A Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry Silver Spur Blog

Produced by fellow Spur, John “Waldo” Pepper for our 2006 Silver Spur reunion at Ft. Rucker, Alabama to honor all our fallen Silver Spurs from the Vietnam war from 1967-1972 who served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice. These brave Troopers are not forgotten by their Brothers-In-Arms!

The video also pays tribute to those 3-17th Cav Troopers killed in Iraq during their 2004 deployment:

Courtesy of Ingo Haas

Honoring Thomas Knuckey & Phil Taylor

Facts on the Wall: (submitted by Paul Clergy, Spur 13)

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized.  It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

Beginning at the apex on panel 1E and going out to the end of the East wall, appearing to recede into the earth (numbered 70E – May 25, 1968), then resuming at the end of the West wall, as the wall emerges from the earth (numbered 70W – continuing May 25, 1968) and ending with a date in 1975. Thus the war’s beginning and end meet.  The war is complete, coming full circle, yet broken by the earth that bounds the angle’s open side and contained within the earth itself.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass. listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956.

His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old

3,103 were 18 years old.

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam.

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnan.

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia.  I wonder why so many from one school.

8 Women are on the Wall.  Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War;  153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci – They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam..

In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 –  2,415 casualties were incurred.

Silver Spurs in Vietnam:

For Operation Iraqi Freedom & Operation Enduring Freedom:

The song, “Once I Was” by Tim Buckley is available as a MP3 download from Amazon.com

Lyrics:

Once I was a soldier
And I fought on foreign sands for you
Once I was a hunter
And I brought home fresh meat for you
Once I was a lover
And I searched behind your eyes for you
And soon there’ll be another
To tell you I was just a lie

And sometimes I wonder
Just for a while
Will you remember me

And though you have forgotten
All of our rubbish dreams
I find myself searching
Through the ashes of our ruins
For the days when we smiled
And the hours that ran wild
With the magic of our eyes
And the silence of our words

And sometimes I wonder
Just for a while
Will you remember me

Located on YouTube:

Tet Offensive & Khe Sahn:

Tet Offensive 1968, US Embassy & Saigon fighting:

Hue City 1968:

From Silver Spur History:

Valorous Unit Ribbon

 

 

[NOTE: The following is an excerpt from General Order 48, 1968]

4. The Valorous Unit Award is awarded by direction of the Secretary of the Army to:THE 199TH INFANTRY BRIGADE (SEPARATE) (LIGHT) and its assigned and attached units:

Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 199th Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Light)
2d Battalion 3d Infantry
3d Battalion, 7th Infantry
4th Battalion, 12th Infantry
2nd Battalion, 40th Artillery
7th Support Battalion
87th Engineer Company
Troop D, 17th Cavalry
Troop A, 3d Squadron, 17th Cavalry
40th Public Information Detachment
44th Military History Detachment
49th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog)
Company F, 51st Infantry (LRP)
71st Infantry Detachment (LRP)
11th Combat Tracker Team (Prov) (redesignated and reorganized as the 76th Infantry Detachment)
179th Military Intelligence Detachment
152nd Military Police Platoon
298th Signal Platoon
503d Chemical Detachment
856th Radio Research Detachment

The 199TH INFANTRY BRIGADE (SEPARATE) (LIGHT) and its assigned and attached units distinguished themselves by extraordinary heroism while engaged in military operations during the period 31 January to 19 February 1968 in support of Saigon and Long Binh Post during the TET Offensive. In the early hours of 31 January, insurgent forces launched savage attacks against Long Binh by firing rockets at II Field Force Vietnam and Bien Hoa Air Base. Brigade artillery promptly and effectively reacted to the attack, destroying two rocket bases and silencing the rest with voluminous barrage. Thwarted in this aspect of their attempt, the Viet Cong then initiated well-organized and determined attacks upon Long Binh and the base camp of the brigade. In response clerks, cooks, mechanics and other support troops of the 199TH INFANTRY BRIGADE (SEPARATE) (LIGHT) manned the unit’s perimeter while maneuver elements aggressively engaged and pursued enemy

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forces. During the fighting of Long Binh, the brigade’s firepower and indomitable spirit were instrumental in depriving concentrated enemy forces of progression into the city of Saigon. The resourcefulness and tactical expertise of unit commanders enabled units to retain constant contact with the insurgents and inflict numerous casualties which totally demoralized the enemy and destroyed his initiative. The men of the 199TH INFANTRY BRIGADE (SEPARATE) (LIGHT) displayed extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty which are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect distinct credit upon themselves and the Armed Forces of the United States….

A very sad day in history for all of us. From YouTube: 

Goes hand-in-hand with “How the Vietnam War Was Won and Lost”

Operation Frequent Wind – History.com

The Fall of Saigon: April 30th, 1975 and April 1995 © Roger “Bear” Young — 1995