Enshrined law now honors South Dakota's bravest

Gov. Kristi Noem, Legislature highlight Congressional Medal of Honor recipients

CORRECTION: An earlier listing of Congressional Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota in this article was incorrect.

Two weeks after his 21st birthday, Michael John Fitzmaurice’s acts of bravery in the battle of Khe Sanh during the Vietnam War would end up marking him as one of the bravest soldiers to ever enlist in South Dakota.

The Army Specialist’s troop was engaged in combat on March 23, 1971, when the kid from Cavour hurled himself on top of two grenades, at the same time throwing his flak jacket over a third. Severely injured from the blasts, Fitzmaurice kept fighting, defeating an enemy in hand-to-hand combat before finding a rifle and again exchanging fire with the attacking enemy.

“Although seriously wounded, Sp4c. Fitzmaurice refused to be medically evacuated, preferring to remain at his post. Sp4c. Fitzmaurice's extraordinary heroism in action at the risk of his life contributed significantly to the successful defense of the position and resulted in saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers,” according to the Congressional resolution awarding him the U.S. Armed Forces’ highest decoration — the Medal of Honor.

NEWS: South Dakota to open law enforcement training to tribal police