Captain Diane M. Lindsay was the first black woman to be awarded the Soldier's Medal.

In 1969 Diane M. Lindsay volunteered with the US Army Nurse Corps as a First Lieutenant at the 95th Evacuation Hospital in Vietnam, where she convinced a confused US soldier to surrender a grenade, which he had pulled the pin of and was preparing to throw within the hospital.[1][2][3] Lindsay's actions saved the lives of numerous people and earned her the Soldier’s Medal. She was the first black woman to receive the award.[4][5][6][7] Lindsay was eventually promoted to captain.

References

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  1. ^ Bellafaire, Dr. Judith. "Volunteering For Vietnam: African-American Servicewomen". Womens Memorial (July 2006).
  2. ^ Mwamba, Jay. "Women at war". Daily News – via PressReader.
  3. ^ Johnson, Kandia (11 November 2019). "African American Women Who Made U.S. Military History". Black Enterprise.
  4. ^ Bellafaire, Dr. Judith. "After the Tet Offensive". Women’s Memorial (July 2006).
  5. ^ Henry, Carma (16 May 2013). "Meet the first African American two-star General in the U.S. Army Medical Command". The Westside Gazette.
  6. ^ "African-American History Month - Breakthroughs for Black Military Women". archive.defense.gov.
  7. ^ Sarmecky, Mary (2001). "1901-2001: a century of heroism". Recruiter Journal. U.S. Army Recruiting Command.