BOONE COUNTY RECORDER
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THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
HIS ULTIMATE SACRIFICE SAVED EIGHT LIVES Vietnam veterans remember sacrifi ce that allowed them to live Chris Mayhew Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
If there ever were such a thing as an ordinary day in war, May 27, 1969, was it. Army Sgt. Charles Fleek, a 21-yearold Northern Kentuckian who hadn’t fi nished high school, was in charge of 10 men. They were on alert for the enemy. Told to engage if the fi ght seemed fair. His men called Fleek “Hillbilly.” In the Ohio River town of Petersburg in Boone County, where he grew up, he was known as “Chalkie.” He had been ordered off light duty aff orded to shorttimers about to be sent home. This was one last mission. The working-class distillery employee was drafted like the rest of his men. But he had a by-the-book manner that worked to protect his men. He was on his 308th day in Vietnam. They all wore loose-fi tting uniforms with no underwear or socks to be more eff ective in the subtropical climate. On that day in 1969, the men of Charlie Company were sent to wait in ambush in the dry heat in an abandoned French rubber plantation that was a free-fi re zone, an area in which U.S. troops were told they could shoot anything that moved. Explosions could be heard in the distance as other units drove the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers toward their position. It was after 4 p.m. Because the platoon, positioned in the Binh Duong Province about 50 miles north of Saigon, was outnumbered, orders were not to fi re without reason. Fleek noticed when a pair of NVA sol-
Photo of Sgt. Charles Fleek, killed during the Vietnam War and one of the few Medal of Honor recipients in the Tristate area. FILE PHOTO
diers spotted the ambush. He yelled at his men to engage the enemy. Fleek and his men opened fi re. The men were bunched unusually close to one another that day in a nearly U-shaped defense. Then, a grenade landed next to Fleek. Most of the men didn’t see it. Fleek shouted a warning. Then he smothered the grenade with his body. His body absorbed the blast, which shattered him. Five feet away, Pvt. Milton Johnson took his share of the explosion. A medic ran to help the dying sergeant. Both of the injured were taken out by medivac. Fleek likely breathed his last in the helicopter. Johnson would See FLEEK, Page 2A
U.S. Army soldiers Dennis Harvey and Medal of Honor recipient Charles Clinton Fleek of Petersburg, Kentucky, pose for a snapshot in December 1968, at Dau Tieng base camp in south Vietnam. His men called Fleek “Hillbilly.” In Boone County, where he grew up, he was known as “Chalkie.” DENNIS HARVEY/PROVIDED
‘Hillbilly’ Fleek had record of heroism Chris Mayhew Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Clinton Fleek is the only Medal of Honor recipient from Boone County, Kentucky. Fleek was credited with valorously saving the lives of eight men when he was killed May, 27, 1969, in the Binh Duong Province in Vietnam. The Petersburg resident threw his body on a grenade, absorbing much of the blast. President Richard Nixon awarded the medal to Fleek's family in Feb. 16, 1971, at the Whitehouse. He was awarded two Bronze Stars, two Army Commendation Medals for
Heroism in the prior actions. ❚ For an April 30, 1969, action he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Heroism with “V” device (fi rst oak leaf cluster). Fleek, while on a reconnaissance mission, came under fi re from a well concealed enemy fortifi cation. During the initial contact, several casualties were sustained. Immediately, Sergeant Fleek moved through the bullet swept area and evacuated the wounded men.” ❚ For leading an April 19, 1969, ambush, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Heroism (fi rst oak leaf cluster). He waited until the enemy was in See HEROISM, Page 2A
Medal of Honor is military’s highest award for valor Chris Mayhew Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
The highest award for valor in the U.S. military is The Medal of Honor. More than 3,500 men and one woman have been awarded the medal since President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill Dec. 21,1861 creating the medal, according to a Department of Defense report. Sgt. Charles Clinton Fleek, of Petersburg, Kentucky, was posthumously awarded the medal Feb.16, 1971. Fleek’s medal approval went through 11 commanders before President Richard Nixon granted his approval. U.S. Navy Admiral John S. McCain Jr., father of Sen. John McCain, was the eighth highest ranking military offi cer to recommend that the honor be bestowed.
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President Richard Nixon hands the framed Medal of Honor awarded posthumously to Sgt. Charles Clinton Fleek for his sacrifi ce in Vietnam to Fleek's mother, Catherine, Feb. 16, 1971 at the White House. Catherine's son Sonny is behind and between her and Charles' father Wilford. Charles' younger sister Carla is the little girl. NATIONAL ARCHIVES PHOTO/PROVIDED
Junior newspaper carriers needed in Florence and Union The Medal of Honor awarded to U.S. Army Sgt. Charles C. Fleek of Petersburg is behind protective glass in the lobby of the Boone County Administration Building in Burlington. ENQUIRER FILE PHOTO
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