Lee Hyder

Retired veteran, former Army Aviator, history major, intense interest in national security, logistics, aviation, HS/college wrestling & football. USMA '91

[G-PA @IndianaGPA]

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Medal of Honor

Some stories stay with you a little longer than others.
Kenneth L. Olson wasn't looking for war. He had just done something that meant everything to a family, he became the first to graduate from college. University of Minnesota. You can imagine the pride, the plans, the doors starting to open.
And then, just like that, life took a hard turn.
A draft notice showed up days later.
By May of 1968, at only twenty-two years old, he was a long way from Minnesota, serving with Company A, 5th Battalion, 12th Infantry in Vietnam. Like so many young men of that time, he traded a future he was just beginning to build for a place he never asked to be.

During Operation Toan Thang, his unit was sent into a fight that was already underway.
It was the kind of situation where things can go bad in a hurry. Olson and another soldier moved forward, checking what they thought might be a second enemy position.
They got close enough to find out.
Automatic fire broke loose just yards away, pinning them down with nowhere to go.
Most would have stayed put, hoping for a break.
Olson didn't.
He pushed up and threw a grenade into the position. The gunfire kept coming. Still, he wasn't finished. He readied another one, determined to give it another shot.
Then everything changed in a heartbeat.
He was hit, and the grenade slipped from his hand, landing right there between the two of them.

No time to say a word. No time to think it through.
Just a moment.
And in that moment, Kenneth Olson made a choice that most of us can only try to imagine.
He covered the grenade with his own body.
The soldier beside him lived.
The fight went on. The position was taken.
But a young man who had already worked hard for his future made sure someone else got to keep theirs.
I think about that sometimes... how courage isn't always loud or planned. Sometimes it's just a split-second decision, made by someone who didn't hesitate when it mattered most.
President Nixon later awarded the Medal of Honor to his family. A well deserved honor, no question.

But long before the medal, there was just a young man from Minnesota... doing what he felt was right, in the worst kind of moment.
And that's the part I don't think we should ever forget. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

Photo courtesy of https://t.co/YFq9IvnwiX

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@FrankBr05713205 Great stats!

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@TT_Army_AD Hopefully he gets it. He has shown how to build winning teams. Maybe he can take over the Raiders...

[Rep. Steve Womack @rep_stevewomack]

Today, I am at @WestPoint_USMA to attend the Class of 2026’s graduation ceremony. Here’s LTG Steve Gilland, Superintendent of USMA, greeting the graduating class.

[Drunk Old Grad @DrunkOldGrad]

Wow.

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@DrunkOldGrad I was wondering why they were all sitting together. Awesome to see them honor his dad and support Luke!

[ArmyWestPoint Sports @GoArmyWestPoint]

Graduation Day!

#USMA2026 x #ForCountryWeCommit

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@johnkonrad 🤯🤯🤯

[U.S. Military Academy at West Point @WestPoint_USMA]

From R-Day to Grad Week, the Class of 2026 has spent their time at West Point learning, leading and preparing to serve.

Take a look back at a few moments that defined their path to the Long Gray Line.

#WestPoint #USMA2026 #ForCountryWeCommit

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@DrunkOldGrad I had a classmate do the duffelbag shuffle during grad week. Lost one too many fights with the Dean...

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@mnsibley 😢

[🐺🔴⚫️Pat Popolizio @pat_popolizio]

Commissioning ceremony
@isaactrumble_
@PackWrestle

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@DrunkOldGrad No, not really.

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@BradRTorgersen So you want 25% of the available training time for COMPO 2 and 3 spent on the range? I don't disagree they need more range time but I would argue they need more training time spent on their actual MOS vs what it is spent on now.

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@mercoglianos Because the USN doesn't have enough ships, particularly destroyers and frigate to cover its world wide responsibilities and engage in a regional conflict. Maybe if we had a coherent shipbuilding strategy we could fix that.

[Lee Hyder @Hyderluck]

@TT_Army_AD @ArmyWP_MTennis DSBD! This is awesome to see.

[Tom Theodorakis @TT_Army_AD]

Army Fans - the #WestPointChallenge is officially underway.

There’s no greater investment than the future leaders of our nation.

Every gift directly supports the cadet-athletes experience. Make your impact today👇 🪖🇺🇸

https://t.co/RFniyYsnBj

[Larry Fitzgerald @LarryFitzgerald]

Excellence as a baseline, not a goal. That's what a day at the United States Military Academy at West Point looks like.

Thank you, Dr. @FrankLuntz, Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland and Mrs. Gilland, and the Corps for welcoming me into your home.

@WestPoint_USMA

[Ken Kraetzer @KGKraetzerMedia]

Start "Ruck March" really an 8 mile run, march for all 500 #Sandhurst2026 Cadets from Plain up mt to Camp Frederick, one of the top moments of year at USMA @WestPoint_USMA
@ausa #USMA
@usarmy @NavyLeagueUS
@AmericanLegion @navyleaguenyc
#USnavy #USarmy
#CaMMVetsMedia