zone came under fire , he stood in the open and directed the medical evacuation helicopters in and out of the area . After the wounded had been evacuated , he returned to the perimeter to encourage the remaining soldiers until Company A was relieved the next morning . Liteky carried a total of 20 soldiers to safety during the battle . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor . Activism . Liteky left the priesthood in 1975 . In 1983 , he married a former nun named Judy Balch , who encouraged his involvement in social justice activities , particularly protesting the School of the Americas ( now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation ) at Fort Benning , Georgia . On July 29 , 1986 , he renounced his Medal of Honor by placing it in an envelope addressed to then - President Ronald Reagan near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington , D . C . The decoration is now on display at the National Museum of American History . In doing this , he became the only recipient to have renounced the medal . He wanted to renounce his Medal of Honor before embarking in September 1986 on the Veterans Fast for Life in protest against the U . S . policies in Central America . In recent years , he has also opposed the United States ' invasion of Iraq . Medal of Honor citation . Liteky ' s official Medal of Honor citation reads : Chaplain Liteky distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving with Company A , 4th Battalion , 12th Infantry , 199th Light Infantry Brigade . He was participating in a search and destroy operation when Company A came under intense fire from a battalion size enemy force . Momentarily stunned from the immediate encounter that ensued , the men hugged the ground for cover . Observing 2 wounded men , Chaplain Liteky moved to within 15 meters of an enemy machine gun position to reach them , placing himself between the enemy and the wounded men . When there was a brief respite in the fighting , he managed to drag them to the relative safety of the landing zone . Inspired by his courageous actions , the company rallied and began placing a heavy volume of fire upon the enemy ' s positions . In a magnificent display of courage and leadership , Chaplain Liteky began moving upright through the enemy fire , administering last rites to the dying and evacuating the wounded . Noticing another trapped and seriously wounded man , Chaplain Liteky crawled to his aid . Realizing that the wounded man was too heavy to carry , he rolled on his back , placed the man on his chest and through sheer determination and fortitude crawled back to the landing zone using his elbows and heels to push himself along . Pausing for breath momentarily , he returned to the action and came upon a man entangled in the dense , thorny underbrush . Once more intense enemy fire was directed at him , but Chaplain Liteky stood his ground and calmly broke the vines and carried the man to the landing zone for evacuation . On several occasions when the landing zone was under small arms and rocket fire , Chaplain Liteky stood up in the face of hostile fire and personally directed the medivac helicopters into and out of the area . With the wounded safely evacuated , Chaplain Liteky returned to the perimeter , constantly encouraging and inspiring the men . Upon the unit ' s relief on the morning of 7 December 1967 , it was discovered that despite painful wounds in the neck and foot , Chaplain Liteky had personally carried over 20 men to the landing zone for evacuation during the savage fighting . Through his indomitable inspiration and heroic actions , Chaplain Liteky saved the lives of a number of his comrades and enabled the company to repulse the enemy . Chaplain Liteky ' s actions reflect great credit upon himself and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U . S . Army .