TFH 5/18: Sp4c. Dale Eugene Wayrynen, USA

The 502nd Infantry Regiment is a storied unit of the United States Army. As part of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, the regiment's battalions jumped into battle for both Normandy and Eindhoven and then were part of the epic defense of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Twenty-some years later, the 101st Airborne Division entered combat in Vietnam by foot or helicopter, not parachute. Dale Eugene Wayrynen joined the Army from his home state of Minnesota in 1965 at age 18. About two years later while fighting in Vietnam with Company B, 2d Battalion, 502d Infantry, he first rescued the wounded point man of his platoon before saving his entire squad and the platoon leader by shielding them from a grenade blast with his body. He posthumously received our Nation's highest honor.


From Medal of Honor Citations for the Vietnam War (M-Z):


*WAYRYNEN, DALE EUGENE


Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company B, 2d Battalion, 502d Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: Quang Ngai, Province, Republic of Vietnam, 18 May 1967. Entered service at: Minneapolis, Minn. Born: 18 January 1947, Moose Lake, Minn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. Wayrynen distinguished himself with Company B, during combat operations near Duc Pho. His platoon was assisting in the night evacuation of the wounded from an earlier enemy contact when the lead man of the unit met face to face with a Viet Cong soldier. The American's shouted warning also alerted the enemy who immediately swept the area with automatic weapons fire from a strongly built bunker close to the trail and threw hand grenades from another nearby fortified position. Almost immediately, the lead man was wounded and knocked from his feet. Sp4c. Wayrynen, the second man in the formation, leaped beyond his fallen comrade to kill another enemy soldier who appeared on the trail, and he dragged his injured companion back to where the point squad had taken cover. Suddenly, a live enemy grenade landed in the center of the tightly grouped men. Sp4c. Wayrynen, quickly assessing the danger to the entire squad as well as to his platoon leader who was nearby, shouted a warning, pushed one soldier out of the way, and threw himself on the grenade at the moment it exploded. He was mortally wounded. His deep and abiding concern for his fellow soldiers was significantly reflected in his supreme and courageous act that preserved the lives of his comrades. Sp4c. Wayrynen's heroic actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of the service, and they reflect great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.

His name is inscribed on Panel 20E, Line 52 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Dale Eugene Wayrynen, American hero, rests in peace at Rice River Lutheran Cemetery in McGregor, Minnesota.

2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment is still part of today's 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) within the division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Their home station is Fort Campbell, Kentucky.