| Notes |
Cpl. Gary
Ralph
Schwellenbach-Barnard
June 15, 1948 - Dec.
27, 1967
Chico
Gary Schwellenbach-Barnard
joined the Army in August 1966. He completed airborne training
and medics school and was shipped to Vietnam in September
1967.
On Dec. 27, Schwellenbach-Barnard made a helicopter assault
with his unit, the 173rd Airborne, near the coastal town
of Tuy Hoa, 250 miles north of Saigon.
The troops jumped off the choppers into an enemy-held landing
zone where the Viet Cong were dug in and waiting. In the
barrage of heavy sniper and automatic weapons fire, Schwellenbach-Barnard
was immediately wounded.
But, according to an account accompanying a medal citation,
“with complete disregard for his own safety he moved into
the most intense area of fire” and brought fallen comrades
to safety. He was wounded a second time, refuse aid, and
continued to help wounded men.
Schwellenbach-Barnard received his third and fatal wound
while he was trying to save the life of another man.
For his “gallantry, heroism and intrepidity” the Chico soldier
received a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross. The DSC
is one of the U.S. Army’s rarest medals and only awarded
for “extraordinary heroism.”
Gary Schwellenbach-Barnard lived in Chico all his life and
loved fishing and motorcycling.
Courtesy Chico News & Review, May 26, 1988
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