Danny Fernandez

Annotation

The song "Danny Fernandez" (Liberty Records # 55891) by Eddy Harrison, from New Mexico, was a tribute song based on an actual soldier, Danny Fernandez - the first Mexican American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam. Billboard reported on 2 July 1966: "Liberty has released the ballad of 'Danny Fernandez', a tribute to the 21-year old army specialist who fell on a grenade and saved the lives of 19 buddies. The story of the Los Lunas, N.M. soldier is told by Eddy Harrison, an unknown writer from Mesilla Park, N.M. Harrison came to California to audition the tune for Liberty's A&R man Dallas Smith who dug the idea".1 The official Medal of Honor citation read: "Fernández demonstrated indomitable courage when the patrol was ambushed by a Viet Cong rifle company...an enemy grenade landed in the midst of the group...Fernández vaulted over the wounded sergeant and threw himself on the grenade as it exploded, saving the lives of his 4 comrades at the sacrifice of his life".2345 The song looked at the soldier's perspective, started with Fernandez answering when his "country called" and he "went away to war" at the age of 21: "just in the prime of his young life". It described the battle that he encountered and jumping on a hand grenade. It concluded that "America is proud of him, his buddies they are too".Songs about Daniel Fernandez: Los Reyes de Albuquerque - El corrido de Daniel Fernandez / The Ballad of Dan Fernandez Los Reyes de la Frontera - Corrido de Daniel Fernandez / Besos y Caricias Eddy Harrison - Danny Fernandez Los Coyotes del Río Bravo - Daniel Fernández Sources1Billboard, 2 July 1966↩2Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund: DANIEL FERNANDEZ↩3Wikipedia: Daniel Fernandez↩4history.army.mil: Vietnam a l (archived copy)↩5rattler-firebird.org (archived copy)↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: Danny died a heroes death, as some have died before / When Danny's country called on him he went away to war / Danny Fernandez was only 21... / In the prime of his young life / When they gave him a gun, they shipped him off across the sea / With many more beside and on that strange battleground / He bled and died, they just engaged the enemy and shells were coming fast / If they just had one more attack they knew they couldn't last... / A grenade fell in their mist, and panic seized the men / But Danny fell upon the bomb and saved his knightly friends / America is proud of him, his buddies they are too / He saved them all... / His mother puts his things away / She kisses one by one... / His greatest honor that he never knew he won

Notes

Liberty 55891 (LB-2255), "Audition Record", Liberty Records, Inc., Los Angeles, California; "Danny Fernandez" (Eddy Harrison), Metric Music Co. - Eddy Harrison Music — BMI, 2:00; producer Dallas Smith; Eddy Harrison, arranged by Eddie Karam. [From the record sleeve and labels]

About the artist

Mesilla Park, New Mexico, USA

Themes

Patriotic · Soldier's Perspective

In collections

Mexican-American / Hispanic Songs · US 'Patriotic' / Pro-Government / Anti-Protest Songs [War Years]