US ARMY
Unit of Assignment: C Co, 2nd BN, 503rd Infantry, 173rd ABN BDE, USARV
Casualty Location: Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. John Alandt, Royal Oak, MI
ON the Wall: Panel 16E, Line 006
==========
During Operation Junction City I, airborne troops of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade sought the Viet Cong's (VC) elusive "headquarters" of the Communist uprising in South Vietnam. Searching in thick bamboo forest and jungle adjacent to the Cambodian border in western Tay Ninh Province, the highly mobile VC were not easy to find, and encounters with them could be sudden and deadly. Early on the morning of March 3, 1967, Third Platoon, C Company, 2-503rd set out on an all-day search and destroy mission from their company's night defensive position (NDP). While revisiting an area where contact with the enemy was made the day before, the platoon was ambushed after they observed and began pursuing a solitary VC fleeing down a trail. Thinking they had an easy "kill," the VC led them into a well-planned kill zone. An estimated Viet Cong company opened fire with small arms, automatic weapons, and Claymore mines. The point element suffered heavy casualties and was pinned down when calls went out to the NDP for help. A reaction force from Second Platoon raced to their location. Radio contact was lost with the patrol during the half-hour it took before they found the first American, lying dead on a trail with his arms outstretched. Next to him lay a jammed M16 rifle. Further down they found a small clearing where five survivors huddled together. In front of them were fifteen dead, many hit multiple times. Several of them died trying to pull back their wounded comrades. While policing up the battle area, of the fallen fifteen, nine had jammed M16's. The dead and two wounded were carried in ponchos slung to bamboo stalks to a hastily cut landing zone. Two enemy dead were found. Green, a medic, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for valor during the battle; Stalter received the Bronze Star. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and SGT Stalter's Bronze Star medal citation; also, the book "Blood on the Risers" by John Leppelman]
The lost personnel included:
PVT Lawrence Strack
PFC Charles B. Alandt
PFC Charles H. Bennett
1LT Welborn A. Callahan Jr.
PFC Paul W. Curran
PFC Michael J. Drake
PFC Michael L. Ebald
SSG Melvin C. Gaines
PFC Earl S. Garrison
SP4 Moses Green
SSG Angel P. Saez-Ramirez
PFC James A. Skiles
SGT John R. Stalter
Unit of Assignment: C Co, 2nd BN, 503rd Infantry, 173rd ABN BDE, USARV
Casualty Location: Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. John Alandt, Royal Oak, MI
ON the Wall: Panel 16E, Line 006
==========
During Operation Junction City I, airborne troops of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade sought the Viet Cong's (VC) elusive "headquarters" of the Communist uprising in South Vietnam. Searching in thick bamboo forest and jungle adjacent to the Cambodian border in western Tay Ninh Province, the highly mobile VC were not easy to find, and encounters with them could be sudden and deadly. Early on the morning of March 3, 1967, Third Platoon, C Company, 2-503rd set out on an all-day search and destroy mission from their company's night defensive position (NDP). While revisiting an area where contact with the enemy was made the day before, the platoon was ambushed after they observed and began pursuing a solitary VC fleeing down a trail. Thinking they had an easy "kill," the VC led them into a well-planned kill zone. An estimated Viet Cong company opened fire with small arms, automatic weapons, and Claymore mines. The point element suffered heavy casualties and was pinned down when calls went out to the NDP for help. A reaction force from Second Platoon raced to their location. Radio contact was lost with the patrol during the half-hour it took before they found the first American, lying dead on a trail with his arms outstretched. Next to him lay a jammed M16 rifle. Further down they found a small clearing where five survivors huddled together. In front of them were fifteen dead, many hit multiple times. Several of them died trying to pull back their wounded comrades. While policing up the battle area, of the fallen fifteen, nine had jammed M16's. The dead and two wounded were carried in ponchos slung to bamboo stalks to a hastily cut landing zone. Two enemy dead were found. Green, a medic, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for valor during the battle; Stalter received the Bronze Star. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and SGT Stalter's Bronze Star medal citation; also, the book "Blood on the Risers" by John Leppelman]
The lost personnel included:
PVT Lawrence Strack
PFC Charles B. Alandt
PFC Charles H. Bennett
1LT Welborn A. Callahan Jr.
PFC Paul W. Curran
PFC Michael J. Drake
PFC Michael L. Ebald
SSG Melvin C. Gaines
PFC Earl S. Garrison
SP4 Moses Green
SSG Angel P. Saez-Ramirez
PFC James A. Skiles
SGT John R. Stalter
US ARMY
Unit of Assignment: C Co, 2nd BN, 503rd Infantry, 173rd ABN BDE, USARV
Casualty Location: Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. John Alandt, Royal Oak, MI
ON the Wall: Panel 16E, Line 006
==========
During Operation Junction City I, airborne troops of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade sought the Viet Cong's (VC) elusive "headquarters" of the Communist uprising in South Vietnam. Searching in thick bamboo forest and jungle adjacent to the Cambodian border in western Tay Ninh Province, the highly mobile VC were not easy to find, and encounters with them could be sudden and deadly. Early on the morning of March 3, 1967, Third Platoon, C Company, 2-503rd set out on an all-day search and destroy mission from their company's night defensive position (NDP). While revisiting an area where contact with the enemy was made the day before, the platoon was ambushed after they observed and began pursuing a solitary VC fleeing down a trail. Thinking they had an easy "kill," the VC led them into a well-planned kill zone. An estimated Viet Cong company opened fire with small arms, automatic weapons, and Claymore mines. The point element suffered heavy casualties and was pinned down when calls went out to the NDP for help. A reaction force from Second Platoon raced to their location. Radio contact was lost with the patrol during the half-hour it took before they found the first American, lying dead on a trail with his arms outstretched. Next to him lay a jammed M16 rifle. Further down they found a small clearing where five survivors huddled together. In front of them were fifteen dead, many hit multiple times. Several of them died trying to pull back their wounded comrades. While policing up the battle area, of the fallen fifteen, nine had jammed M16's. The dead and two wounded were carried in ponchos slung to bamboo stalks to a hastily cut landing zone. Two enemy dead were found. Green, a medic, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for valor during the battle; Stalter received the Bronze Star. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and SGT Stalter's Bronze Star medal citation; also, the book "Blood on the Risers" by John Leppelman]
The lost personnel included:
PVT Lawrence Strack
PFC Charles B. Alandt
PFC Charles H. Bennett
1LT Welborn A. Callahan Jr.
PFC Paul W. Curran
PFC Michael J. Drake
PFC Michael L. Ebald
SSG Melvin C. Gaines
PFC Earl S. Garrison
SP4 Moses Green
SSG Angel P. Saez-Ramirez
PFC James A. Skiles
SGT John R. Stalter
Unit of Assignment: C Co, 2nd BN, 503rd Infantry, 173rd ABN BDE, USARV
Casualty Location: Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam
Parents: Mr. & Mrs. John Alandt, Royal Oak, MI
ON the Wall: Panel 16E, Line 006
==========
During Operation Junction City I, airborne troops of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the 173d Airborne Brigade sought the Viet Cong's (VC) elusive "headquarters" of the Communist uprising in South Vietnam. Searching in thick bamboo forest and jungle adjacent to the Cambodian border in western Tay Ninh Province, the highly mobile VC were not easy to find, and encounters with them could be sudden and deadly. Early on the morning of March 3, 1967, Third Platoon, C Company, 2-503rd set out on an all-day search and destroy mission from their company's night defensive position (NDP). While revisiting an area where contact with the enemy was made the day before, the platoon was ambushed after they observed and began pursuing a solitary VC fleeing down a trail. Thinking they had an easy "kill," the VC led them into a well-planned kill zone. An estimated Viet Cong company opened fire with small arms, automatic weapons, and Claymore mines. The point element suffered heavy casualties and was pinned down when calls went out to the NDP for help. A reaction force from Second Platoon raced to their location. Radio contact was lost with the patrol during the half-hour it took before they found the first American, lying dead on a trail with his arms outstretched. Next to him lay a jammed M16 rifle. Further down they found a small clearing where five survivors huddled together. In front of them were fifteen dead, many hit multiple times. Several of them died trying to pull back their wounded comrades. While policing up the battle area, of the fallen fifteen, nine had jammed M16's. The dead and two wounded were carried in ponchos slung to bamboo stalks to a hastily cut landing zone. Two enemy dead were found. Green, a medic, was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal for valor during the battle; Stalter received the Bronze Star. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and SGT Stalter's Bronze Star medal citation; also, the book "Blood on the Risers" by John Leppelman]
The lost personnel included:
PVT Lawrence Strack
PFC Charles B. Alandt
PFC Charles H. Bennett
1LT Welborn A. Callahan Jr.
PFC Paul W. Curran
PFC Michael J. Drake
PFC Michael L. Ebald
SSG Melvin C. Gaines
PFC Earl S. Garrison
SP4 Moses Green
SSG Angel P. Saez-Ramirez
PFC James A. Skiles
SGT John R. Stalter
Inscription
MICHIGAN
PFC CO C 503 INF 173 ABN BDE
VIETNAM BSM - ARCOM - PH
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
