James Leroy Bondsteel was a United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 soldier who served during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, where he earned the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. Camp Bondsteel

Camp Bondsteel

Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in Kosovo. Located near Uroševac in the eastern part of Kosovo, the base serves as the NATO headquarters for KFOR's Multinational Brigade East . The base is named after Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient United States...

, located in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

, is named in his honor. His Medal of Honor was the last presented by President Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon

Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

.

Biography

James L. Bondsteel was born in Jackson, Michigan

Jackson, Michigan

Jackson is a city located along Interstate 94 in the south central area of the U.S. state of Michigan, about west of Ann Arbor and south of Lansing. It is the county seat of Jackson County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 33,534...

 to Betty Jean Daisy and her fiancee, Kenneth Bondsteel. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1965 after graduating from Jonesville, Michigan. He was sent to Korea, where he is most notably known to have contributed his time to an orphanage. Once he had finished his stint in the Corps he joined the Army and was sent to West Germany; he was later sent to Vietnam. He served in Vietnam during 1969 and 1970, assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. He received the Medal of Honor for actions taking place on May 24, 1969, in An Loc Province, Republic of Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

. After his retirement from the Army, he again served his brothers in arms as a vet counselor. He lived in Willow, Alaska with his wife Elaine and his daughter, Rachel. He died on the Knick Bridge when a trailer full of logs came unhooked from the truck that was pulling it and slammed into the front of his AMC Spirit in 1987. A tree was placed at Freedoms Foundation Park at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in his honor.
SSG Bondsteel is buried in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 at Fort Richardson National Cemetery

Fort Richardson National Cemetery

Fort Richardson National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on the Fort Richardson United States Army installation near Anchorage, Alaska. It encompasses and as of the end of 2006, it had 4,527 interments...

. There is a monument to him at the Alaska Veterans Memorial

Alaska Veterans Memorial

The Alaska Veterans Memorial is an outdoor memorial grove in Denali State Park in Interior Alaska. The memorial honors Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Alaska National Guard, and Merchant Marine veterans from Alaska, as well as specific Alaskans who were awarded the Medal of Honor...

 at Byers Lake

Byers Lake

Byers lake is a small lake in Denali State Park, Alaska, north of Talkeetna. The lake is named for a fisherman who was brought there many times by bush pilot Don Sheldon in the 1950s. It is accessible from the Parks Highway and has a developed campground, several public-use cabins and a small boat...

 on the Parks Highway

George Parks Highway

The George Parks Highway , usually called simply the Parks Highway, runs 323 miles from the Glenn Highway 35 miles north of Anchorage to Fairbanks in the Alaska Interior...

.http://www.mishalov.com/Bondsteel.html Camp Bondsteel

Camp Bondsteel

Camp Bondsteel is the main base of the United States Army under KFOR command in Kosovo. Located near Uroševac in the eastern part of Kosovo, the base serves as the NATO headquarters for KFOR's Multinational Brigade East . The base is named after Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient United States...

, the main U.S. Army base in Kosovo, is named in his honor. S/Sgt Bondsteel, along with three other Medal of Honor recipients that were from the area, is honored on the Jackson County, MI Medal of Honor Memorial The memorial was dedicated on November 22, 2011.

Medal of Honor citation

Citation:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Bondsteel distinguished himself while serving as a platoon sergeant with Company A, near the village of Lang Sau. Company A was directed to assist a friendly unit which was endangered by intense fire from a North Vietnamese Battalion located in a heavily fortified base camp. S/Sgt. Bondsteel quickly organized the men of his platoon into effective combat teams and spearheaded the attack by destroying 4 enemy occupied bunkers. He then raced some 200 meters under heavy enemy fire to reach an adjoining platoon which had begun to falter. After rallying this unit and assisting their wounded, S/Sgt. Bondsteel returned to his own sector with critically needed munitions. Without pausing he moved to the forefront and destroyed 4 enemy occupied bunkers and a machine gun which had threatened his advancing platoon. Although painfully wounded by an enemy grenade, S/Sgt. Bondsteel refused medical attention and continued his assault by neutralizing 2 more enemy bunkers nearby. While searching one of these emplacements S/Sgt. Bondsteel narrowly escaped death when an enemy soldier detonated a grenade at close range. Shortly thereafter, he ran to the aid of a severely wounded officer and struck down an enemy soldier who was threatening the officer's life. S/Sgt. Bondsteel then continued to rally his men and led them through the entrenched enemy until his company was relieved. His exemplary leadership and great personal courage throughout the 4-hour battle ensured the success of his own and nearby units, and resulted in the saving of numerous lives of his fellow soldiers. By individual acts of bravery he destroyed 10 enemy bunkers and accounted for a large toll of the enemy, including 2 key enemy commanders. His extraordinary heroism at the risk of his life was in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

See also

• List of Medal of Honor recipients for the Vietnam War