WILLIAM E. HAYENGA, JR., Fireman, United States Naval Reserve. For extraordinary heroism on 4 February 1968 while engaged in armed conflict in the Republic of Vietnam. During Operation BOLD DRAGON I, Fireman Hayenga, as engineman on board River Patrol Boat (PBR) 731, participated in a four-PBR combat patrol on the Rach Hong Nhu River to assist a Vietnamese unit pinned down by a Viet Cong company. When PBR 728 was hit by three rockets and forced to beach in the middle of the ambush site, PBR 731, having also taken a direct rocket hit, returned to the scene of the stricken boat to attempt rescue of its crew. One crew member was rescued shortly after beaching. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Fireman Hayenga volunteered to search for the four missing crew members. Unarmed, he jumped ashore and made his way upstream toward the partially-sunken boat in search of his comrades. Finding no one on board the boat, he continued his search among the numerous thatched hutches along the river bank, and succeeded in locating two of the crewmen hidden in a drainage ditch. Both men were in a state of shock and one had sustained a serious leg wound. Assisting the wounded man and urging the other onward, Fireman Hayenga started to lead them back to PBR 731. Enemy fire was so effective at one point that the men were forced to crawl approximately thirty yards across an open space. On the other side of the clearing, Fireman Hayenga found a third crew member who was disoriented and in a state of shock. Upon reaching the embankment leading down to PBR 731, he sent the two ambulatory sailors to the boat and, once they were aboard, assisted the wounded man down the embankment and onto the boat. The Boat Commander of PBR 728 made his way to the rescue PBR approximately two minutes later, thus completing the rescue operation. Fireman HayengaÃs heroic actions in the face of intense enemy fire were directly responsible for saving the lives of three of his comrades and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
Mr. Hayenga is a life member and resides in Indiana.