[Democrat & Chronicle] Gary Beikirch, the U.S. Army medic whose heroism one April morning in Vietnam made him one of Rochester's greatest military heroes of the 20th century, died Dec. 26 at age 74. The cause was cancer.Sgt. Beikirch in April 1970 was 22 years old and serving as chief medical officer for a Special Forces team and more than 2,000 villagers in Kon Tum province in south Vietnam. At 3 a.m. April 1, North Vietnamese forces launched a major attack against Camp Dak Seang, spraying rockets and gunfire across the fortified compound.
Sgt. Beikirch and his 15-year-old bodyguard, a Vietnamese boy named Dao, dashed repeatedly into the line of fire to help those who were wounded — despite their own wounds, which were significant.
Sgt. Beikirch was hit twice, the second time a devastating blow that left shrapnel in his spine. "I remember feeling like I'd gotten kicked by a horse," he said.
Dao carried him to the medical tent for aid, and then the two returned to the field. Dao was killed protecting Sgt. Beikirch from a rocket attack; Sgt. Beikirch was struck again, this time a gunshot to the back. Finally he was evacuated by helicopter.
"Not many people know what it’s like to be under fire and then hear someone yell out, ‘medic,’ except those who are medics," he said. "And they don’t know what takes place inside of you that causes you to get up and go when everyone else is hiding."
Sgt. Beikirch received the Congressional Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House Oct. 15, 1973. By then he'd been out of service for two years and learned to walk again through extensive rehabilitation.