Carmel Bernon Harvey Jr. | |
Birth Date: | 6 October 1946 |
Birth Place: | Montgomery, West Virginia, US |
Death Place: | Binh Dinh Province, Republic of Vietnam |
Placeofburial: | Cedar Park Cemetery, Calumet Park, Illinois |
Placeofburial Label: | Place of burial |
Allegiance: | United States of America |
Branch: | United States Army |
Serviceyears: | 1965–1967 |
Rank: | Specialist Four |
Unit: | 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) |
Battles: | Vietnam War |
Awards: | Medal of Honor Purple Heart |
Carmel Bernon Harvey Jr. (October 6, 1946 – June 21, 1967) 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.
Harvey joined the Army from his hometown in the Hegewisch community area of Chicago, Illinois in 1965,[1] and by June 21, 1967, was serving as a specialist four in Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). During a firefight on that day, in Binh Dinh Province, Republic of Vietnam, an enemy bullet hit and activated a hand grenade attached to Harvey's belt. Unable to remove the live device from his belt, he ran towards an enemy machinegun emplacement until the grenade exploded, killing him and momentarily halting the enemy's fire.
Harvey, aged 20 at his death, was buried in Cedar Park Cemetery, Calumet Park, Illinois. Olive-Harvey College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago is named after him and fellow Medal of Honor recipient Milton L. Olive, III. A fitness center on Fort Hood is also named after Harvey. The auditorium of George Washington High School in Chicago, which serves his home community of Hegewisch, is named Harvey Hall in his honor.