Bear Taylor 
COMMEMORATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR (1961-1973)…
On Memorial Day 1969 the Editorial Page Editor of the Washington Post wrote this: “Those who fight this war are very properly heroes–because they fight to no applause, because the cause is not supported, because all of it is unequal. It is as if all the injustices of life have been concentrated in one unlucky place, where the burden is borne by a brave few whose stake in its outcome is very small. A man’s death is no less because it occurs at Danang rather than Remagen, and an exploit like Hamburger Hill is no less gallant than Iwo Jima. But it is not common now to speak of gallantry, any more than it is to speak of heroes.”… On that day 50 years ago, the United States had lost 35,000 killed in action fighting a war that was unwinnable from the start. Tragically, another 23,000 Americans would perish before our nation would withdraw from the lost cause that never was…. LEST WE FORGET…
DURING THE WEEK ENDING 2 MARCH 1969 AMERICAN FORCES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA LOST 453 MEN KILLED IN ACTION…
IN THAT ONE WEEK OF FIGHTING IN VIETNAM OUR COUNTRY LOST MORE MEN THAN WERE LOST IN THE LAST 7 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND 11 YEARS IN IRAQ, COMBINED… IT WAS THE MOST BRUTAL AND KILLING WEEK IN THE WAR IN 10 MONTHS–SINCE TET 1968… TOTAL KIA IN THE FIRST EIGHT YEARS OF THE WAR REACHED 32,211…(35,000 by Memorial Day 1969)… “The Vietnam War was a historical turning point for the U.S., a moment when political leaders plunged the military into an unwinnable colonial struggle that killed millions and bred distrust of Washington’s word.”… Fred Donner in a 2017 essay, “The Unwinnable Vietnam War“…
HUMBLE HOST asks: Turning point?… What’s changed? Are our political leaders immune to history as they plunge the military into one struggle after another?… How are we doing in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria?… Throughout Africa?… Iran next?… North Korea?…LEST WE FORGET… “The acme of skill is to win without fighting.” (Sun Tzu)…
Good Morning. It’s Monday, 27 May 2019. Humble Host remembers both MEMORIAL DAY 1969 and WEEK SEVENTEEN of COMMANDO HUNT I (3-9 March 1969)… (U.S. troop strength in Southeast Asia at 539,500) …
HEADLINES from THE NEW YORK TIMES (3-9 March)…
THE WAR: (3 March) NINE KILLED IN ROCKET ATTACK ON SAIGON– 25 Attacks On Communites Throughout the Country… “…The enemy shelling was the second in eight days. On Feb. 25, 10 rockets were fired on the city on the opening day of the current enemy offensive.”… “The United States Ninth Infantry Division base at Dongtam…in the Mekong Delta was hardest hit by the enemy rocket and mortar attacks Saturday night but casualties were reported as light. Allied military sources said that 7,200 Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers had been killed since the offensive began on Feb. 22. A total of 325 Americans and 572 South Vietnamese soldiers died during the same period…”… (4 Mar) MARINES BEAT BACK ASSAULT ON BASE NEAR DMZ–13 Die And 22 Are Wounded In Defense of Post–20 Noirth Vietnamese Killed In Repeated Enemy Charges… 30 TOWNS AND POSTS SHELLED– Foe Reported Using Tanks… (5 Mar) ENEMY USES TANKS IN ATTACK ON U.S. CAMP IN HIGHLANDS–Attack Repulsed… “…United States jets counted 10 tanks in the light of flares dropped by helicopter gunships. Thirty loads of bombs and rockets pounded the area and two tanks were destroyed. The rest retreated and were not seen again. It was the second time in the war that the enemy had used tanks against an allied position.”… (6 Mar) 22 DIE IN SAIGON ROCKET ATTACK–Scores Wounded–Slum Neighborhood Heavily Shelled–Vietcong Radio Says Tempo of Operations Will Intensify–Saigon Hit For Fourth Time–At Least 7 Missiles Fired… 90 ALLIED TROOPS ON RIVER CRAFT BARELY ESCAPE A VIETCONG TRAP… (7 Mar) U.S. WAR DEATHS ARE 453 IN WEEK–Most Since May 1968–Toll At Start of Foe’s Offensive Drive Exceeds Same Period In ’68 Tet Offensive–Comparable Enemy Losses Toll… “A total of 453 American soldiers were killed last week in the first seven days of the enemy’s current offensive in South Vietnam. The total the week before was 164. Another 2,593 were wounded and hospitalized…. 6,752 enemy troops were killed during the week.”… (8 Mar) ENEMY CONTINUES VIETNAM ATTACKS DESPITE WARNINGS–Three Provincial Capitals and 30 Military Sites Are Hit, But Saigon Is Spared… “Despite repeated warnings from the United States, enemy forces have continued to attack cities and military posts in South Vietnam with rockets and mortar sshells….The latest attacks came shortly after Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird landed in Saigon late last night with another warning that ‘an appropreiate response’ would be forthcoming if the shelling continued.”… (9 Mar) SHARP GROUND ACTION POUNDS VIETNAM–New Phase Started… “The enemy shelled 35 bases and towns across South Vietnam early Sunday in the third week of its spring offensive. Stepped-up ground action Saturday indicated the expected second phase of the drive may be at hand. The heaviest fighting on the 14th day of the offensive erupted at a U.S. 1st Cavalry Division landing zone 54 miles northwest of Saigon near the Cambodia border. The Americans took on about 500 enemy soldiers and afterward said they counted 154 bodies in a post-battle sweep that continued today. U.S. losses were put at 11 killed, 30 wounded.”…
PEACE TALKS IN PARIS… (3 Mar) NEGOTIATORS CONFER WITH NIXON ON THE PROSPECTS OF SUCCESS IN PEACE TALKS… Paris… “President Nixon (Visiting Europe) reviewed the Vietnam peace talks and their prospect of success with the leaders of the allied negotiating teams for three and a half hours this morning. No major policy decisions were expected, and apparently none were made in the consultations with members of the United States and South Vietnamese delegations to the Paris talks.”…. (4 Mar) ROGERS SAYS FOE’S ATTACKS WILL NOT WIN CONCESSIONS– “Secretary of State William P. Rogers condemned today the latest shelling of Saigon and said that indiscriminate attacks on civilians in South Vietnam would not provoke the United States into making political concessions.”… (5 Mar) NIXON SAYS PEACE TALKSMOVING INTO NEW PHASE– ‘Hard Bargaining’ and Exploring New Approaches… “…rather than simply resign ourselves to a military decision.”… (6 Mar) VIETCONG CALL FOR SETTLEMENT… “The Vietcong said today that they were prepared to show threir goodwill to end the Vietnam war if the United States displayed a serious dtermineation for a political settlement.”… COMMUNIST SIDE IN PARIS CONFERS–Nixon’s Remarks On the War Believed Subject of Talks… “North Vietnam and Vietcong representatives held joint consultations today, presumable to analyze president Nixon’s statements on Vietnam in his news conference last night.”… (7 Mar) LODGE PROTESTS SAIGON ATTACKS–WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES–Shortened Session In Paris Is Acrimonious… (9 Mar) PEACE TALKS MAY ENTER NEW PERIOD…(AP) “Developments in Paris and South Vietnam have raised doubts that the peace talks will continue for long in their present form. From the look of things, the United States has been having a two-way struggle on its hands, one with the foes at the conference table and the other with the South Vietnamese government. Saigon shows signs of rising impatience and of a mood to wash its hands of the talks. Niether the United States or North Vietnam is willing to break up the meeting. Thus, in one form or another, the talks are likely to continue indefinitely.”…
OTHER NYT HEADLINES from the week of 3 to 9 March 1969… (3 Mar) SOVIET AND CHINESE CLASH ON BORDER–EACH LISTS DEATHS IN SIBERIA INCIDENT–Two Sides File Protests Charging Violations of River Frontier–Moscow Has Gradually Built Up Its Troops In the Far East… “The Soviet Union announced tonight that a Chinese military unit crossed the border on a river in the Far East this morning and fired on Soviet border guards causing an unspecified number of dead and wounded.”… Peking radio said the Soviet border guards had crossed into Chinese territory and had killed and wounded several Chinese soldiers… the disputed area is on the Ussuri River at Damansky Island…. APOLLO 9 POISED FOR FLIGHT TODAY–Colds Over–Crew Prepares to Test The Lunar Landing Craft in Earh Orbit… SUPERSONIC CONCORDE AIRLINER SUCCESSFUL–Makes 28-Minute Maiden Flight… NIXON ENDS EUROPE TOUR–FINDS TRUST IN FUTURE–De Gaulle Will Visit U.S.–President Consults With Pope, Ky and Lodge On Last Day… SOVIET CAUTIONS WEST ON TRAVEL BY AIR TO BERLIN–Will Not Guarantee Safety Of Flights–Bonn Awaits An East German Reply… EISENHOWER BETTER… SOVIET MAKING INROADS IN ARABIA WHERE WEST WAS ONCE STRONG… SOVIET SAYS WORLD RED PARLEY IS GETTING NEARER… GOLDA MIER IN LINE FOR ESHKOL POST–Pary Leaders Urge That She Be Premier… (4 Mar) APOLLO 9 MISSION IS OFF TO A SUCCESSFUL START–Veterans Lead Way For Rookie–Apollo Spaceship in Orbvbit Links Up With Lunar Module–Astronauts First Maneuver in Test For Moon Landing Is Executed 118 Miles Up–The Launching Smooth… EASING OF SOVIET STANCE ON BERLIN NOW INDICATED… Division Within Soviet Politboro Over Policy On Berlin Reported..Changes in Tactics Are Linked To Split… Sports: Bob Gibson Signs Record pact With Cardinals For $125,000–Tops Stan Musial Salary… Curt Flood and Lou Brock sign For $88K and $87K… Boog Powell Signs With Orioles for $45K… (5 Mar) NIXON PRESS CONFERENCE… NIXON WARNS FOE TO STOP RAIDING VIETNAM CITIES–Asks Soviet Aid On Crisis–Tells Of Trip In TV News Conference–President Says U.S. Weighs Response If Assaults Go On… RED CHINA LIKENS KREMLIN TO CZARS–Says Present Leaders Are ‘More Gluttonous and Seek Bigger Empires… AMERICAN SCIENTISTS HALT WORK FOR ONE DAY–Troubled Over Role In Research… COMMUNISTS SHUT GERMAN AUTOBAHN AGAIN BUT RENEW OFFER–Closures Persist On Eve Of Day of West German Vote… (6 Mar) NIXON RESTRAINT PLEASES WASHINGTON–Congressional Leaders of Both Parties Praise Calm, Restrained Attitude Toward Crises in Vietnam and Berlin–Pursuing a Cooperative and Reasoned Peace in Paris… APOLLO 9 MODULE PASSES KEY TEST–Man Lunar Module and Fire Rocket… NAVAL LAW EXPERT CALLS SEIZURE OF PUEBLO ILLEGAL- Regardless Of Where Vessel Was–There Is No Right To Arrest Crew... (7 Mar) ASTRONAUTS TAKE 40-MINUTE OUTING ON CRAFT’S PORCH… LAIRD IN SAIGON WARNS ATTACKS WILL BRING REPLY IF THEY GO ON–Shelling Disturbs Nixon–Ky in Saigon Warns Foe… “Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird arrived in Saigon last night and charged that the recent wave of enemy attacks against South Vietnamese cities was an ‘ominous’ violation of the ‘understanding’ between the United States and North Vietnam. ‘I want to state unequivocally that if these attacks continue unabated, an appropriate response will be made.'”… DEBT CEILING PLAN BLOCKED IN HOUSE–Panel Rejects New Concept Proposed By Nixon But Backs Rise In Limit… “…in a mild rebuff to President Nixon, rejected his request to change the method for calculating the ceiling on the national debt.”… (8 Mar) VIETNAM DILEMMA: U.S. SEES NECESSITY TO DETER ATTACKS BUT WANTS TO AVOID RISK OF ESCALATION… Supporters of Vietcong Assert Raids Aimed At Military Targets… MOSCOW MARCHERS SMASH CHINESE EMBASSY WINDOWS–Soviets Giving Details of Border Clash Report Chinese Killed 31 Russian Troops… ANTI-SOVIET REPORTS FILL PEKING PRESS… GOLDA MIER ACCEPTS ISRAELI PREMIERSHIP–Calls On Eshkol Aides To Remain At Their Posts.. JAMES EARL RAY IS REPORTED READY TO PLEAD GUILTY MONDAY–Court Schedules Hearing At Request Of Lawyer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Murder Suspect–Deal For 99-Year Term Hinted… AUTOBAHN BLOCKED FOR 8th TIME IN A WEEK… (9 Mar) ASTRONAUTS TURN TO CAMERA DUTIES IN LOWER ORBIT…”Unwinding after five phenomenal days…the astronauts and Apollo 9 passed the halfway point of their 10-day mission with all goals achieved as the dress reharsal for Apollo 10 ‘Man on the Moon’ mission to follow next month.”…JAMES EARL RAY GETS PRISON TERM WITH GUILTY PLEA–JURY MUST AGREE… GUNFIRE ERUPTS ALONG SUEZ AFTER AIR DUELS…”Big guns of Israel and Egypt blasted at each other all along the Suez Canal Saturday, following a dogfight above the Sinai Desert in which each side claimed a kill.”.
COMMANDO HUNT I… MILITARY ASSISTANCE COMMAND, VIETNAM–STUDIES and OBSERVATIONS GROUP (MACV-SOG) was a highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War… The unit participated in most of the significant campaigns of the Vietnam War, including the Gulf of Tonkin incident which precipitated increased Americn involvement, Operation Steel Tiger, Operation Tiger Hound, the Tet Offensive, OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT, the Cambodian Campaign, Operation Lam Son 719, and the Easter Offensive…. More at…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Assistance_Command,_Vietnam_–_Studies_and_Observations_Group
From the Wikipedia summary of MACV–SOG that section concerning COMMANDO HUNT…Quote…
“With the deflation of its northern operations (although the JCS demanded the SOG retain the capability of reinitiating them), SOG concentrated their efforts on supporting COMMANDO HUNT, the Seventh/Thirteenth Air Force (and Navy Task Force 77) anti-infiltration campaign in Laos. By 1969 the Ground Studies Group was running its operations from C&Cs at Danang for operations in southeastern Laos and at Ban Me Thuot for the Cambodian operations. That year they were joined by a new C&C at Kontum, for operations launched into the triborder region of the Prairie Fire and the northern area of Daniel Boone, which was renamed Salem House that year. Each of the C&Cs was now fielding battalion-size forces, and the number of missions rose proportionately.
“Command and Control North (CCN) at Danang, commanded by a lieutenant colonel, used 60 recon teams and two exploitation battalions (four companies of three platoons). Command and Control Center (CCC) at Kontoum, also commanded by a lieutenant colonel, used 30 teams and one exploitation battalion. During 1969 404 exploitation force operations were conducted in Laos. To give an example of the cost of such operations, during the year (1969) 20 Americans were killed, 199 wounded, and nine went missing in the Prairie Fire area. Casualties among the Special Commando Units (SCUs), as the indigenous mercenaries were titled, were: 57 killed, 270 wounded, and 31 missing. Command and Control South (CCS) at Ban Me Thuot, also commanded by a lieutenant colonel, consisted of 30 teams and an exploitation battalion. Since the use of exploitation forces was forbidden in Cambodia, these troops were utilized in securing launch sites, providing installation security, and conducting in-country missions. During the year, 454 reconnaissance missions were conducted in Cambodia…. by the end of 1969 SOG was authorized 394 but actual strengths of the operational elements totaled 1,041 Army, 476 Air Force, 17 Marine Corps, and seven CIA assigned to those units. They were supported by 3,068 SCUs and 5,402 South Vietnamese….10,210 military personnel and civilians were either assigned to or working for MACSOG.
“The mission of the Ground Studies Group (OPS-35) was to support the sensor-driven Operation COMMANDO HUNT, which saw rapid expansion opf the bombing of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This was made possible by the close-out of ROLLING THUNDER, which freed up hundreds of aircraft for interdiction missions. Intelligence for the campaign was supplied by both the recon teams of MACSOG and by strings of air dropped electronic sensors of OPERATION IGLOO WHITE…Controlled from Nakhon Phanom. 1969 saw the apogee of the bombing campaign, when 433,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Laos. SOG supported the effort with ground reconnaissance (Roadwatch Teams), sensor emplacement, wiretaps, and bomb damage assessment missions. The cessation of the bombing in the north also freed the North Vietnamese to reinforce their anti-aircaraft defenses on the trail system and aircraft losses rose proportionately.
“By 1969, the North Vietnamese had also worked out their doctrine and techniques for dealing with the recon teams. Originally, the PAVN had been caught unprepared and had been forced to respond in whatever haphazard manner local commanders could organize. Soon, however, an early warning system was created by placing radio-equipped air watch units within the flight paths between the launch sites and Base Areas. Within the Base Areas, lookouts were placed in trees and platforms to watch likely landing zones while the roads and trails were routinely swept by security forces. The PAVN also began to organize and develop specialized units that would both drive and then fix the teams so that they could be destroyed. By 1970, they had created a layered and effective system, and SOG recon teams found their time on the ground both shortened and more dangerous. The mauling and wiping out of entire teams began to become a less uncommon occurrence.”… End quote… for additiona reading…
OPERATION COMMANDO HUNT… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Commando_Hunt
OPERATION IGLOO WHITE… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Igloo_White
FIXED WING LOSSES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA DURING WEEK SEVENTEEN OF COMMANDO HUNT I (Sources include Chris Hobson’s VIETNAM AIR LOSSES) Seven aircraft and twelve American warriors perished in the service of our country during the week… They are remembered here…
(1) On 5 March an F-4D of the 390th TFS and 366th TFW out of Danang piloted by CAPTAIN E.A. DAVIS and WSO 1LT C.J. WILES was downed while attacking enemy troops seven miles south of Danang. The Phantom was hit by ground fire on the third pass on the enemy position. CAPTAIN DAVIS headed east for the Gulf where both crew members ejected four miles off the coast east of Danang. They were rescued by Air Force helicopter to fly and fight again…
(2) On 5 March an F-100D Super Sabre of the 355th TFS and 37th TFW out of Phu Cat piloted by LCOL G.J. KERTESZ was part of a COMMANDO HUNT flight when hit by AAA at 11,000-feet over Dak To. LCOL KERTESZ was able to fly the striken aircraft southeast to a point 15 miles northwest of Kontum before having to eject. He was recovered by friendly ground troops…
(3) On 6 March an O-2A of the 23 TASS and 504th TASG out of Nakhon Phanom piloted by Nail FAC MAJOR T.A. SCANLAN was flying a COMMANDO HUNT mission when downed by antiaircraft fire while controlling an air strike in Southern Laos. MAJOR SCANLAN ejected and was subsequently rescued by a USAF HH-3. He was injured on the parachute touchdown…
(4) On 6 March an F-100D Super Sabre of the 90th TFS and 3rd TFW out of Bien Hoa piloted by 1LT M.D. MARTIN was downed 35 miles southwest of Binh Thuy. 1LT MARTIN was part of a flight attacking an enemy position and was hit by small arms fire on his third pass while dropping napalm from low altitude. He was forced to eject near the enemy troop location but was rescued by an Army helicopter before the Vietcong could reach him….
(5) On 8 March a C-130E of the 50th TAS and 314 TAW out of Ching Chuan Kang, Taiwan crashed short of the runway at their home field while landing in below minumum weather conditions. The aircraft was returning from a mission in Vietnam. All 12 Air Force personnel were killed in the accident or died a few days later. They are remembered here with respect and admiration and thoughts for the families of these twelve patriots gone for 50 years… COLONEL RALPH A. CONE; LCOL PAUL E. GARRETT; MAJOR WARREN L. LONG; MAJOR WILLIAM J. GRIFFIN; MAJOR RAYMOND L. TACKE; MSGT WILLIAM B. TERRY; TSGT JOHN W. ISRAEL; SSGT BARRY W. MURTAUGH; SSGT GORDON L. WHEELER; SGT ALAN C. MARTIN; SGT EUGENE PIZZINO; and SGT ROBERT L. WILSON… they rest in peace, duty done…
(6) On 9 March an A-7B of the VA-25 “Fist of the Fleet” embarked in USS Ticonderoga was lost on an approach to the ship for landing when the Corsair’s engine failed. The pilot ejected and was rescued to fly and fight again…
(7) On 9 March an O-2A of the 23rd TASS and 504th TASG piloted by CAPTAIN ROBERT F. REX and Observer SSGT TIM LEROY WALTERS, U.S. ARMY (MACV-SOG) was downed by ground fire while on a mission in support of COMMANDO HUNT operations 10 miles west of the DMZ. A ground team was inserted to inspect the wreckage and confirmed that both CAPTAIN REX and SSGT WALTERS had been killed in the crash. Intense opposition in the area precluded recovery of the bodies. The joint recovery team recovered SSGT WALTERS remains in 1999 and the young hero was buried with full military honors on 11 December 1999 at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles, Michigan next to the monument honoring the memory of his revered uncle CAPTAIN HARRY LEROY WALTERS, USAAF, who perished in World War II (1943) in the Solomons Islands. CAPTAIN WALTERS father was also a fighter pilot in WWII… ( More on SSGT WALTERS in Humble Host End Notes).
The status of CAPTAIN ROBERT F. REX: “Killed in action, body not recovered.” The following is quoted from the Task Force Omega website…
“A ground search team visited the crash site a short time (after the crash, which was observed by another aircraft operating in the area, Knife 55) and reported that both crewman died in the crash. Further, they reported one of the aircraft’s engines was on top of SSGT WALTERS trapping him in the wreckage and that special equipment would be needed to extract him. The ground team recovered the aircrew’s weapons, mapcase and camera from the Skymaster before hostile ground fire forced the search team to depart the area without recovering CAPTAIN REX’s remains. Because of the constant enemy presence in and around the crash site, no further attempt to recover the aircrews was possible. Both Bob Rex and Tim Walters were immediately listed as Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.
“In March 1999, a joint US/Lao team from Joint Task Force for Full Accounting (JTFFA) excavated the Skymaster’s crash site. During the excavation, wreckage, personal effects and fragmented bones and teeth were recovered. All remains were eventually sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for anthropological analysis. Those partial remains were identified through dental records as belonging to Tim Walters … None of the bone fragments or teeth were identified for Bob Rex….
“While the fate of SSGT WALTERS is finally resolved and his family, friends and country has the peace of mind knowing where he now lies; for CAPATAIN REX, whose fate is not in doubt, but whose remains have not been turned over to the United States, questions still exist. For other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, their fate could be quite different than that of the Skymaster’s crew. Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government… American servicemen in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.”… Thanks Task Force Omega for all you folks have done to help families find the truth….Good on you… Humble Host never had any doubt that if I didn’t come home, my country would come looking for me and wouldn’t quit until they knew my fate… LEAVE NO MAN BEHIND…
CAPTAIN REX is memorialized at Odebolt Cemetery in Odebolt, Iowa and at the United States Air Force Academy Memorial Wall… He rests in peace somewhere in Southeast Asia… LEFT BEHIND… The search goes on…
HUMBLE HOST END NOTES… The following “Remembrance” was posted for SSGT TIM WALTERS by Arnold Huskins on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation “The Wall of Faces” site page dedicated to SSGT WALTERS on 2 January 2006. I quote…
“VIETNAM CASUALTY FINALLY COMING HOME”…The following was written by Lou Mumford for South Bend Tribune… NILES (Iowa)…
“Recalling his late son, Tim, Marvin Walters says he never did anything halfway. ‘He went full bore,’ he said. ‘It didn’t make any difference whether he was working or playing.’ Or fighting in Vietnam. Walters, a 1961 graduate of South Bend’s Clay High School, died in the Southeast Asia conflict. He was killed when his plane crashed in Laos not far from Vietnam’s demilitarized zone. His family was made aware of his death (9 March 1969) almost immediately, even though the exact circumstances were never made clear. But the remains of the 26-year-old Army staff sergeant were never recovered, prompting a sense of emptiness for Marvin; his wife, Marylynn; and Tim’s sister, Jenelle Shadwick.
“It was only in the last few months (of 1999) that a military recovery team located Walter’s remains on that Laotian hillside. The remains were positively identified as those of Walters through dental records on Nov. 30. At 11 a.m. this Saturday, burial will take place in Niles’ Silverbrook Cemetery. Walters will be laid to rest next to his uncle, Harry Walters, a U.S. Army Air Corps captain who died in World War II. Marvin Walters said he had never considered the possibility that his son might be killed in conbat, even though the Vietnam War was well under way when Tim enlisted in 1965. ‘I felt like kicking him in the butt… (but) I thought the war would be over by then (1969),’ said the elder Walter, a Niles native and former South Bend resident who now resides in Mesa, Arizona.
“The special operations soldier had ample opportunities to come home. He had served four tours of duty, had fought in nine campaigns and had flown more than 100 missions when his life had ended. His commanding officers said his sense of commitment wouldn’t allow him to leave the job unfinished. ‘My observation was he was highly professional….He wanted it done, and he wanted it done correctly,’ recalled retired Lt. Col. Reginald Hathorn of Alexandria, La. ‘He was already in his fourth tour when he started to fly with me, and he told me he wanted to extend six months. ‘I told him he was stretching his luck, but his mind was made up. He never told me why.’
“People like Don Mitchell of Edwardsburg wouldn’t have been surprised by Walter’s determination. Mitchell recalled that he played football for Adams High School in the early 1960s and, in his senior year, was pitted against Walters, a linebacker for the Washington Clay Colonials. ‘He was my assignment. I was a guard, and I lined up against him every play,’ he said. ‘In every skull session we had, we knew this guy was something to be reckoned with. He was a straight shooter. There was nothing fancy about Tim. He was blood and guts all the way.’
“His sister, Janelle Shadwick, now a resident of Houston, remembers Walter’s sense of humor and boyish appearance. She said he was ‘carded’ at Pizza Hut in Odessa, Texas, in 1968, during his last leave in the states. ‘I was just 21, but they sent me back to get his ID,’ she said. ‘Oh, was he mad. Tim said, ‘I’ve been fighting a war.’
“In Vietnam, Walters was a member of the highly classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam–Studies and Observation Group. He was a forward observer on an 0-2 aircraft, which retired Brig.Gen. George Gaspard described as the ‘slowest-flying aircraft in the Air Force.’ Gaspard also described Walters as ‘one of the 12 most courageous persons’ he has ever known. ‘We did a lot of reocnnaissance with slow-flying aaircraft. That’s where Tim excelled,’ said Gaspard, Walters’ commanding officer until a year before his death. ‘He was a very brash young man, and I loved him for it.’ Gaspard said it was Walters job to locate areas where personnel could be dropped for weeklong periods, allowing them to seek out enemy supply, telephone and oil lines (and plant sensors and watch roads for COMMANDO HUNT). ‘Tim had to be one step ahead of everybody else…If they’d get lost on the ground, he’d tell them what heading to follow,’ he said.
“No one knows for certain what caused Walters’ plane to crash. His family said it was ground fire that brought it down. Hathorn said he was told it was small arms fire. Gaspard said he received secondhand information two years after the crash that the cause was heat inversion. Gaspard said Walters and the plane’s pilot (CAPTAIN ROBERT F. REX) were attempting to assist a ground team being pursued by the North Vietnamese. ‘They were running across an open area, and Tim was firing at the enemy from the plane with an M-16 rifle, he said. ‘The enemy decided to set fire to the grass to screen off the attackers.The pilot made a pass in there but the heat had built up causing the inversion. It turned the plane over and it crshed.’
“In posthumously awarding Walters a Silver Star medal, one of eleven (awards for valor in combat) he was granted, the Army said: ‘Sgt. Walters successfully directed the extraction of a ground reconnaissance team which was surrounded by a large enemy force and in imminent peril of death. Expertly coordinating the available aerial support, he guided rescue aircraft into the area, which ultimately succeeded in extracting the allied team. As a direct result of his unhesitating bravery, the survivors on the ground reconnaissance team were saved from certain death, and vital information was made available to allied forces for use against hostile forces.’
“Hostile forces in the area of Walters’ crash site made the recover of bodies impossible. But this year’s discovery of the remains set the wheels in motion for closure. Hahorn said it’s only fitting Walters should be buried in the soil of the country he fought to protect. ‘I don’t feel a hole in the ground on a forgotten hillside (in Laos) is the proper place for our people to be,’ Hahorn said.”…. End quote…
AMONG THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE… Young SSGT TIM WALTERS was awarded two SILVER STARS; two DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSSES; the BRONZE STAR with V for Valor; two PURPLE HEART MEDALS; the AIR MEDAL with clusters (he flew more than 100 low-slow missions); and four ARMY COMMENDATION MEDALS with V for Valor…. oohrah…
SSGT TIM WALTERS was truly among the bravest of the brave. The MACV-SOG warriors counted 13 among their number who would be awarded the MEDAL OF HONOR, and 22 other members received the DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL for valor, an honor only exceeded by that of the MOH. The U.S. Army officially recognized the bravery, integrity and devotion to duty of its covert warriors by awarding the unit a PRESIDENTIAL UNIT CITATION…. And the BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE, by any measure was SERGEANT FIRST CLASS ROBERT L. HOWARD… The Audie Murphy of the Vietnam War…
Lest we forget… Bear…
Thanks brings back a lot of memories