The retired U.S. Army captain and 5th Special Forces medic is credited with risking his life on multiple occasions to treat about 70 wounded soldiers under enemy fire during Operation Tailwind. The daring mission was launched into Chavane, Laos, Sept. 11-14, 1970 and would not be declassified until June 1998.
Rose remembers signing paperwork with Military Assistance Command, Vietnam -- Studies and Observations Group, pledging that he would never talk about Tailwind. "You gave your word that you would not talk about it," he told a group of defense reporters during an Oct. 20 interview at the Pentagon. "So I just determined that if anybody asked me, I was going to be a mail clerk during the Vietnam War," Rose said.
Retired Army Capt. Gary Michael Rose
His actions during Operation Tailwind paint quite a different picture of his war service. The Green Beret medic was part of a company-sized force, consisting of Americans, Vietnamese and indigenous Montagnard personnel, that inserted 70 kilometers inside enemy-controlled Laos, according to the Army award citation. The company soon made contact with an enemy squad, and two Americans and two Montagnards were wounded. One of the wounded was trapped outside the company’s defensive perimeter.
Rose, engaging the enemy, rushed to get the wounded soldier. He gave the soldier first aid and carried the man through heavy gunfire back to the company defensive area. As Rose's unit pushed deeper into enemy territory, it ran into more enemy forces, and took more casualties. Rose moved through the enemy fire to treat the mounting numbers of wounded, firing at the enemy in order to get to the wounded men. Enemy fire was so intense that Rose had to crawl from position to position to treat the wounded. Over the next few days, the unit marched west and deeper into the Laos jungle, defending against continuous attacks from squad to company-sized enemy elements. Air Force gunships overhead provided close-air support to keep the enemy at bay.
Wounded by an RPG
