Rodney J. T. Yano

During the fight, a white phosphorus grenade exploded prematurely inside the aircraft; the pilot and co-pilot could not see because of the smoke, and the aircraft began to descend. Despite being burned and partially blinded and having lost the use of one arm, Yano proceeded to throw and kick the remaining ammunition off the helicopter as flaming grenade fragments caused it to catch fire and detonate. Yano received additional wounds as a result of these actions, which caused his death later that day. His actions enabled the crew to regain control of the aircraft, fly to the 93rd Evacuation Hospital, and land safely. Yano's actions were credited with saving the lives of the others on board the helicopter. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant First Class.

Yano left high school without graduating, joined the Army from Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961, and served in the field of helicopter maintenance. By January 1, 1969, he was serving as a Staff Sergeant in the Air Cavalry Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. On that day, near Biên Hòa in the Republic of Vietnam, Yano, who was normally a technical inspector, volunteered to act as helicopter crew chief and door gunner on the aircraft commanded by John Bahnsen during combat action in Operation Toan Thang II. As one of two door gunners, he delivered machine gun fire while marking enemy positions with smoke and white phosphorus grenades, enabling Bahnsen to direct artillery fire against them.

Rodney James Takahashi Yano (Japanese surname: 矢野, December 13, 1943 – January 1, 1969) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.