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This email was sent to sajanram1986.channel@blogger.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Department of War 1400 Defense Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1400 |
Army 1st Lt. Douglas Bernard Fournet was a trooper assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, when he served in South Vietnam in 1968.
He was born on May 7, 1943, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His father, former Army Staff Sgt. Henry Bernard Fournet, was a shrimp boat operator, and his mother, Maria Lena Fournet, was a homemaker.
In 1952, his father drowned when his shrimp boat capsized in heavy seas, so Fournet and his siblings cared for their mother.
He was the quarterback of the Lake Charles High School football team. He also graduated from McNeese State University in Lake Charles. His siblings include brothers Keith, Mark, Rocke, Brett, and Kevin, who was an Army veteran, and sister Susan.
After college, Fournet married the former Marilyn Miller.
Following college, Fournet attended Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1968, after which he deployed to South Vietnam.
His wife was pregnant when Fournet deployed. Their son Bill would be born after his father's death.
Fournet, a platoon leader, deployed with his troopers to the A Shau Valley during Operation Delaware, April 19, 1968. The valley was a vital corridor for supplying enemy forces known as the People's Army of Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Their mission was to cut off the supply route.
While advancing uphill against fortified enemy positions in the valley, the platoon encountered intense sniper fire from concealed enemy positions, making movement very difficult. The right flank man suddenly discovered an enemy claymore mine covering the route of advance and shouted a warning to his comrades.
Realizing that the enemy would also be alerted, Fournet ordered his men to take cover and ran uphill toward the mine, drawing a sheath knife as he approached it with the intent of cutting the control wire.
He used his body as a shield in front of the mine as he attempted to slash the wires. As he reached for the wire, the mine was detonated by the enemy, killing him instantly. Five men nearest the mine were slightly wounded, but his heroic and unselfish act spared his men from serious injury or death.
Braving enemy fire, his platoon sergeant, Army Staff Sgt. Bill Krahl retrieved Fournet's body. For his actions, Krahl was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
In a White House ceremony, President Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor on behalf of Fournet to Army Mag. Gen. Charles Spragins, commander, U.S. Army Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, on April 7, 1970. Family members also attended.
There's a monument to him at American Legion Post 244 in Kinder, Louisiana.
Nixon wrote in a letter to Post 244: "In a sense, the monument will be a memorial to the many other brave young men who made sacrifices for our country. We can all be justifiably proud that our nation has always had men of Lt. Fournet's caliber who have come forth to serve her in her hour of need."
Fournet was inducted into the Louisiana Military Hall of Fame and Museum, and a section of Interstate 210 near Lake Charles is named the Douglas Fournet Expressway.
The First Lieutenant Douglas B. Fournet Memorial is located at Veterans Memorial Park on the grounds of the Lake Charles Civic Center.
Fournet is buried in the Kinder Cemetery in Kinder.
This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.
