Medal of Honor Monday: Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Wayne Caron

As a hospital corpsman, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Wayne Maurice Caron took his duty to care for the men around him so seriously that, during a firefight in his first month in Vietnam, he ignored his own wounds to tend to everyone else. Caron never returned home from that mission, but his valor and selflessness led him to receive a posthumous Medal of Honor.

Caron was born Nov. 2, 1946, in Middleboro, Massachusetts, to Lorraine and Aime Caron, the latter of whom was a retired Army chief warrant officer. Wayne Caron had a sister named Janet.

Caron was known to be kind, caring and a go-getter. At Memorial High School, he was president of his sophomore and junior class, as well as the president of the student council his senior year. He ran track and cross-country and participated in gymnastics. He was also chosen to be part of a society that recognized him for his dependability, honesty, fairness, cooperation and other admirable qualities. By the time he graduated high school, he'd earned the superlatives "most artistic," "did the most for class" and "best all-around."

In July 1966, Caron enlisted in the Navy. According to a 1992 article in the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, newspaper The Sentinel, his father suggested the service because his son wanted to be an eye doctor, and he thought the Navy corpsman training program would be a good fit.

After recruit training, Caron served at Naval Hospital Great Lakes until April 1968. During his stint there, he married his girlfriend, Teresa Haid, who was pregnant when Caron deployed to Vietnam in July 1968.

Just a month into his deployment, Caron gave his life to save others.

On July 28, 1968, Caron was serving as a platoon corpsman with Company K of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. While on a sweep through an open rice field in Quang Nam Province, enemy soldiers began firing on his unit.

Two Marines fell, so Caron rushed to them, only to discover they were dead. Soon, the enemy fire became much more intense and more Marines were injured.

As Caron moved toward them, he was shot in the arm and knocked to the ground, but he got back up. When he made it to a terribly wounded Marine, Caron had to perform a tracheotomy on the man so he could continue breathing - undoubtedly saving the man's life, according to the Navy History and Heritage Command.

As Caron ran toward a second Marine, he was again hit by enemy fire, this time in the leg. He was no longer able to walk, dragging himself the rest of the way to the second injured Marine to render aid.

As Caron tried to make his way to a third injured Marine, he was hit a third time by enemy fire. He had run out of supplies by this time, so he crawled toward the rear of his platoon to restock. According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, while he was there, another corpsman tried to give him aid, but Caron waved him off. Soon after, he was hit and killed by an enemy rocket round.

"They said there were 28 bullet holes in Wayne," his mother told The Sentinel newspaper in 1992. "When he got the first one, he gave himself a shot of morphine, but he didn't even worry about all the other bullet holes. … We know all this happened because two of the Marines who were with him came to see us."

Caron's determination and dedication led to his posthumous Medal of Honor. His family - including Caron's young son, Scott, who was born four months after his death - accepted the award from Vice President Spiro Agnew during a White House ceremony on April 20, 1970. Fifteen other men also received the honor that day.

Caron is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In his honor, the Navy commissioned a destroyer called the USS Caron in 1977. It served until 2001, when it was decommissioned.

Caron has been remembered in many other ways. An auditorium at his alma mater and a park outside the hospital in Great Lakes both bear his name. There's also a medical clinic at Camp Lejeune named for him.