Intelligence sergeant earns Distinguished Service Cross

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. 1st Class Donald L. Lehew. (Courtesy photo)  

FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES

08.22.2022

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence

by Fiona G. Holter, USAICoE Staff Historian

On August 26, 1966, Sgt. 1st Class Donald L. Lehew, an intelligence sergeant with Detachment A-430, 5th Special Forces (Airborne), earned a Distinguished Service Cross for actions in battle on Phu Quoc Island, South Vietnam.

Sergeant Lehew enlisted in the Army in 1953 as a unit supply specialist. He later became a light weapons infantryman and was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division, where he also served as a fire team and squad leader. In 1958, Lehew completed Jumpmaster and Ranger schools and became an instructor at the Florida Ranger Camp. After completing the Operations and Intelligence Specialist Course in 1965, Lehew was assigned to 5th Special Forces (SF) and deployed to the Republic of Vietnam.

As an intelligence sergeant, Sergeant Lehew worked closely with an element of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG), a group of ethnic Cambodians and indigenous Stieng Montagnards, as they conducted regular reconnaissance and combat missions throughout the IV Corps Tactical Zone. Between October 1965 and August 1966, Lehew earned two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star with “V” device on May 18, 1966 for exposing himself to enemy fire while saving the life one of his reconnaissance team leaders and helping rescue a Viet Cong prisoner from a river in Ong Boi Hamlet.

On August 26, 1966, Lehew led a combat mission to clear Viet Cong forces from Phu Quoc Island. While conducting a sweep of a fortified hill, his team was ambushed by the enemy. Under fire, Lehew deployed his team to counter the attack, while he pulled a wounded comrade to safety and administered first aid.

After the engagement, Lehew and his detachment commander evacuated the dead and wounded from the hill. In the process, Sergeant Lehew discovered a hidden enemy bunker. As an enemy soldier began firing from the bunker, Lehew pushed his commander to the ground, saving the officer’s life. He then joined his team to a relief force, which he began to advance on the bunker. Suddenly, two companies of Viet Cong opened fire from entrenched positions, momentarily disorganizing his troops. Lehew quickly rallied his men and directed fire toward the enemy while he charged toward the Viet Cong’s main assault position. The 32-year-old sergeant from Salem, New Jersey, was mortally wounded during this assault, but his actions stalled the enemy long enough for air support to arrive.

In 1968, Sergeant Lehew was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroic actions on Phu Quoc Island. In 1999, he was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia, in honor of his extraordinary contributions to Ranger units.

• Date Taken: 08.22.2022
• Date Posted: 08.22.2022 17:51
• Story ID: 427799
• Location: FORT HUACHUCA, ARIZONA, US