Robert L. Howard, a member of the Army’s elite Special Forces, was a sergeant first class in 1968. On December 30, 1968, he engaged in a mission to rescue a fellow Green Beret. During the mission, Howard sustained his beleaguered platoon for nearly 48 hours before orchestrating extraction and medical evacuation. By 1971, when President Richard Nixon placed the Medal of Honor around his neck, Howard had served five tours in Vietnam and had been wounded 14 different times.