Daniel D Fernandez ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from New Mexico
On February 18, 1966 Specialist Four Fernandez was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Army. ★ He is remembered by the people of New Mexico. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
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Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Daniel D Fernandez is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2021-11-29 19:53:14.
Missing : Core Data
· Middle name· Enlistment type
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Educational background· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
Service Details
| This Profile ID | 308174 |
| Service ID | 18661777 |
| Name | Daniel D Fernandez |
| From | Los Lunas, Valencia County, New Mexico |
| Birth Date | June 30, 1944 |
| Casualty Date | February 18, 1966 |
| War | Vietnam War |
| Service Branch | Army |
| Rank | Specialist Four |
| Specialty | Infantryman |
| Unit/Group | Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment Mechanized, 25th Infantry Division |
| Casualty Type | Killed in action, Multiple Fragmentation Wounds |
| Location | Vietnam, Hau Nghia Province |
| Burial | Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico |
| Notable Awards |
★ Medal of Honor
★ Purple Heart |
| Remembered | 
Daniel D Fernandez is buried or memorialized at Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of Veteran's Affairs.  Daniel is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 5e, Line 46. |
Additional Details
Daniel D Fernandez was born in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico and grew up in Los Lunas. He was the oldest of the four children of Jose Ignacio Fernandez and Lorinda Griego. They had three sons and one daughter. He enlisted in the US Army from Albuquerque in 1962 and by 1966 was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam. Fernandez was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his selfless and heroic actions in Vietnam. By throwing himself on a live grenade, he sacrificed his life to save the lives of fellow soldiers around him. On February 18, 1966, in Cu Chi, Hau Nghia Province, his 16-man patrol was ambushed by a Viet Cong rifle company and forced to fall back. Fernandez and two others volunteered to follow a sergeant back to the ambush site and rescue a wounded soldier who had been left behind. After reaching the injured man, the sergeant was shot in the knee and Fernandez took over command of the patrol. All five men were pinned down by heavy fire when a rifle grenade landed in their midst. In the scramble to get away from the device, Fernandez accidentally kicked it closer to the rest of the group. He then shouted "move out", jumped over the immobile sergeant, and threw himself on the grenade. He was killed in the resulting explosion, but successfully saved the lives of his fellow soldiers. He was the first Mexican American to receive the Medal of Honor for actions during the Vietnam War. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Medal of Honor
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Infantryman Badge
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.New Mexico Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of New Mexico who gave their all for their country. May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world. Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ New Mexico was home to over 3,032 American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
• 245 World War I
• 2,192 World War II
• 198 Korean War
• 397 Vietnam War
• 469 Prisoners of war
• 652 Missing in action
• 10 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 13 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 2 Medal of Honor recipients
• 2,192 World War II
• 198 Korean War
• 397 Vietnam War
• 469 Prisoners of war
• 652 Missing in action
• 10 Pearl Harbor casualties
• 13 D-Day Normandy casualties
• 2 Medal of Honor recipients
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Honor States Admin
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen. Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together. It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a Citizen Historian and Guardian of Honor. - learn more
Here is Some Important Information!
USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor
Located at the harbor in downtown San Diego, California at Navy Pier. The USS Midway is a living, floating museum, housing an extensive collection of aircraft, many of which were built in Southern California. USS Midway saw active duty from 1945 to 1992. Approximately 200,000 sailors proudly served onboard. In 2016 the USS Midway hosted one of the premier events honoring the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Among the featured memorials was a Wall of Honor with over 1000 images of the fallen. Researched by the Honor States Group.
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