Rodney Yano

Rodney Jamus Takahashi Yano (December 13, 1943 – January 1, 1969) was a United States Army soldier.  He received the Medal of Honor because of his actions in the Vietnam War.US Army Center of Military History (CMH), "Medal of Honor Recipients, Vietnam (M-Z)" ; retrieved 2012-12-31.

Early life
Yano was born in Hawaii. His grandparents were Japanese immigrant parents.  Yano was a Sansei, which means that he was a third generation Japanese-American. "Big Island Salute," Rafu Shimpo (Los Angeles). July 12 2012; retrieved 2012-12-31.

Soldier
Yano joined the Army from Honolulu, Hawaii in 1963,"Yano, Rodney J T. (MOH), SFC" at TogetherWeServed.com; retrieved 2012-12-31. When he died in January 1969, he was as a Sergeant First Class in the Air Cavalry Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.

He was age 25 at his death.  He was buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Medal of Honor citation
Yano's Medal of Honor recognized his conduct in frontline fighting in Vietnam in 1969. He grabbed burning ammunition and threw it from the aircraft after being seriously wounded by a grenade explosion aboard a helicopter.CMH,  "Asian Pacific American Medal of Honor recipients" ; retrieved 2012-12-28.

The words of Yano's citation explain:
Sfc. Yano distinguished himself while serving with the Air Cavalry Troop. Sfc. Yano was performing the duties of crew chief aboard the troop's command-and-control helicopter during action against enemy forces entrenched in dense jungle. From an exposed position in the face of intense small arms and antiaircraft fire he delivered suppressive fire upon the enemy forces and marked their positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades, thus enabling his troop commander to direct accurate and effective artillery fire against the hostile emplacements. A grenade, exploding prematurely, covered him with burning phosphorus, and left him severely wounded. Flaming fragments within the helicopter caused supplies and ammunition to detonate. Dense white smoke filled the aircraft, obscuring the pilot's vision and causing him to lose control. Although having the use of only 1 arm and being partially blinded by the initial explosion, Sfc. Yano completely disregarded his welfare and began hurling blazing ammunition from the helicopter. In so doing he inflicted additional wounds upon himself, yet he persisted until the danger was past. Sfc. Yano's indomitable courage and profound concern for his comrades averted loss of life and additional injury to the rest of the crew. By his conspicuous gallantry at the cost of his life, in the highest traditions of the military service, Sfc. Yano has reflected great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Namesake
Yano is the namesake of the USNS Yano (T-AKR-297), a Shughart class cargo ship. She is a 'roll-on roll-off' non-combat United States Navy designated a "Large, Medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off" (LMSR) ship.

Yano Fitness Center at Camp Zama, Japan and Yano Hall Helicopter Maintenance Facility  at Fort Rucker, Alabama are named in his honor.

Related pages
 List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War
 List of Asian American Medal of Honor recipients
 Posthumous recognition

 References 
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Other websites


Category:1943 births
Category:1969 deaths
Category:Military people from Hawaii
Category:United States Army Medal of Honor recipients