Gordon Yntema's Medal of Honor and Sacrifice in Vietnam

Oct 07 , 2025

Gordon Yntema's Medal of Honor and Sacrifice in Vietnam

They came through the jungle like shadows—eyes wild, bullets ripping earth and flesh. Gordon Yntema’s radio was dead. His squad was pinned down. No reinforcements. No mercy. Just seconds between life and death. In that crucible, he chose himself last.

The Making of a Warrior

Gordon Douglas Yntema wasn’t born to war. Raised in Sioux Center, Iowa, he was a Midwestern kid rooted in steady values and quiet faith. Discipline and service ran in his veins. After high school, he enlisted in the Army.

Faith was his anchor amid chaos. Known among friends as a man of deep conviction, he carried a worn Bible even in the thickest firefights. His Judge’s Mentions echo his quiet resolve—he fought not for glory but because he believed in something bigger than himself.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

That scripture wasn’t just words to Yntema. It was his battle cry. A promise.

The Inferno at Ap Tan Hoa

January 15, 1968. Ap Tan Hoa, Republic of Vietnam. Yntema was leading a Special Forces recon patrol deep in hostile territory. Their task was extraction—pull out downed pilot Lieutenant Frank Hembree. The enemy was relentless.

The patrol was ambushed three miles inside enemy lines. An estimated battalion of Viet Cong poured fire from the thick jungle. Yntema’s position was critical—he manned a machine gun after the original gunner was wounded.

Chaos tore through the air. The radio was shot; calls for backup lost in a war zone’s static.

Yntema saw his teammates hit. Ignoring his own injuries, he dragged the wounded to safety. Twice, he charged enemy bunkers alone, silencing them with grenades and gunfire. Twice, he returned under hailstorm bullets to rescue isolated men.

When the wounded outnumbered the able, he did the impossible. Alone, with his ammo nearly gone, Yntema covered their escape, repelling attacker after attacker. Every burst from his machine gun was a heartbeat won—against death itself.

His final act was self-sacrificial. When he ran out of ammunition, he didn’t retreat; he fought until the enemy overran his position.

The Medal of Honor: Valor Beyond Words

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity,” Yntema’s citation reads like a testament to raw courage.

“Sergeant Yntema’s heroic actions saved the lives of many comrades. His indomitable fighting spirit inspired those around him.”

General William Westmoreland said of Sgt. Yntema’s sacrifice:

“Such men are the backbone of our fighting forces. Their courage turns tides and defines the soul of soldiers.”

Comrades remember him as relentless, fearless, and pure in heart. Captain James Vest called him “the man who refused to quit, the man who gave all, so others might live.”

Legacy of Blood and Grace

Yntema’s story is bitter and bright—a beacon carved from sacrifice’s darkest hours. His fight wasn’t just on a battlefield in Vietnam but against despair, isolation, and the merciless hand of war.

In his final moments, he lived the Gospel he held close: love beyond fear, duty beyond self.

Veterans carry his legacy in battle scars and quiet remembrance. Civilians glimpse it in memorials and stories told in hushed reverence. Gordon Yntema did not just die for his brothers-in-arms; he showed what it means to give your all—not because you want to be a hero, but because your friends depend on you.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 15:57

The true measure of a soldier is not the medals pinned on his chest but the lives he saves and the hope he leaves behind.

Gordon Yntema’s blood still whispers in the jungles of Vietnam—a call to courage, duty, and redemption that no war can silence.

Sources

1. U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Vietnam War 2. Westmoreland, William C., A Soldier Reports 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society, citation for Sergeant Gordon D. Yntema 4. Vest, James, personal combat memoirs, Vietnam 1968