Lester William Weber - Darien, IL
Posted by: adgorn
N 41° 45.835 W 087° 58.651
16T E 418745 N 4624026
Earned The Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War for heroism February 23, 1969 at Bo Ban, Hieu Duc Dist, Quang NamProvince, Vietnam.
Waymark Code: WM55CJ
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 11/13/2008
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Born: July 30, 1948 at Aurora, IL
Entered Service in the US Marine Corps from Chicago, IL
Died: February 23, 1969 at the age of 20
Lance Corporal Weber's company was dispatched to the Bo Ban area of Hieu Duc District to assist a squad from another platoon which had become heavily engaged with a well entrenched enemy battalion. While moving through a rice paddy covered with tall grass, Lance Corporal Weber's platoon came under heavy attack from concealed hostile soldiers. He reacted by plunging into the tall grass, successfully attacking one enemy and forcing 11 others to break contact. Upon encountering a second North Vietnamese Army soldier he overwhelmed him in fierce hand-to-hand combat. Observing two other soldiers firing upon his comrades from behind a dike, he ignored the frenzied firing of the enemy and racing across the hazardous area, dived into their position. He neutralized the position by wrestling weapons from the hands of the two soldiers and overcoming them. Although by now the target for concentrated fire from hostile riflemen, Lance Corporal Weber remained in a dangerously exposed position to shout words of encouragement to his emboldened companions. As he moved forward to attack a fifth enemy soldier, he was mortally wounded.
In Clarendon Hills Cemetery.