Billie Joe Williams
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WALL NOTE FOURTEEN: BILLIE JOE WILLIAMS DANIEL R. ARANT [email protected] DATE OF INFORMATION: 07 OCTOBER 2013 “WHEN THE LEGEND BECOMES FACT, PRINT THE LEGEND.” QUOTED FROM JOHN FORD’S THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE STARRING JOHN WAYNE, JAMES STEWART, AND LEE MARVIN. 01. SUMMARY. One of the perennial “tour guide stories” at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is that two servicemen with the exact same name died on the same day. The name of Billie Joe WILLIAMS is inscribed twice on 01W 094. It may make for an interesting story, maybe similar to both John ADAMS and Thomas JEFFERSON dying on 04 July 1826. Two servicemen named Billie Joe WILLIAMS died during the Viet Nam conflict but not on the same day. PFC Billie Joe WILLIAMS, USMC died on 21 March 1966, the result of the shoot down of a UH-34D Seahorse helicopter. Maj. (posthumous Lt. Col.) Billie Joe WILLIAMS, USAF died on 09 December 1972, the result of the shoot down of a RF-4C Phantom II. PFC WILLIAMS more properly belongs on panel 06E; Lt. Col. WILLIAMS is on the correct panel. I can only assume that an unintended error placed the names together. A. In the spirit of “full disclosure,” I, for a short time, told the “Billie Joe WILLIAMS Story.” But fortunately, a few weeks after I became a volunteer, a visitor’s inquiry “set me straight.” See paragraph 08. B. There are also a Billy Joe WILLIAMS and a Billy WILLIAMS on the Wall. (01) Maj. Billy Joe WILLIAMS, USA. Advisory Team 3, MACV Advisors. 06 May 1970. 11W 119. (02) PFC Billy WILLIAMS, USA. “A” Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. 12 June 1966. 08E 043. 02. DISCLAIMER. This Wall Note is not an official publication of the U.S. National Park Service (USNPS), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), or the Department of Defense Page 1 of 10 (DOD). My thanks to USNPS volunteer Donald ADAM and to Linda Raye SEALE for proofreading support. Any errors are solely mine. Corrections are welcome. 03. ANNOTATED MAPS/CHARTS. The general maps, annotated 1:50,000 scale Army Map Service (AMS) maps, and annotated 1:500,000 scale Tactical Pilotage Charts (TPC) are provided through the courtesy and permission of U.S. Army tanker (1st Battalion, 69th Armor) Viet Nam veteran Ray SMITH. A. http://www.rjsmith.com/Vietmap.html B. http://www.rjsmith.com/Viet-MR-map.html 04. ABBREVIATIONS. A. AMS: Army Map Service. B. ARVN: Army of the Republic of Viet Nam. Ground component of the Republic of Viet Nam Armed Forces (RVNAF). C. DD 1300. Report of Casualty form. D. HMM: Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron. E. HOR: Home of Record. May differ from an individual’s Home Town. F. LZ: Landing Zone. G. MAF: Marine Amphibious Force. H. MAG: Marine Aircraft Group. I. MARDIV: Marine Division. J. MAW: Marine Air Wing. K. NLF. National Liberation Front. The NLF was formed in Tay Ninh Province, South Viet Nam, on 20 December 1960. Its aim was to overthrow the government of South Viet Nam. It was composed of Communist and non-Communist elements, but clearly, the Communists controlled the organization. The military arm of the NLF was the PLAF. L. NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Also known as PAVN. M. PAVN: People’s Army of Viet Nam. Also known as NVA. N. PLAF: People’s Liberation Armed Forces. The military arm of the National Liberation Front (NLF). The NLF and PLAF were collectively known as the VC. Page 2 of 10 O. RF: Regional Forces. A component of the South Vietnamese Territorial Forces. P. RF-4C: A reconnaissance version of the F-4 Phantom II. Q. RVNAF. Republic of Viet Nam Armed Forces. R. SAM: Surface-to-Air Missile. S. SITREP: Situation Report. T. TACAIR: Tactical Aviation. One or two seat fighters, fighter-bombers, and attack aircraft, e.g.: A-1, A-4, A-6, A-7, A-37, F-4, F-5, F-8, F-100, F-104, F-105. U. TPC: Tactical Pilotage Chart. V. TRS: Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (USAF). W. TRW: Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (USAF). X. UH-1E. Marine Corps version of the Army UH-1B and Army UH-1C. The “proper” name of the UH-1 was Iroquois but the “popular” name was Huey. The UH-1 was originally designated as HU-1. Y. UH-34D. Marine Corps utility and transport helicopter. Introduced into Viet Nam on 15 April 1962 as part of Operation Shufly (See Wall Note Three). The UH-34D was originally designated as HUS-1. Z. VC: Viet Cong. Also known as PLAF/NLF. AA. VMFA: Marine Fighter Attack Squadron. BB. VMO: Marine Observation Squadron. 05. PFC BILLIE JOE WILLIAMS, USMC. 21 MARCH 1966. 01W 094. A. On the night of 18/19 March 1966, the 1st PLAF (VC) Regiment captured a South Vietnamese outpost (Hill 141), which was manned by the 936th RF Company. The outpost was near the village of An Hoa in Binh Son District, Quang Ngai Province, I Corps. ARVN 2nd Division commander Maj. Gen. Hoang Xuan LAM countered with a reaction force. This force was supported by USMC UH-34D Seahorse helicopters from HMM-261 and F-4 Phantom IIs from VMFA-542. Heavy enemy resistance necessitated the withdrawal of the Allied force. B. Maj. Gen. LAM then requested that III MAF (commanded by the newly promoted Lt. Gen. Lewis W. WALT, USMC) provide U.S. infantry, artillery, and air assistance to retake the outpost. Operation Texas (20-25 March 1966) was the result. USMC forces were composed of: (01) 3rd Battalion, 7th Regiment (3/7), 1st Marine Division, (02) 2nd Battalion, 4th Regiment Page 3 of 10 (2/4), 3rd Marine Division, (03) 3rd Battalion, 11th Regiment (3/11), 1st Marine Division, (04) 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment (3/1), 1st Marine Division (initially in reserve), (05) 4th Battalion, 11th Regiment (4/11), 1st Marine Division, (06) 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment (1/4), 3rd Marine Division, and (07) 1st MAW fixed-wing and rotary-wing assets for strike, gunship, air control, and troop lift. The primary ARVN forces were: (01) 5th ARVN Airborne Battalion, (02) 2nd Battalion, 5th ARVN Regiment, and (03) 3rd Battalion, 5th ARVN Regiment. The Vietnamese name for its part of the operation was Lien Ket (Unite) 28. (01) Not all of the companies or batteries of a specific battalion participated. (02) USMC forces were initially under the command of Col. Oscar F. PEATROSS, commander of the 7th Marine Regiment. Brig. Gen. Lowell E. ENGLISH, assistant division commander of the 3rd MARDIV, assumed command on 22 March 1966. C. On the morning of 20 March 1966, it was determined that the enemy had abandoned Hill 141. The remains of 31 RF troops were found and 85 RF troops were missing. The Allies then decided to look for the departed enemy. Subsequently, the Marines and a reinforced ARVN contingent met heavy enemy resistance. As a result, the reserve force, 3/1, was committed on 21 March 1966. In the late afternoon of 21 March 1966, a HMM-363, MAG-36 UH-34D Seahorse helicopter from Ky Ha Air Facility was airlifting troops of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment (“K”/3/1), 1st MARDIV when it was shot down by enemy fire as the helicopter approached an unsecure LZ. All four helicopter crewmembers and all six passengers were killed as a result of the crash. One of the passengers was PFC Billie Joe WILLIAMS, USMC. D. The USMC Combat Helicopter Association provides more specific details from the HMM- 363 Command Chronology: “At 21:1630 Hours thirty UH-34Ds from HMM-261, HMM-363, and HMM-364 escorted by four armed UH-1Es of VMO-6 lifted two companies plus a command group (a total of 405 troops) of 3rd Bn, 1st Marines from Ky Ha Air Facility to an unsecure LZ at BS494806. Automatic weapons and .50-caliber fire was received from numerous areas in close proximity to the LZ. One HMM-363 aircraft was hit by a severe burst of fire as it approached the LZ and rolled inverted and crashed at BS495815. Three crew members and seven (sic) troops were killed upon impact. The aircraft exploded and burned upon impact with the ground. The pilot was thrown clear and was lifted to Bravo Med at Chu Lai but subsequently died.” (01) http://www.rjsmith.com/I-Corps-chu-lai-south.html a. See Xuan Hoa in grid 6739-3, which is the 1:50,000 AMS sheet named Son Ha. (02) Initial SITREPs state that there were seven passengers killed. This information was later changed to six passengers killed (all that were on the UH-34D). It also seems the co-pilot survived the crash but soon died at the scene. The pilot died at Chu Lai. Page 4 of 10 (03) The outpost of An Hoa in Quang Ngai Province should not be confused with the An Hoa basin southwest of Da Nang in Quang Nam Province, I Corps. (04) The official Marine Corps history states that the helicopter was from HMM-163 instead of HMM-363. I assume this was a “typo” and missed in the editing process. (05) During Operation Texas, the enemy was determined to be the 60th and 90th Battalions of the 1st PLAF (VC) Regiment and the 11th Battalion of the 21st PAVN (NVA) Regiment. (06) Lt. Gen. Lewis W. WALT (1913-1989), the recipient of two Navy Crosses (Cape Gloucester/Peleiu) during WW II, became the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps on 01 January 1968. He was promoted to the rank of general on 02 June 1969.