Michael F. Folland | Monumental Honor

His Story

Michael Fleming Folland was born in Richmond on April 15, 1949, and grew up in Oregon Hill. At thirteen he was placed at Boys Home in Covington, Virginia, where he lived from August 1962 to June 1966. The home's own records list a boy who made the honor roll, played basketball and varsity baseball, rose to Star Scout and patrol leader in Troop 66, and liked to draw. He came back to Richmond, attended Thomas Jefferson High School, and enlisted in the Army.

By the summer of 1969 he was a twenty-year-old corporal carrying recoilless-rifle ammunition for the weapons platoon of Company D.

On July 3, 1969, in Long Khanh Province, his reconnaissance patrol was caught in a crossfire from concealed, fortified bunkers. The jungle was too dense for the heavy weapons. Folland dropped his ammunition and ran forward to join his commander in an assault on the bunkers. Pinned down in front of the machine guns, he stood up, drawing their fire onto himself and returning it, so that his commander could get at the bunkers with grenades. An enemy grenade landed among them. Folland shouted a warning and his commander threw it clear. A second grenade landed. Folland shouted again, saw that no one could reach it in time, and threw himself on it.

His family received the Medal of Honor at the Executive Office Building in Washington on December 16, 1971, from Vice President Spiro T. Agnew. He is buried at Glendale National Cemetery in Richmond. Monumental Honor has met with the Vietnam veterans who served alongside him and recorded what they remember.

Medal of Honor Citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Cpl. Folland distinguished himself while serving as an ammunition bearer with the weapons platoon of Company D, during a reconnaissance patrol mission. As the patrol was moving through a dense jungle area, it was caught in an intense crossfire from heavily fortified and concealed enemy ambush positions. As the patrol reacted to neutralize the ambush, it became evident that the heavy weapons could not be used in the cramped fighting area. Cpl. Folland dropped his recoilless-rifle ammunition and ran forward to join his commander in an assault on the enemy bunkers. The assaulting force moved forward until it was pinned down directly in front of the heavily fortified bunkers by machine-gun fire. Cpl. Folland stood up to draw enemy fire on himself and to place suppressive fire on the enemy positions while his commander attempted to destroy the machine-gun positions with grenades. Before the officer could throw a grenade, an enemy grenade landed in the position. Cpl. Folland alerted his comrades and his commander hurled the grenade from the position. When a second enemy grenade landed in the position, Cpl. Folland again shouted a warning to his fellow soldiers. Seeing that no one could reach the grenade and realizing that it was about to explode, Cpl. Folland, with complete disregard for his safety, threw himself on the grenade. By his dauntless courage, Cpl. Folland saved the lives of his comrades although he was mortally wounded by the explosion. Cpl. Folland's extraordinary heroism, at the cost of his life, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

— Medal of Honor citation, awarded posthumously

His Legacy Today

An award for a student who keeps going

The Michael Folland Merit Award, launched in 2025 with the West Point Society of Richmond, gives $2,000 each year to a Thomas Jefferson High School student who shows exceptional resilience in the face of adversity. Kalyse Buster was its first recipient, in 2025, and James Hatcher IV received it in 2026.

In Alleghany County, the Route 60 bridge over the Jackson River at Covington is named the Corporal Michael F. Folland Memorial Bridge.

Learn more:Official record at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society