Kenneth L. Worley

Kenneth Lee Worley (April 4, 1948 – August 12, 1968) was a United States Marine who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for heroism in Vietnam. On August 12, 1968, Worley sacrificed his own life when he threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of several fellow Marines.

Joining the Marines in 1967, Worley was deployed to the Republic of Vietnam early in 1968. While setting up an ambush position in a hamlet of Quang Nam Province, an enemy grenade was thrown into the house where Worley was stationed. Worley jumped on the grenade, saving the fellow Marines in the house.

Biography Worley was born on April 27, 1948, in Farmington, New Mexico, and completed the 8th grade After being orphaned, he moved to Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and attended Hot Spring High School there for two years. The conditions there were poor for Worley; he lived in a travel trailer with no running water or electricity. Instead of going to school, he worked as a truck driver, hauling loads of Christmas trees out of the mountains. After injuring his foot at work, he was taken in by Don and Rose Feyerherm of Modesto. They treated him like a son and became his foster parents.

The "LCpl Kenneth L. Worley" Young Marine unit based in Norwalk, California, is named in honor of LCPL Worley.