Charles Calvin Rogers Charles Calvin Rogers ( September 6 , 1929 – September 21 , 1990 ) was a United States Army officer and a recipient of America ' s highest military decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in the Vietnam War . Biography . Charles Rogers joined the U . S . Army from Institute , West Virginia in 1952 , and by 1968 was serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in command of 1st Battalion , 5th Field Artillery Regiment , 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam . On November 1 , 1968 , 1st Battalion was manning a fire support base in the Fishhook region near the Cambodia n border when it came under heavy attack . Rogers rallied his men in the defense of the base and , despite being several times wounded , continued to lead the battalion until the attack was repulsed . For his actions during the battle , Lieutenant Colonel Rogers was nominated for the Medal of Honor . His nomination was approved and , on May 14 , 1970 , Rogers and 11 other servicemen were presented with Medals of Honor by President Richard Nixon at a ceremony in the White House . Rogers rose to the rank of Major General before leaving the Army in 1984 . He later became a Baptist minister , serving U . S . troops stationed in Germany . After a brief battle with prostate cancer , he died in Munich , Germany at age 61 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery , Arlington County , Virginia . Medal of Honor citation . Lieutenant Colonel Rogers ' official Medal of Honor citation reads : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty . Lt . Col . Rogers , Field Artillery , distinguished himself in action while serving as commanding officer , 1st Battalion , during the defense of a forward fire support base . In the early morning hours , the fire support base was subjected to a concentrated bombardment of heavy mortar , rocket and rocket propelled grenade fire . Simultaneously the position was struck by a human wave ground assault , led by sapper s who breached the defensive barriers with bangalore torpedo es and penetrated the defensive perimeter . Lt . Col . Rogers with complete disregard for his safety moved through the hail of fragments from bursting enemy rounds to the embattled area . He aggressively rallied the dazed artillery crewmen to man their howitzer s and he directed their fire on the assaulting enemy . Although knocked to the ground and wounded by an exploding round , Lt . Col . Rogers sprang to his feet and led a small counterattack force against an enemy element that had penetrated the howitzer positions . Although painfully wounded a second time during the assault , Lt . Col . Rogers pressed the attack killing several of the enemy and driving the remainder from the positions . Refusing medical treatment , Lt . Col . Rogers reestablished and reinforced the defensive positions . As a second human wave attack was launched against another sector of the perimeter , Lt . Col . Rogers directed artillery fire on the assaulting enemy and led a second counterattack against the charging forces . His valorous example rallied the beleaguered defenders to repulse and defeat the enemy onslaught . Lt . Col . Rogers moved from position to position through the heavy enemy fire , giving encouragement and direction to his men . At dawn the determined enemy launched a third assault against the fire base in an attempt to overrun the position . Lt . Col . Rogers moved to the threatened area and directed lethal fire on the enemy forces . Seeing a howitzer inoperative due to casualties , Lt . Col . Rogers joined the surviving members of the crew to return the howitzer to action . While directing the position defense , Lt . Col . Rogers was seriously wounded by fragments from a heavy mortar round which exploded on the parapet of the gun position . Although too severely wounded to physically lead the defenders , Lt . Col . Rogers continued to give encouragement and direction to his men in the defeating and repelling of the enemy attack . Lt . Col . Rogers ' dauntless courage and heroism inspired the defenders of the fire support base to the heights of valor to defeat a determined and numerically superior enemy force . His relentless spirit of aggressiveness in action are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself , his unit , and the U . S . Army .