Raymond, I arrived in Vietnam
on July 13, 1966 three days after my 18th birthday and joined my our Battery
(Whiskey Battery [ 4.2 inch or 107 MM mortars], 1st Battalion, 11th Marine
Regiment, 1st Marine Division on or about July 18, 1965. Sleep was
fitful at best. I was sent from Chu Lai to Danang via helicopter and from
there to Dong Ha via small aircraft called a Caribou, then a wild helicopter
ride to a place near the DMZ. Operation Hastings was to all that were there,
a tough time. We received fire day and night.The next three weeks after
arriving there are a blur to me now. At the time it seemed that night came
all to soon. The daytime seemed safer to me, it wasn't, just seemed that
way. The terrain was very mountainous and lots of jungle. I had never been
so tired and dirty in my life. Being fresh from the world I was used to
regular meals and bathing. Marines in the bush, especially unexperienced
ones get a rude awakening very fast. The men I joined in the field were
the best I have ever known. I was helped and advised as much as possible
and the transition to combat was made easier. I will never forget any of
those men. I cannot remember most of their names now because the Battery
was in a transition period, that is it
was a rotation period, men were
rotating back to the states and people were leaving all the time.
There were several Marine Infantry Companys that came into our area, your uncle may have been with them, we all look the same in green uniforms with helmets low over our eyes. He could have walked by me and I would not have known.
I spoke with a member of our BootCamp Platoon 274 by the name of Whitehead. He was the one that told me of Larry's death. I was surprised to learn that it had occured on Hastings and that I had been close by. He told me that your Uncle died while charging a machinegun emplacement. Your Uncle was a tough man. During Bootcamp and Infantry training he never lagged behind, that was a source of pride for us both. His position in our squad was right in front of me and I stayed on his butt no matter how tired I was. The last time I saw Larry was right after Infantry Training at Camp Horno, Camp Pendleton, California, sometime in December 1965. Some of us had to stay in camp for an Artillery School over Christmas and everybody else went home for leave and then joined there outfits in the 1st Marine Division.
There is not much more that I can remember about Larry. He was a short man but he never backed down from a fight and Marines fight amongst themselves all the time, sometimes just for fun. Weird but true. These past 36 years since your Uncles death have been kind to me. I guess that is what makes the death of all those young men so hard at times. We have gotten to enjoy life while they lost theirs in a far off place. The anniversary of his death is close and I will go to a Grotto close to my house and light a candle for your Uncle and all the friends we lost in that War.
Please feel free to contact me if you or anyone in your family is ever in San Antonio, Texas.
Sincerely,
Valentin Andrade
I enlisted on September 2nd,
1965 at Chicago, Illinois at the age of 17. Stations were Camp LeJeune
from January 1966 to about June 1966, went through Staging Battalion at
Las Pulgas in June/July 1966. A big Silver Bird got me to Okinawa on my
18th birthday. A C-130 got me to Danang three days later. I joined Whiskey
1/11 in the field two days after that near the DMZ for Operation Hastings.
Monsooned south of Danang near Hill 55 South. F 2/1 and Whiskey Battery
were sent to Hill 187, Nui Loc Son, Que Son Province, RVN in January 1967.
I left Hill 187 in late May 1967. I rotated in August 1967 to Camp LeJeune.
I was sent to Marine Barracks Bangor Washington in November 1967. I stayed
their as Platoon Sgt and until the end of my enlistment in September 1969.
I rejoined the Corp in January 1973 and was sent to Okinawa in early 1974.
I took a medical in September 1974 and began college.
April 21, 1967, we were on the
hill looking at and hearing on the company net, the battle. The company
stepped off at first light and began what was to be a sweep of a ville
that was suspected of NVA activity. Fifty meters from the tree line of
the ville MG's and mortar fire killed or wounded many Marines. We responded
by saturating the ville with 4.2 mortar fire. The Company CO was hit in
the stomach once or twice but still led the company in retreat and survived.
The reserve platoon was decimated at some point. I was on the OP at the
hill and could see activity but too close to call arty because of the proximity
of our troops. The Battery CO finally made the call and we fired on the
tree line in the hopes that Marines pinned down could
move to safety. I sincerely
believe that some men survived because of his call. Captain Jesse Terpstra
is his name. Mustanger, good guy. Their are so many memories flooding back.
What boggles my mind is that you and I crossed paths on April 21, 1967
in a far off place on a very sad day and almost 34 years later we cross
paths again. I am drinking a beer but in your honor I am breaking out the
single malt. Hablas espa~nol? Mas despues. Andy
MEDAL OF HONOR
MARTINI, GARY W.*
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Place and date: Binh Son, Republic of Vietnam, 21 April 1967
Entered service at: Portland, Oregon
Born: 21 September 1948, Lexington, Virginia
Citation:
For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and
beyond the call of duty. On 21 April 1967, during Operation UNION, elements
of Company F conducting offensive operations at Binh Son, encountered a
firmly entrenched enemy force and mmediately deployed to engage them. The
marines in Pfc. Martini's platoon assaulted across an open rice paddy to
within 20 meters of the enemy trench line where they were suddenly struck
by hand grenades, intense small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire.
The enemy onslaught killed 14 and wounded 18 marines, pinning the remainder
of the platoon down behind a low paddy dike. In the face of imminent danger,
Pfc. Martini immediately crawled over the dike to a forward open area within
15 meters of the enemy position where, continuously exposed to the hostile
fire, he hurled hand grenades, killing several of the enemy. Crawling back
through the intense fire, he rejoined his platoon which had moved to the
relative safety of a trench line. From this position he observed several
of his wounded comrades lying helpless in the fire-swept paddy. Although
he knew that 1
man had been killed attempting
to assist the wounded, Pfc. Martini raced through the open area and dragged
a comrade back to a friendly position. In spite of a serious wound received
during this first daring rescue, he again braved the unrelenting fury of
the enemy fire to aid another
companion lying wounded only
20 meters in front of the enemy trench line. As he reached the fallen marine,
he received a mortal wound, but disregarding his own condition, he began
to drag the marine toward his platoon's position. Observing men from his
unit attempting to leave the
security of their position to
aid him, concerned only for their safety, he called to them to remain under
cover, and through a final supreme effort, moved his injured comrade to
where he could be pulled to safety, before he fell, succumbing to his wounds.
Stout hearted and indomitable, Pfc.
Martini unhesitatingly yielded
his life to save 2 of his comrades and insure the safety of the remainder
of his platoon. His outstanding courage, valiant fighting spirit and selfless
devotion to duty reflected the highest credit upon himself, the Marine
Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
REMARKS: POSS EXECUTED 650926
- PRG DIC LIST
The U.S. Army Special Forces, Vietnam (Provisional) was formed at Saigon in 1962 to advise and assist the South Vietnamese government in the organization, training, equipping and employment of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) forces. Total personnel strength in 1963 was 674, all but 98 of whom were TDY from 1st Special Forces Group on Okinawa and 5th and 7th Special Forces Groups at Ft. Bragg. USSF Provisonal was given complete charge of the CIDG program, formerly handled by the CIA, on July 1, 1963.
The USSF Provisional/CIDG network consisted of fortified, strategically located camps, each one with an airstrip. The area development programs soon evolved into combat operations, and by the end of October 1963, the network also had responsibility for border surveillance. Two of the Provisional/CIDG camps were at Hiep Hoa (Detachment A-21) and Tan Phu (Detachment A-23), Republic of Vietnam. Their isolated locations, in the midst of known heavy enemy presence, made the camps vulnerable to attack.
On October 29, 1963, CPT "Rocky" Versace, 1LT "Nick" Rowe, and SGT Daniel Pitzer were accompanying a CIDG company on an operation along a canal. The team left the camp at Tan Phu for the village of Le Coeur to roust a small enemy unit that was establishing a command post there. When they reached the village, they found the enemy gone, and pursued them, falling into an ambush at about 1000 hours. The fighting continued until 1800 hours, when reinforcements were sent in to relieve the company. During the fight, Versace, Pitzer and Rowe were all captured. The three captives were photographed together in a staged setting in the U Minh forest in their early days of captivity.
The camp at Hiep Hoa was located in the Plain of Reeds between Saigon and the Cambodian border. In late October 1963, several Viet Cong surrendered at the camp, claiming they wished to defect. Nearly a month later, on November 24, Hiep Hoa was overrun by an estimated 400-500 Viet Cong just after midnight. Viet Cong sympathizers in the camp had killed the guards and manned a machine gun position at the beginning of the attack. The Viet Cong climbed the camp walls and shouted in Vietnamese, "Don't shoot! All we want is the Americans and the weapons!" 1LT John Colbe, the executive officer, evaded capture. CPT Doug Horne, the Detachment commander, had left earlier with a 36 man Special Forces/CIDG force. The Viet Cong captured four of the Americans there. It was the first Special Forces camp to be overrun in the Vietnam War.
Those captured at Hiep Hoa were SFC Issac "Ike" Camacho, SFC Kenneth M. Roraback (the radio operator), SGT George E. "Smitty" Smith and SP5 Claude D. McClure. Their early days of captivity were spent in the Plain of Reeds, southwest of Hiep Hoa, and they were later held in the U Minh forest. "Ike" Camacho continually looked for a way to escape. In July 1965, he was successful. His and Smith's chains had been removed for use on two new American prisoners, and in the cover of a violent night storm, Camacho escaped and made his way to the village of Minh Thanh. He was the first American serviceman to escape from the Viet Cong in the Second Indochina War. McClure and Smith were released from Cambodia in November 1965.
Rocky Versace had been torn between the Army and the priesthood. When he won an appointment to West Point, he decided God wanted him to be a soldier. He was to enter Maryknoll (an order of Missionaries), as a candidate for the priesthood, when he left Vietnam. It was evident from the beginning that Versace, who spoke fluent French and Vietnamese, was going to be a problem for the Viet Cong. Although Versace was known to love the Vietnamese people, he could not accept the Viet Cong philosophy of revolution, and spent long hours assailing their viewpoints. His captors eventually isolated him to attempt to break him.
Rowe and Pitzer saw Rocky at interludes during their first months of captivity, and saw that he had not broken. Indeed, although he became very thin, he still attempted to escape. By January 1965, Versace's steel-grey hair had turned completely white. He was an inspiration to them both. Rowe wrote:
...The Alien force, applied with hate, could not break him, failed to bend him; Though solitary imprisonment gave him no friends, he drew upon his inner self to create a force so strong that those who sought to destroy his will, met an army his to command....
On Sunday, September 26, 1965, "Liberation Radio" announced the execution of Rocky Versace and Kenneth Roraback in retaliation for the deaths of 3 terrorists in Da Nang. A later news article stated that the executions were faked, but the Army did not reopen an investigaton. In the late 1970's information regarding this "execution" became classified, and is no longer part of public record.
Sgt. Pitzer was released from Cambodia November 11, 1967. 1LT Nick Rowe was scheduled to be executed in late December 1968. His captors had had enough of him - his refusal to accept the communist ideology and his continued escape attempts. While away from the camp in the U Minh forest, Rowe took advantage of a sudden flight of American helicopters, struck down his guards, and ran into a clearing where the helicopters noticed him and rescued him, still clad in black prisoner pajamas. He had been promoted to major during his five years of captivity.
Rowe remained in the Army, and shared his survival techniques in Special Forces classes. In 1987, LTC Rowe was assigned to the Philippines, where he assisted in training anti-communists. On April 21, 1989, a machine gun sniper attacked Rowe in his car, killing him instantly.
Of the seven U.S. Army Special
Forces personnel captured at Hiep Hoa and Tan Phu, the fates of only Versace
and Roraback remain unknown. The execution was never fully documented;
it is not known with certainty that these two men died. Although the Vietnamese
claim credit for their deaths, they did not return their remains. From
the accounts of those who knew them, if these men were not executed, they
are still fighting for their country.
