The two living Fort Bragg recipients were members of the 5th Special Forces Group, then based at Fort Bragg.
Sgt. 1st Class Melvin Morris, 72, now lives in Cocoa, Fla., according to officials.
A Okmulgee, Okla.-native, Morris joined the Oklahoma Army National Guard in 1959 and later asked to join the active Army.
Morris was one of the first soldiers to wear the 'Green Beret' at the command of President John F. Kennedy following a visit to Fort Bragg in 1961, officials said. He twice volunteered for deployments to Vietnam.
Morris was part of Detachment A-403, Company D. As a staff sergeant on Sept. 17, 1969, he was commanding the 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion of the 4th Mobile Strike Force near Chi Lang, Vietnam, according to officials.
Morris led an advance across enemy lines to retrieve a fallen soldier and single-handedly destroyed an enemy force that had pinned his soldiers down from a series of bunkers. Morris was shot three times as he ran back to his soldiers, but didn't stop until he reached safety, according to officials.
A year after the battle, Morris was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and returned that same month for his second deployment to Vietnam.
He retired at Fort Hood, Texas, in May 1985.
Master Sgt. Jose Rodela, 76, now lives in San Antonio.
A Corpus Christi, Texas-native, he joined the Army in September 1955 at the age of 17 and later served with Detachment B-36, Company A.
On Sept. 1, 1969, then-Sgt. 1st Class Rodela was serving as company commander in Phuoc Long Province, Vietnam, according to officials.
He commanded his troops throughout 18 hours of continuous combat. During that time, and in spite of his own wounds, Rodela repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire to attend to his wounded soldiers and attack an enemy rocket position.
