Rodney Yano, Medal of Honor Hero Who Saved Comrades in Vietnam

Nov 22 , 2025

Rodney Yano, Medal of Honor Hero Who Saved Comrades in Vietnam

Rodney Yano’s hands trembled, clutching a burning grenade minutes from exploding in the cramped confines of his armored personnel carrier. Smoke choked the air. His body already seared by shrapnel, he had but seconds. No hesitation. He hurled that fragment of death out the door—then another. Each toss was a battle cry in defiance of fate.

He saved lives with a furnace in his veins.

Early Roots and Steadfast Faith

Rodney Yano was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1943, a son molded by discipline and faith. A Nisei—second-generation Japanese American—his upbringing was steeped in quiet resilience. Community and family were his first battles, tempered through church and culture.

“Be strong and courageous,” he likely heard echoed from scripture in youth, a compass he carried to war. His deep resolve was not just military but spiritual. The idea of sacrifice wasn’t abstract—it was legacy.

His enlistment in the U.S. Army in 1963 was a pledge to honor that legacy, to stand as a shield for his comrades and country; to translate faith into action on foreign soil.

The Battle That Defined Him: November 1, 1969, Vietnam

Assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Yano fought in Phu Hoa Dong, South Vietnam.

That day, the enemy ambushed their armored personnel carrier. A hand grenade exploded inside the confined space, scattering deadly fragments. Yano’s right hand was nearly blown away. His body was aflame.

The citadel of pain would’ve broken any man. But Yano’s response was carved from steel and grit.

Despite agonizing wounds, he grabbed burning grenades, one after another, and hurled them clear of the vehicle—each toss a heartbeat between life and disintegrating flesh.

His selfless acts shielded his fellow soldiers, buying them seconds that meant survival. The final grenade exploded as he slumped, fatally wounded.

Recognition in the Bloodstain

For his extraordinary valor, Specialist Four Rodney J. Yano received the Medal of Honor posthumously.

The citation reads:

“Specialist Four Yano was severely wounded by fragmentation from an enemy hand grenade but, disregarding his painful injuries and great personal danger, he unhesitatingly grabbed the grenade and threw it out of the vehicle. When the grenade exploded, burning fragmentation ignited a second grenade. Despite painful burns and wounds, Specialist Yano again saved members of the crew by hurling the second grenade outside. Though mortally wounded, he grasped a third burning grenade and threw it away from the vehicle, saving the lives of his comrades at the cost of his own.”[1]

Army leadership and comrades alike have remembered Yano not merely as a hero but as a man who embodied the warrior’s highest code.

General Westmoreland once said of soldiers like Yano, “They write history not with ink, but with blood.” This was a man who wrote his chapter in fire.

Legacy Carved From Sacrifice

Rodney Yano’s sacrifice is more than a footnote in Vietnam’s bitter history. It is a rallying call to courage under fire, a raw testament to loyalty forged in hell.

His name graces the Yano Hall at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, a permanent reminder of what one soldier’s courage can mean to a nation.

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

His life and death echo the eternal truth that valor demands sacrifice — and that sacrifice endures.

Rodney Yano’s story is not merely of war, but of redemption. Of purpose reclaimed in the crucible of combat. He did not die in vain. He died so others could live.

To those who carry the weight of battle, Yano’s flame is a beacon: stand fast, hold the line, and love fiercely.

Sources

[1] U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients: Vietnam War [2] U.S. Army, 196th Light Infantry Brigade Unit History [3] Military Times Hall of Valor, Rodney Yano Citation