US Army SGM Kenneth Stumpf: Vietnam Medal of Honor Recipient

Welcome back everyone.  On today's episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who dreamed of playing baseball, but his duty to his nation was stronger.  A man who believed so strongly in leadership that he led his men from the front.  A man who faced certain death to save the lives of fellow soldiers.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Army Sgt. Major Kenneth Stumpf.  

Kenneth was born on September 28th, 1944 in Neenah, WI.  And he was one of five children born to parents Lawrence Sr. and Arvella Stumpf.  After high school, Kenneth was working a factory job while pursuing his dream to play professional baseball.  When he was 21, the team he was playing for was visited by a Major League scout many times, which led him to believe he was close to being drafted.  He said that he joked with his mother that he wanted her to wake him if he received any draft letters.  The joke ended up being played on Kenneth, he did receive a draft letter.  But this one was informing him that he had been drafted into the US Army.

Kenneth received his initial military training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, then Fort Ord, CA, before being assigned to a mechanized infantry unit at Fort Knox, KY.  After a year there, he volunteered for combat in Vietnam.  There he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division.  As a replacement, he had to work at fitting in, but it didn’t take him long to do so and would prove himself to the others in his platoon.  He was still a private a few months after arriving when he was told he was a squad leader.  Kenneth said that the reason he was put in that role was because “everyone else was killed, wounded or rotated” out.

By April 25th, 1967, Kenneth was now a Specialist Fourth Class when he was leading his squad on a search and destroy mission in support of Operation Baker outside Duc Pho on the Vietnamese East Coast.  He wanted to be a leader among his men so he put himself in the point position as they made their way through the thick jungle.  Around noon that day he directed his men to the safety of a nearby ditch and he fell back to find a field radio.  Unknown to Kenneth, three of his six men advanced beyond the ditch and were ambushed by the North Vietnamese.  

The sound of the gunfire sent Kenneth racing back to his squad.  After jumping into the ditch he quickly learned that the three men had been hit in their legs and could not make their way back.  The firefight grew fiercer after reinforcements arrived and they were being inundated by grenades being thrown at their position.  Eventually everyone but Kenneth had been wounded by shrapnel from the grenades.

At one point, a squad member yelled “Stumpy, look out!  There’s a grenade between your legs!”  Kenneth was then observed looking down, grabbing the grenade and calmly throwing back at the enemy before returning back to his M-16.

The gunfire wasn’t subsiding, but Kenneth knew he had to save the three men.  He ran forward and made it to the first man who had a broken leg and couldn’t walk.  He told the man to grab him around the neck and to not let go before carrying back to the ditch.  Kenneth then faced an enemy taking direct aim at him as he ran to the second injured man.  When he reached him, Kenneth grabbed the other man and dragged him all the way back to the ditch.  Though he nearly fell due to exhaustion alone, he found the energy to attempt a third rescue.  Much like the second rescue, he somehow made it to the third injured man and dragged him back to the ditch as well. 

The fighting raged on and after some time, artillery fire aimed at the North Vietnamese was able to thin out the jungle canopy, which gave them their first sight of the enemy position.  In front of them they saw a well fortified bunker complex.  It was Kenneth who was credited with organizing an attack on the bunkers, which saw them eliminate multiple positions.  After clearing them, in front of Kenneth and his squad remained one last bunker, but this one was their most difficult to defeat.  

Kenneth faced heavy enemy fire as he ran across open ground toward the bunker while carrying a sandbag full of grenades.  He didn’t just get close enough to attack the bunker, instead he ran right up to it which would allow him to throw grenades into the small firing holes.  He quickly tossed a grenade into the bunker, but this speed gave the enemy the time to pick up the grenade and throw it back out.  Kenneth was forced into the fetal position as he attempted to avoid being injured by the grenade that landed near him.  Luckily the blast didn’t hit him.  He quickly got back up and grabbed two more grenades.  This time he waited a moment longer before throwing them back into the bunker.  This time he was successful and the threat from the bunker was eliminated.  

Later the same day, he found himself near the enemy line again, as he was charged with bringing back another platoon that had gotten lost in the dark.  He was able to guide them back safely.

Not long after, Kenneth was pulled away from the front lines and he was informed that had been recommended for the Medal of Honor for his actions that day.  Not one to sit around while the other men were fighting, he went against orders and rejoined his platoon.  

Kenneth returned to his factory job after being discharged in 1967 and married his wife Dorothy. 

On September 19th, 1968, Kenneth was at the White House where President Johnson bestowed the Medal of Honor upon him.  

This ended up motivating him to return to active Army service.  He then returned to Vietnam for two more tours.  He would go on to serve thirty months in Vietnam and was awarded a purple heart for wounds sustained in combat.  He would stay in the Army until he retired in 1994 at the rank of sergeant major, after 29 years of service. 

Sgt. Kenneth Stumpf passed away on April 23rd, 2022 at the age of 77 and he is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery.   

Kenneth Stumpf's legacy is one of courage, selflessness, and unwavering dedication. He reminds us that even in the darkest times, the human spirit can prevail.  His story continues to inspire the military community, and his nation, to this day.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor.  To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com.

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