A Soldier's Story: Specialist Michael Reinert Blanchfield

 


Specialist Michael Reinert Blanchfield was born on January 4, 1950, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While he was young, he and his family moved to Wheeling, a suburb of Chicago, and specialist Blanchfield graduated from Wheeling High School. He enlisted in the US Army in 1967, shortly after his high school graduation.

He was assigned to the 503rd Infantry Division of the 173rd Airborne, and then Special Michael Blanchfield deployed to the Binh Dinh Province of Vietnam for the Vietnam War.

Specialist Michael Blanchfield earned a Congressional Medal of Honor on July 3, 1969, during a search and destroy mission. A Viet Cong soldier threw two grenades into his unit's location, and Specialist Blanchfield smothered one grenade with his body, saving the lives of his team.

He rests at the All Saints Catholic Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.


* Read about a.d. elliott's Everyday Patriot Project here*


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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

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Location: Wheeling, IL, USA

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