Charles Liteky: Army Chaplain, Medal of Honor Recipient, and Peace Activist

Early life and religious service

Liteky was born in Washington, D.C. and entered religious life with the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, taking the name Angelo. He studied theology, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in May 1960, and served in pastoral and chaplaincy roles before and during his military service. He left the priesthood in the mid-1970s and later resumed life under his birth name, Charles.

Military service and the Medal of Honor

As an Army chaplain in Vietnam, Liteky was credited with conspicuous gallantry when he repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire to evacuate wounded soldiers from an active battlefield, carrying dozens to safety during a single engagement in 1967. That action led to his being awarded the Medal of Honor, a rare recognition for noncombatant chaplains whose duties emphasize spiritual and moral support as well as care for the wounded.

Activism, returning the medal, and later life

After his military career and a period of religious ministry, Liteky became increasingly involved in peace work and civil protest. In 1986 he made international headlines when he became the first person to return the Medal of Honor to federal authorities as a protest against U.S. policies in Central America; the gesture was framed as a moral and political statement rather than a repudiation of those he had saved or served with. He married Judy Balch in 1983 and continued to participate in demonstrations and advocacy for peace and human rights.

Death and legacy

Liteky died on January 20, 2017 in San Francisco, California, at the age of 85. He is remembered for the tension his life embodied: a clergyman and military chaplain who performed acts of battlefield heroism, and later a vocal critic of the policies that he judged to perpetuate violence. His story is often cited in discussions about conscience, the duties of chaplains in war, and the limits of military honors as symbols in public life.

Key facts and references

• Birth name: Charles James Liteky; religious name: Angelo Liteky.
• Born in Washington, D.C.; enlisted or joined service from Brooklyn, New York.
• Ordained a priest in 1960; served as an Army chaplain in the Vietnam War.
• Awarded the Medal of Honor for evacuating wounded under fire in 1967; returned the medal in 1986 as a political protest.
• Died in San Francisco, California in 2017.

Further reading and archival materials can be found via military records, religious archives, and collections on antiwar activism; select repositories and biographical summaries are linked for context and research: Peace and activism resources, Army service records, chaplaincy histories, Vietnam War overviews, Medal of Honor citations, Catholic ministry archives, birthplace records, enlistment documentation, New York sources, local obituaries, and California state records.