Marine Corps Pfc During his time in Vietnam, Raymond Michael Clausen Jr. was n’t exactly known for deferring to authority, and his disobedience saved more than a dozen Marines who were trapped in minefields in 1970. Clausen received the Medal of Honor for his fearless actions during that mission.
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On October 14, 1947, Ray Sr. and Mary Louise Clausen, also known as Mike, were born in New Orleans. He had three brothers, two of whom were also Marines, and a sister.  , ++
Clausen attended a Catholic primary school in Hammond, Louisiana, where he served as an altar boy after graduating from first grade. After graduating from Hammond High School in 1965, he eventually switched to attending public schools. He began taking classes at the nearby Southeastern Louisiana University that fall, but after reading every day about what was happening in Vietnam, he made the decision to join the war effort. In addition,  ,
In March 1966, Clausen enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was released by May of that year, allowing him to enlist in the regular Marines. Clausen completed his aviation training before being sent to Vietnam, where he worked for Marine Aircraft Group 16 of the 1st Marine Aviation Wing as a jet helicopter mechanic. In addition,  ,
Clausen briefly returned to the United States before offering to go back in November 1969. He explained that his mother disapproved of the idea and questioned him about why he wanted to go back in an interview with the Veteran’s History Project Library of Congress in the early 2000s.  , ++
There’s something I need to do, I said. Clausen recalled,” I have n’t finished it yet, but I have something I need to do.  ,
He stayed with MAG 16 in Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 when he returned to Vietnam. The majority of his tasks as the helicopter crew chief involved conducting Medevac and reconnaissance missions. While in the air, his duties included directing gunners and clearing pilots into and out of landing zones. His job was to ensure that all systems were operational for each flight. In addition,  ,
His CH-46D Sea Knight and two other helicopters had dropped Marines into a mission field on January 31, 1970. A short while later, he claimed that they had been called back to retrieve some of those men who had unintentionally wandered into a minefield while engaged in combat with the enemy. In addition,  ,
Clausen recalled that the radio operator had requested that we enter the helicopter and pick up the injured. The young crew chief responded,” Considering we put them in there, I think it’s only right that we should get them out,” when the pilot asked Clausen if they should leave.
The remaining Marines held their positions out of concern that moving would cause more mines to detonate, and nearly a dozen of them had been wounded or killed. Clausen expertly directed his pilot to a landing area that appeared safe because several mines had already detonated there, despite the fact that he claimed to have no experience with the subject and to be completely ignorant of the appearance of miners. In addition,  ,
Clausen jumped off the helicopter without any hesitation. Clausen’s helmet was taken off when he arrived at the radio operator who had requested their assistance, and the man yelled at him for entering a minefield.  ,
I did n’t even touch the ground as I sort of flew back to the helicopter. I was standing on the ramp and watching. One of the men carrying the stretcher stepped on a mine as they were carrying it toward the helicopter. Clausen recalled that the concussion and shrapnel knocked them all off their feet. In addition,  ,
He claimed that he immediately informed his pilot of his return. It was too late when his pilot tried to tell him to stay put. ” I had already lost connection. Clausen said,” I was gone. In addition,  ,
He continued with his work of gathering the injured despite the possibility of hitting more mines. In addition,  ,
He chuckled as he said,” I picked up the people who could n’t walk, and those who could walk sort of followed in my footsteps—thinking I knew what mines were.” ” We carried out all of this under fire,”nbsp
Six times, Clausen departed the helicopter’s comparatively safe confines to conduct his rescue operations. They landed in three different locations twice, according to him, and he entered the minefield each time to assist.  ,
He recalled a landing incident in which they struck and detonated mines close to an unconscious corpse that was still lying on the ground. Before grabbing the dead corpsman to take him home, Clausen hopped off the helicopter and saved three other injured men.  ,
Clausen did n’t signal the pilot to return to base until he was certain that all of the Marines were safely on board the helicopter. Clausen claimed that when they arrived, his pilot reprimanded him and threatened a court martial for disobeying orders. Clausen claimed to have disobeyed authority on numerous occasions; according to a 2004 Boston Globe profile of him, he had been demoted following each promotion, but the reprimand never materialized. In addition,  ,
Clausen recalled that his pilot had said,” After what you did, there’s no way in hell I can court martial you.”  , ++
The 22-year-old was credited with rescuing 18 Marines on that particular day. In addition,  ,
” I personally carried six Marines, two in each location I landed, out of the minefield.” During the Library of Congress interview, he humbly said,” The rest of the Marines in the area who could walk… followed me out.”  ,
Clausen returned to the United States after that mission and was released from active duty on August 19, 1970. He accepted a position as an inspector for Boeing, but shortly after that, he was involved in an extremely serious car accident that left him momentarily unconscious. The Boston Globe reports that the crash caused him to have trouble walking for a while and almost blinded one eye.  , ++
Clausen received a letter informing him that he had been awarded the Medal of Honor while recovering from the incident at his Ponchatoula, Louisiana, home. President Richard M. Nixon gave it to him on June 15, 1971, during a ceremony at the White House. He also received 98 Air Medals for the more than 3, 000 hours he spent flying in combat.  ,
Clausen stated in an interview with the Library of Congress that he never thought of himself as a hero but rather as someone who did what needed to be done. He claimed that all of the helicopter crew members with whom he worked share his Medal of Honor.  ,
” We all share in having the medal,” he said, adding that “everyone who ever landed anywhere in Vietnam, ever flew there.”  ,
Clausen wed Lois, his longtime girlfriend, in 1976. Despite the fact that his health was deteriorating, he spent the majority of the rest of his life giving public speaking engagements and speaking with veterans ‘ organizations about his experience. In addition,  ,
On May 30, 2004, Clausen passed away from liver failure while receiving care at Dallas ‘ Baylor University Medical Center. 56 years old. He was laid to rest shortly after in the town where he spent his later years, Ponchatoula City Cemetery. In addition,  ,
Clausen donated his Medal of Honor to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, about ten years before he passed away.  ,
At the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1052 in Independence, Louisiana, a Medal of Honor display honoring him was erected after his passing. It featured one of his uniforms as well as an exact replica of the citation. For display at the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War in 2019, it was loaned to the New Orleans VA Medical Center. Then it was relocated to Clausen’s hometown Hammond Community Based Outpatient Clinic.  ,
The U.S. military’s highest medal for bravery has been awarded to more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients, and this article is a part of the weekly series” Medal of Honour Monday.”