From staff and wire reports
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Clinton on Tuesday awarded the nation's highest military award to Al Rascon, a Mexican-born Army medic who covered his fellow soldiers with his own body to protect them against a grenade attack during the Vietnam war.
Rascon was recommended for the Congressional Medal of Honor just days after the 1966 skirmish in Vietnam's Long Khanh province, but the award got caught up in what Clinton called "a thicket of red tape."
"Thank you for looking out for people when no one else could be there for them. You have taught us once again that being American has nothing to do with place of birth, racial, ethnic origin, or religious faith. It comes straight from the heart. And your heart, sir, is an extraordinary gift to your country," said Clinton.
Rascon was humble during the Medal of Honor ceremony, noting that the honor belonged to the people who were with him that day. He asked the survivors to stand and be acknowledged at the White House.
"What you see before you is common valor that was done every day. And those of you who served in the military -- and continue to serve in the military -- are very much aware of that. What you do every day, it is duty, honor and country. And I'm deeply honored to be here," Rascon said.
The president noted that Rascon was born in Mexico and moved to the United States with his family. The immigrant enlisted in the U.S. Army after graduating from high school in California.
"Alfred was once asked why he volunteered to join and to go to Vietnam when he was not even a citizen. An he said, 'I was always an American in my heart.' Alfred Rascon, today we honor you as you have honored us by your choice to become an American and your courage in reflecting the best of America," said Clinton.
Tuesday's ceremony was long overdue: Rascon was nominated for the medal shortly after his display of valor. But his papers were lost in the Pentagon shuffle for three decades before the men with whom he served found out the honor was never granted.
They say Rascon's receipt of the nation's highest combat decoration is just their way of returning the favor.
Rascon was a 21-year-old battalion medic with the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade on March 16, 1966, when his unit was attacked by North Vietnamese troops. In the fighting that ensued, Rascon repeatedly ran into the line of fire -- treating three men, saving two of them -- despite being wounded himself.
"I happened to have gotten shot, happened to have gotten hit by a hand grenade," he said. "So ..."
Then-Pvt. Neil Haffey was one of those who credit the self-effacing Rascon with their lives. Already wounded, Rascon dove on him as a grenade exploded just five feet away.
"I didn't even know he was gonna do it, and I just turned my head away because I didn't want to see death coming," Haffey said. "I thought I was dead, you know?"
Rascon's heroism turned the tide, rallying his battalion and saving his men, who were carried out of the field by helicopter. Rascon spent six months in Japan recovering from his wounds and received the Silver Star.
Rascon's battalion mates recommended him for the Medal of Honor. A few years ago, they discovered he never got his award.
The citation was lost in the Pentagon bureaucracy, and the Army refused to reopen the case. The men of the 173rd turned to Illinois U.S. Rep. Lane Evans, who caught Clinton's ear and won a change of heart from the Army.
"Usually, they had to be considered within two years of the acts," said Evans, who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
A native of Chihuahua, Mexico, Rascon became a naturalized American citizen in 1967. He returned to Vietnam for a second tour in the 1970s, this time as a military adviser.
Now living in Washington's Maryland suburbs and serving as the inspector general for the U.S. Selective Service, Rascon insists the rest of his squad displayed as much courage as he did that day, but his old comrades see it differently.
"I have four daughters, and four beautiful grandchildren. I have a wonderful wife," Haffey said. "Those are all gifts from Doc."