Hometown: Tifton, GA
Branch: U.S. Army
Unit: Battery C, 6th Battalion, 15th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division
Military Honors: Medal of Honor, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal, Purple Heart
Date of Sacrifice: October 17, 1967 - KIA near Near Chơn Thành, South Vietnam
Age: 25
Conflict: Vietnam War, 1959-1975

A few months after his birth on October 12, 1942, in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Harold Bascom Durham Jr.’s family moved to the small town of Tifton, Georgia, a three-hour drive south of Atlanta.

His family recalls that Harold was given the nickname “Pinky” at birth when the hospital ran out of blue blankets—and he was wrapped in a pink one instead. The name would stick for the rest of his life.

Harold was a middle child of three. Their father, Harold Sr., was a U.S. Marine. After graduating from high school in 1960, Harold Jr. left for Durango, Colorado where he studied business administration at Fort Lewis A&M (now Fort Lewis College). He returned to Georgia three years later.

When older brother John enlisted in the U.S. Army, Harold decided to join as well. According to military records, Durham worked as a hotel waiter before enlisting on February 13, 1964, at the 3rd Army Headquarters in Atlanta. His first assignment was for 15 weeks of training at Aircraft Rotor & Propeller Repair School at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Assignments took him to Army Transportation School at Fort Eustis, Virginia on May 15, 1964, where he qualified as a .30 cal. Carbine sharpshooter. In October of that year, he was sent to Fort Lewis, Washington, then to San Francisco, California in March 1965 to deploy for Vietnam.

On April 5, 1965 Durham’s first tour in Vietnam began at Vũng Tàu Air Base as a helicopter mechanic with the 330th Transportation Company. In a letter from Lt. Col. Ho Nhut Quan, Durham was commended for teaching English at Vũng Tàu’s Vietnamese-American Cultural Center:

During the period of Mr. Durham’s association with the VACC, he has shown himself to be an outstanding and reliable teacher and his devotion to serve others beyond the call of duty has endeared him to all of his students and friends at the VACC.

While stationed in Vũng Tàu, Harold Durham reenlisted and applied for appointment to Artillery Officer Candidate School. He was accepted and reported to Fort Sill, Oklahoma on March 22, 1966. When he completed the program, Durham received his commission as Second Lieutenant on December 17, 1966.

Durham volunteered for a second tour in Vietnam. After additional training as a Forward Observer at Fort Carson, Colorado, he returned to Vietnam in September 1967. Just a month into his second tour, Durham found himself in an intense firefight on October 17, 1967.

Second Lieutenant Harold Durham ignored sniper fire to get a better view of enemy positions, allowing him to call in accurate artillery strikes to protect his fellow soldiers. Even after being severely wounded, he moved forward into a more exposed position. For his bravery, Durham was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. His citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Second Lieutenant Harold Bascom Durham, Jr. (ASN: 0-5424449), United States Army (Reserve), for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a forward observer with Battery C, 6th Battalion, 15th Artillery, 1st Infantry Division, in action against enemy aggressor forces in the Republic of Vietnam, on 17 October 1967 during a battalion reconnaissance-in-force mission.

At approximately 1015 hours contact was made with an enemy force concealed in well-camouflaged positions and fortified bunkers. Second Lieutenant Durham immediately moved into an exposed position to adjust the supporting artillery fire onto the insurgents. During a brief lull in the battle he administered emergency first aid to the wounded in spite of heavy enemy sniper fire directed toward him. Moments later, as enemy units assaulted friendly positions, he learned that Company A, bearing the brunt of the attack, had lost its forward observer.

While he was moving to replace the wounded observer, the enemy detonated a Claymore mine, severely wounding him in the head and impairing his vision. In spite of the intense pain, he continued to direct the supporting artillery fire and to employ his individual weapon in support of the hard pressed infantrymen. As the enemy pressed their attack, Second Lieutenant Durham called for supporting fire to be placed almost directly on his position. Twice the insurgents were driven back, leaving many dead and wounded behind.

Second Lieutenant Durham was then taken to a secondary defensive position. Even in his extremely weakened condition, he continued to call artillery fire onto the enemy. He refused to seek cover and instead positioned himself in a small clearing which offered a better vantage point from which to adjust the fire. Suddenly, he was severely wounded a second time by enemy machinegun fire.

As he lay on the ground near death, he saw two Viet Cong approaching, shooting the defenseless wounded men. With his last effort, Second Lieutenant Durham shouted a warning to a nearby soldier who immediately killed the insurgents. Second Lieutenant Durham died moments later, still grasping the radio handset. Second Lieutenant Durham’s gallant actions in close combat with an enemy force are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Harold B. Durham Jr. was buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in his hometown, Tifton Georgia. He is honored at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington D.C., his name inscribed on Panel 28E, Line 20.

Sources
Artist’s rendering by Craig Du Mez, from original photo
Historical Marker Database: Harold Bascom Durham, Jr.
Military Times—The Hall of Valor: Harold Bascom Durham
National Archives: Official Military Personnel File for Harold B. Durham
U.S. Department of Defense—Medal of Honor Monday: Army 2nd Lt. Harold Durham Jr.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund—Wall of Faces: Harold Bascom Durham Jr.
Burial Site: Find a Grave