Master Sergeant Raul Perez “Roy” Benavidez (1935 1998) a member of the United States Army Special Forces and Medal of Honor recipient. Citation: “Master Sergeant (then Staff Sergeant) Roy P. BENAVIDEZ United States Army distinguished himself by a series of daring and extremely valorous actions on 2 May 1968 while assigned to Detachment B56 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) 1st Special Forces Republic of Vietnam. On the morning of 2 May 1968 a 12-man Special Forces Reconnaissance Team was inserted by helicopters of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company in a dense jungle area west of Loc Ninh Vietnam to gather intelligence information about confirmed large-scale enemy activity. This area was controlled and routinely patrolled by the North Vietnamese Army. After a short period of time on the ground the team met heavy enemy resistance and requested emergency extraction. Three helicopters attempted extraction but were unable to land due to intense enemy small arms and anti-aircraft fire.
