Raleigh Vietnam vet honored for heroism
Retired Capt. Lyle Parker was awarded the Soldier's Medal at a ceremony at the North Carolina Museum of History.
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Rep. Brad Miller awarded retired Capt. Lyle Parker with the Soldier's Medal at a ceremony at the North Carolina Museum of History.
Parker was a doctor with the Army's 154th Medical Detachment.
In 1968, while under mortar and rocket attack, Parker rescued four soldiers from the debris of a helicopter crash.
Parker said he never set out to be a hero.
“A hero is a guy at the wrong place at the wrong time with witnesses. I think, just about anybody who was sitting there would not have said no to this situation (and) would have responded as I did,” he said.
Parker narrowly escaped before the chopper's damaged engine exploded into a ball of fire.
The Soldier's Medal is the highest military honor for non-combat heroism.
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