Dale E Wayrynen

Dale was born in Moose Lake, Minnesota, on the 18th of January 1947, and grew up with three younger brothers in the small town of McGregor. He played football, basketball, and baseball in school, becoming the co-captain of all three teams during his last year of school. He graduated from McGregor High School in May 1965, and he enlisted in the US Army shortly after. His father had been a B-17 waist gunner during World War 2 and Dale felt a calling to follow in his footsteps. After basic training, Dale attended airborne school and then volunteered to deploy in support of the Vietnam War. It was his actions on the 18th of May 1967, that would cost him his life and earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

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 early enemy contact when the leadman 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 leadman 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.

Dale was 20 years old when he died and his family was presented his Medal of Honor on the 16th of October 1967, by President Nixon. Dale Eugene Wayrynen is buried with his parents and one brother in the Rice River Cemetery in McGregor, Minnesota. His name appears on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC: Panel 20E, Line 52.