Herda remembered as Vietnam hero, MOH recipient
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Congressional Medal of Honor Society recently announced that Frank A. Herda, who received the Medal of Honor for valor during the Vietnam War, died Oct. 13 in Cleveland, at age 76.
President Richard Nixon presented Herda with the Medal of Honor at the White House on May 14, 1970, for his actions near Dak To, Quang Trang Province, Vietnam.
On June 29, 1968, then-Private-First-Class Herda was defending his position during a nighttime enemy assault. When a grenade landed in his foxhole, he threw himself down to smother the explosion. He was grievously wounded but his actions allowed the remaining two soldiers to survive without serious injury and stopped the enemy assault.
Herda was born on Sept. 13, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio. After the war, he served 33 years as a systems analyst for the U.S Department of Defense. A lover of science fiction, he authored the book “The Cup of Death: Chronicles of the Dragons of the Magi” in 2007.
A private memorial will take place at a later date.
There are 65 Medal of Honor
