Michael Fitzmaurice is a native of Cavour, South Dakota, but was born unexpectedly in Jamestown, North Dakota, in March 1950. He explains: “I was a preemie. My parents were just passing through, and there I was. They left me up there and came back home [to South Dakota] for a month and then came back and retrieved me.”

His family had a long legacy of military service. Thus, after graduating from Iroquois High School in 1969, when the Vietnam War was raging, Michael recalls: “Me and three buddies came down to Sioux Falls and we all signed up. I went to the Army, and there were two Marines and one Navy. So, we all went different, but the important thing, I guess, is that we chose to do it.” At the time, he did not know how important his decision would be to those he would save two years later.

Fitzmaurice went to Basic Training at Fort Lewis and then to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, where he specialized in armored reconnaissance. In March 1970, he was deployed to Vietnam, the only one of his group of friends sent to that war zone. He was assigned to Second Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 101st Airborne Division.

In his second month there, his unit fought in the battle of Khe Sanh, which had been subjected to a 77-day siege in 1968, and the Marines there suffered heavy casualties before abandoning the base. But when military planners began operations into Laos, the abandoned Khe Sanh airstrip was needed for attacks on supply lines coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

On March 23, 1971, Fitzmaurice, then with 3D Squad, Troop D, was assigned to secure the airstrip when he and his men found themselves on the receiving end of a heavy enemy attack.

He says: “They came and blew us up. I went out on the line, and when it was over, I was going to go back to bed. Well, we no more got into our bunker than they started putting in the rockets and stuff again. I had two really good buddies, Phil and Bill, so, Phil and I went out to get into the fighting position, and there was one of our guys who had been all blown to crap laying there on the ground. Phil and I got into our hole. From there, they just started hammering us.”

Moving to another bunker, he says: “I wouldn’t even be here if Phil hadn’t shot a bunch as we came out. We come running, and they blew the main bunker. The other guys got buried, but Phil and I got into the fighting position and headed to another bunker.”

The Viet Cong threw three grenades into their second bunker, and Michael’s split-second decision saved the lives of his fellow soldiers.

According to his Medal of Honor citation:

At the onset of the attack Sp4c. Fitzmaurice observed three explosive charges which had been thrown into the bunker by the enemy. Realizing the imminent danger to his comrades, and with complete disregard for his personal safety, he hurled two of the charges out of the bunker. He then threw his flak vest and himself over the remaining charge. By this courageous act he absorbed the blast and shielded his fellow soldiers. Although suffering from serious multiple wounds and partial loss of sight, he charged out of the bunker and engaged the enemy until his rifle was damaged by the blast of an enemy hand grenade. While in search of another weapon, Sp4c. Fitzmaurice encountered and overcame an enemy sapper in hand-to-hand combat. Having obtained another weapon, he returned to his original fighting position and inflicted additional casualties on the attacking enemy.

His citation concludes:

Although seriously wounded, Sp4c. Fitzmaurice refused to be medically evacuated, preferring to remain at his post. Sp4c. Fitzmaurice’s extraordinary heroism in action at the risk of his life contributed significantly to the successful defense of the position and resulted in saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. These acts of heroism go above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service, and reflect great credit on Sp4c. Fitzmaurice and the U.S. Army.

Michael recalls he was “banged up pretty good” but says: “There was no place to go, so it was just lucky. So, what do you do? I mean, I never figured I’m surviving. But I had my buddy Phil with me, and I was trying to help him out. It’s just a matter of survival.”

As I have noted many times, while we often talk about heroic actions in the service of our country, those acts are almost universally in the service of their fellow warriors.

Michael’s injuries would require 13 months of surgeries. You can listen to him recount the events of that day here.

He was discharged from the Army in April 1972, and he and his wife Patty returned to South Dakota to start their family. In March 1973, he received an unexpected call.

“I’m out there sawing a pig, and I get a call, and they said it was the White House,” he says. “They told me I was going to be receiving the Medal of Honor. I didn’t even know I was put in for that. I couldn’t tell anyone until they put out a press release. It had to come out in the newspaper before I could even say anything about it.”

Of the ceremony with President Richard Nixon, he notes: “It was magical and fun, I have to say, but at the same time, I didn’t understand what was so special about what had happened in Vietnam. I was just doing what I was trained to do, and I was just lucky.” And as a recipient, he says: “If it wouldn’t have been for my experience there, I would’ve never got to meet all the nice people. With the Medal of Honor, I travel all over and meet nice people.”

Returning to Sioux Falls, Michael signed on to serve with the Army National Guard and Air National Guard. In 1987, he went to work for the Veterans Administration until his retirement in 2011.

In 1998, then-Governor Bill Janklow (R-SD) honored Michael by naming the South Dakota State Veterans Home in Hot Springs for him.

As for fellowship with other recipients, he says: “We have a convention every year. When I first started going, there was 254 living recipients. So, I met a lot of them — from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.”

Today, there are only 61 living recipients.

Michael and other recipients will be gathering for the 2025 Medal of Honor Celebration, hosted by the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee — the Birthplace of the Medal of Honor. The convention features public and private events, and the capstone Patriot Awards Gala is Saturday, 4 October. Learn more about corporate, foundation, and individual sponsorship opportunities for this high-profile event before they close. If you have questions, Chattanooga’s point of contact for the convention is Vince Butler, whom you can call at 423-877-2525 ext. 111, or email at [email protected].

Last year, Michael joined other Medal of Honor recipients with a rare public presidential endorsement — for Donald Trump.

SP4 Michael Fitzmaurice: Your example of valor — a humble American Patriot defending Liberty for all above and beyond the call of duty and in disregard for the peril to your own life — is eternal.

“Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Live your life worthy of his sacrifice.

(Read more Profiles of Valor here.)

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

Follow Mark Alexander on X/Twitter.

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