Remembering Gary D. Thaden on His Birthday -- KIA Vietnam July 4, 1970

Today would be the 66^th birthday of Gary D. Thaden, one of the men whose story is told in my book, Died on the Fourth of July. Specialist Four Thaden, from Brighton, Colorado, was 21 when he was killed in action on July 4, 1970, during the battle for Fire Support Base Ripcord. Some of his friends and fellow soldiers have posted their memories of him at http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/51485/GARY-D-THADEN

Specialist Thaden is buried at the Elmwood Cemetery in Brighton. Following is an excerpt from the book, telling the story of Specialist Thaden and four others who died with him:

The last major battle between U.S. and NVA forces took place from March through July 1970 at Fire Support Base Ripcord in the A Shau Valley. Over a period of four and one-half months, 248 Americans were killed, three were awarded the Medal of Honor, and five were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. Two of those killed during that time were PFC Wieland Norris, brother of actor Chuck Norris, on June 3; and First Lieutenant Bob Kalsu of the Buffalo Bills, the only active NFL player to be killed in Vietnam, on July 21.

In March of that year the 101^st Airborne Division began refurbishing the abandoned Fire Support Base Ripcord in advance of an offensive to disrupt NVA supply bases. From March through June the NVA harassed the base with sporadic attacks and then launched a full-scale offensive.  The heaviest part of the battle was between July 1 and 23, during which time 75 Americans died. Outnumbered by as much as ten to one, U.S. forces withdrew from the base by air, followed by carpet bombing of the base by B-52s.

Five Americans died on the Fourth of July during the battle for Fire Support Base Ripcord, all of them in the same incident. A platoon on patrol on Hill 902 walked into a large booby trap explosive. Killed were:

·         1LT William Sullivan, 27, Denver, Colorado

·         PFC Carl Mickens, 26, Belleville, New Jersey

·         SP4 Jimmie Robinson, 21, Mobile, Alabama

·         SP4 Gary D. Thaden, 21, Brighton, Colorado

·         SP4 William C. Ray, 21, De Mossville, Kentucky

Lieutenant Sullivan and Sergeant Ray each had a wife back home, but neither of them had children. Four of the men were from Company C, 2^nd Battalion, 501^st Infantry. The fifth, Sergeant William C. Ray, was a member of the 58^th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon. His scout dog, Fritz, suffered minor shrapnel wounds.

An estimated 4,000 scout dogs were used in Vietnam. Some walked ahead of their handlers on the alert for ambushes or booby traps. Others were sentry dogs that guarded bases, trackers that followed the trail of enemy troops, and mine and booby trap dogs who sniffed out danger. 

Remembering Michael Robert Mangan on his birthday -- Distinguished Service Cross, Died in Vietnam

Today would be the 70^th birthday of Army Specialist Fourth Class Michael Robert Mangan who was killed in action in Vietnam at age 23 on August 21, 1968. For his gallantry that day, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, our Nation’s second highest military award next to the Medal of Honor. 

He was one of 19 men who died during a battle at the Ben Cui rubber plantation. Specialist Mangan was serving with Company C, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 2d Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. His home of record was Costa Mesa, California, and he was single.

Although it’s been nearly 50 years since he died, Specialist Mangan is not forgotten. His sister, Nancy Mangan-Bushell, wrote this tribute to him on an online wall in 2012.

Remembering you, little brother.....I am so proud of you! Just know I think of you often and have a little shrine of you with pictures, medals and Wall memorabilia in my office right next to my desk. I get calls from some of your pals, who remember what an extraordinary young man you were. I miss you little brother and want you to know how proud I am of you. You will be forever in my heart!

Her message and tributes from others, photos of Specialist Mangan, and other information can be found online at http://thewall-usa.com/guest.asp?recid=32161 and also at http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49875392. 

Specialist Mangan is buried at Pacific View Memorial Park, Corona del Mar, Orange County, California. Here is his Distinguished Service Cross citation:

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Michael Robert Mangan (US56703895), Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company C, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 5th Infantry, 2d Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Specialist Four Mangan distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 21 August 1968 while serving with a mechanized infantry company combating a large enemy force in the Ben Cui rubber plantation. The communists began a human wave assault. Specialist Mangan maneuvered his armored personnel carrier into a position from which it could deliver the most effective firepower and began firing his light anti-tank weapon into the charging enemy. Constantly exposed to the intense hostile fusillade, he continued firing until ordered to withdraw. As he maneuvered his assault vehicle into a defensive position, it was struck by an enemy rocket which caused it to burst into flames. Specialist Mangan again exposed himself to the communist's barrage to extinguish the fire and was wounded in the arm. The vehicle was then struck by a mortar round. Finding the carrier inoperative, he ran to another assault vehicle to assist its machinegunner in delivering suppressive fire on the enemy. When the gunner had expended his ammunition, Specialist Mangan ran through a hail of bullets to obtain a resupply from his demobilized track. As he climbed into the vehicle it was struck by a rocket, knocking him to the ground. Struggling to his feet, he picked up the vital ammunition and returned it to the machine gunner's position. While handing the resupply to his comrade, he was mortally wounded. Specialist Four Mangan's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

When Valentine's Day Became Memorial Day

On Valentine’s Day 1966, 13 men from the Army’s 25^th Infantry Division died in Vietnam during a battle at an area dubbed “Hell’s Half Acre.” They were a cross-section of America and of the Army. One was an officer, some were senior non-commissioned officers, and some were young enlisted men. They included whites, African Americans, and one Native American. Six were married, five of whom had children. Those killed that day are:

• SP4 Walter Ammons; 18; Chester, VA
• PFC Ira C. Boggs Jr.; 22; Columbus, OH
• PFC Bobby J. Braswell; 22; Paris, TX
• SP4 Donald E. Daniels; 19; Goldsboro, NC
• Sergeant John W. Groover; 25; Farmington, MI
• Sergeant George E. Hayes; 24; Williamstown, KS
• Captain William A. Hoos; 28; East Chicago, IN
• PFC Carlos D. Jelks; 18; Toledo, OH
• Staff Sergeant Gene C. Milligan; 34; Dallas, TX
• PFC Terry J. Reed; 19; Spirit Lake, IA
• PFC Henry M. Starkey; 23; Auburn, CA
• Sergeant William R. Wallace; 20; Ft. Wayne, IN
• Sergeant First Class Watson Willis; 37; Cincinnati, OH

The overall American death toll on that Valentine's Day 1966 was 33. During the entire Vietnam War, 185 Americans died on a Valentine's Day, 52 of whom were married.

A young lieutenant, Russ Dowden Jr., was wounded in the Valentine's Day battle at Hell's Half Acre. His account of the battle can be found online at http://www.rafino.org/russ_story.htm

In the preface to his story he writes, “Most Valentine’s Days are happy events.  They are for sweethearts, for flowers and boxes of candy.  This one turned out to be everything but that.  For the loved ones in this short story, Valentine’s Day became a new Memorial Day.”

Lieutenant Dowden was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry. He served 30 years in the Army, retired as a Colonel, and was inducted in 2011 into the Arkansas Military Hall of Fame. He wrote a particularly poignant passage about Sergeant John Groover, one of the men who died that day, after reading a tribute to him posted to an online memorial wall:

There on the pages reserved for notes to John Groover was a note from Alan Groover, the grandson that John Groover never had the privilege of knowing.  A note that starts, “John Groover was my grandfather …”  Up until then I had accepted the fact that many children of soldiers killed in combat grow up missing their fathers but not until reading the words of Alan Groover had the notion of a missing grandfather crossed my mind.  Once again my eyes blurred from the tears pooling in them.  Why was the emotion so strong?  The answer to that question is most clearly without doubt, because I am a grandfather now.  I am pained to know that he, and countless other young men listed on that memorial, never enjoyed the voices of their grandchildren.  Never knew the thrill of watching them grow.  Never saw them in a school play, on a Little League baseball field, a soccer field, or a football field; never attended a school honors or graduation program; never held them and heard them laugh or cry. Once again, I come to the realization of just how fortunate I was on that Valentine Day in 1966.  I have been privileged to see my children grow to adulthood and, unlike John Groover and so many, many more young American soldiers, I am seeing my grandchildren grow; two privileges for which I am eternally grateful.  God rest you John Groover along with all of the other’s whose names are inscribed in the black granite of that once controversial memorial in our nation’s capital.