US Marine Corps Vietnam War

by Leslie Mount for the City of Del City 9th Edition, November 2018 View online or leave a comment at www.cityofdelcity.com The Armistice of World War I On a street in Sarajevo on the sunny morning of June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist, 19 year old Gavrilo Princip, fired two shots into Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand's car, killing both the heir to the Hapsburg throne and his wife Sophie. The two shots “heard ‘round the world” set in motion the events that led to World War I. A remarkable series of events known as the treaty alliance system led to the scale of “The Great War.” European nations mobilized and declared war on other nations in a tangled web of alliances, some of which dated back to Bismarck and the unification of Germany in the late 1800’s. Europe was divided between the Allied Forces (Britain, France, Russia, the Serbian Kingdom, and later joined by Italy), and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria- Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) Europe entered the war in 1914. On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany following Germany’s sinking of the neutral British ocean liner the RMS Lusitania that carried mostly passengers, including 159 Americans; and the 1917 Zimmermann Telegram in which Germany sent a coded message to Mexico offering United States’ lands to Mexico in return for Mexico joining World War I against the United States. The First World War was an extremely bloody war that was fought mainly in trenches and employed modern weaponry unlike any that had been used before. World War I claimed an estimated ten million military deaths, and another 20 million were wounded. Millions of civilians were also killed. Europe had experienced four years of monstrous bloodshed and unknown destruction. World War I led to the downfall of the German Empire, the Austria-Hungary Empire, the Russian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. November 11, 2018 marks the centennial of The Armistice. At 5:00 o'clock in the morning of November 11, 1918, representatives of France, Britain and Germany signed The Armistice. The Armistice was an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War effective the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – 11:00 a.m., November 11, 1918. The Armistice was a prelude to the Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty between the nations, which was signed six months later in 1919. Many hoped that World War I would be the “war to end all wars,” but the controversial terms of the Versailles Treaty set the stage for World War II, the Cold War, and the current conditions in the Middle East. “That no matter the outcome of a war, those who answer the call of duty and risk everything to defend America deserve the respect of a grateful nation.” -Joseph Ambrose (Army, WWI) illy attended the Oklahoma Military ably reorganized the remnants of the unit, and a B Academy in Claremore, Oklahoma. He had hostile machine gun position holding up further completed a year of college before enlisting in advance, he proceeded alone under fire and the Army on March 25, 1944, for a term of the succeeded in personally eliminating the enemy duration of the war plus six months. Billy was position. While clearing the area around the gun proud to serve his country, and his goal was to position, he was killed by a hidden enemy attend Officer Candidate School. rifleman, but his indomitable courage so inspired his comrades that they surged forward and Billy was posthumously awarded secured the hill. The consummate determination, the Distinguished Service Cross exemplary leadership, and heroic self-sacrifice for “… extraordinary heroism in clearly displayed by Private Krowse reflect the connection with military operations highest credit upon himself, the 78th Infantry against an armed enemy while Division, and the United States Army.” serving with Company G, 311th [Department of the Army, General Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Orders No. 89, October 3, 1952.] Division, in action against enemy Distinguished Service Cross forces on 13 March 1945, near Billy was 19 years old when he was Honnef, Germany.” killed in action near Honnef, Germany, and he was temporarily buried in Henri During a mission to secure terrain known as Chapelle Cemetery in Belgium. Billy’s “Cemetery Hill,” Billy’s platoon came under final resting place is at Oak Crest Purple Heart intense enemy fire that “… inflicted numerous Abbey Mausoleum in Park Cemetery, casualties and pinned the unit down. In the initial Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. attack, when the platoon leader and the noncommissioned officers were either killed or wounded, Private Krowse assumed command, HONORABLE MENTION onnie lived with his sister for a while on told his friend that he didn’t feel like he was Mansfield in Del City following his parents’ going to make it out of there. He was right; Ddivorce. He moved around a lot during high Donnie died a month later. school, and after restarting his senior year, he graduated from Grant High School in 1967. In Donnie enlisted in the Army after high school. high school, he was an all-state wrestler and very He served for one year, and his tour in Vietnam athletic. He was a kind soul, and a sweet, good- began on February 26, 1968. He was an infan- hearted young man. He was very good with the tryman in A Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th elderly; he took time to hug them and talk with Infantry, 101St Airborne Division (the Rak- them. kasans). Donnie was 21 years old when he was killed in action by gunshot or small arms fire Donnie had a twin brother named Ronnie, who as while holding the 3/187’s position against a a young infant died from whooping cough. much larger enemy force at Ap Tran Dau, five Donnie also contracted whooping cough, but he kilometers east of Trang Bang, Hua Nighia Prov- survived it. ince, South Vietnam. Thirty-one other American soldiers died in the fierce hand-to-hand combat. Donnie wrote many letters back home, writing Donnie was posthumously promoted to corporal. about the war. One letter he mailed in August Donnie is buried at Sunnylane Cemetery, Del 1968 was to his best friend from high school. He City, Oklahoma. Purple National Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Heart Defense Service Medal Campaign Medal Service Medal om graduated from Del City High School in 1962. T A fellow pilot who knew Tom well remembers that he had a great sense of humor and never took himself too seriously, although he took his responsibilities very seriously. Tom was a member of HMM-164, Marine Air Group 36, Air Medal National Defense 1st MAW, III MAF. He co-piloted a CH-46 “Sea Service Medal Knight” helicopter that crashed during a test flight due to a mechanical failure seven miles southeast of Hue City, Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Of the three crew members aboard that fateful flight, two survived and Tom was killed. Tom’s length of service was four years, and he was 25 years old. Tom is buried at Sunny Lane Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Cemetery, Del City, Oklahoma. Service Medal Campaign Medal Crash of 1stLt Burton’s Helicopter 1stLt Tom Burton In Memory of Tom Burton We sat quietly there In that red dirt-gutted ready room. I wasn’t sure whether the old Bullet-town “Huey” blade could hold The weight of eight laden pilots Whose hearts today would Outweigh their total human bulk. It’s still quiet, though not serene. No, I didn’t say a word But we each dared the other To speak the first regretful Or even scornful apology. The unannounced news we had Already known came fast and still Lingers late between red eyes And cans of Red Label. You know, the unexpected is always expected. Yet the surprise of death Wants the attention it Doesn’t deserve. That last conquest. Lost? Fate just hasn’t the strength. Tom doesn’t fear anymore, and Has he given up? I dare say no! That quiet voice and smoother Manner mirrored more than we Will ever know. At least now. Tomorrow I’ll rise and remember His smile, enough to encompass all That our minds can comprehend. March 1st is nearly time’s possession. And another day is added to my Budding memory list that I Would give to you for one Piastre. –Allen G. Orcutt, excerpt from No Rest Elsewhere, Vietnam Notes, 1968-2008 December 18, 1947 – September 4, 1967 LCpl – US Marine Corps Vietnam War alvin was in the 11th grade at Capitol Hill Guymon, Oklahoma. A captain and a lieutenant G High School when he and his family moved drove Wanda to Guymon to tell Leroy about to Del City in 1964. He elected to finish high Galvin's death, a trip that Wanda dreaded. When school at Capitol Hill so that he could graduate they arrived at the site, “everyone on the crew with his friends. While in high school, Galvin threw their hardhats down” when they saw the enjoyed his employment as a newspaper carrier government car arrive. “They knew it was bad,” for The Daily Oklahoman, and he won several Wanda had said. Wanda became an active awards for doing the job well. Galvin enlisted in member of Gold Star Mothers. Many of Galvin's the Marines shortly after graduating from high teachers, classmates, and friends attended his school in 1966, and he went through basic funeral. Galvin touched many people who were training at Camp Pendleton. saddened by his death. Galvin was the beloved son of Leroy and Wanda Galvin was a member of D Company, 1st Duncan, and the oldest of seven children – three Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division.

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