My name on the Wall
A few years ago I had a pretty surreal experience. My wife and I were visiting D.C. and we stopped at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Now, you have to understand that I don't "know" anyone on the wall. My Uncle Tom spent '67 to '68 as an Army Combat Engineer "in country," and my Dad was in the Navy at the same time, but they both came home safe. (As did my Grandpa Earl Reed, from WWII).
But, I've always been a military history buff, and I've read a lot about Vietnam, so I wanted to see the Wall. Since I didn't have any particular name to to look for, I just more or less randomly looked at particular names as I walked the length of the memorial.
When I got to the panel for 1967 I saw my own name there (with a different middle initial). "Robert W Reed." I had one of the Park Service guides look up his info in the book they had there and that's when things got really weird.
Robert W Reed was a Marine Killed in Action on April 5, 1967. That's the day I was born. Not just my birthday, but the actual day.
Ever since then I've been a bit haunted by this stranger that shared my name and who died serving his country on the day I was born. Every now and then I've tried to find more about him and finally, yesterday, I found new info posted about him on the web. I also found part of a newspaper article about his death and contacted that newspaper's librarian who is sending me their complete clipping file on him.
The story I've discovered is that USMC Captain Robert W. Reed was Company Commander, Charlie Company, 1st Battillion. 9th Marines. On April 5, 1967 he led his company on a sweep of Ap Dong Ho following an enemy ambush of a Marine Motor Supply Unit nearby.
The Charlie Company lead platoon, with Captain Reed's command group along, was 30 meters from the village when they were taken under heavy small arms fire from enemy troops in concealed positions. Captain Reed was killed in the first exchange of fire and part of the lead platoon position was overrun. He was later posthumously promoted to Major and awarded the Bronze Star (although I do not know if it was for this action or an earlier action).
The "Virtual Wall" had the following information posted on this incident:
The 3rd Motor Transport Battalion's Command Chronology for April 1967 contains the following entry:
"5 Apr - Two Otters received hostile fire while operating in support of Operation 'Big Horn'. This action resulted in one Otter disabled. Pfc R. J. FITCH received enemy gunshot wounds which penetrated his chest resulting in his death. LCpl L. H. UNDERWOOD and Pfc G. R. POBANZ received injuries. Pfc FITCH was manning the Otter's .50 caliber machine gun at the time."
This incident occurred at 1730 when the two M-76 Otters and their security force were ambushed while on a resupply run in support of Delta Company, 1/9 Marines, position. The Otters had run into a "U"-shaped ambush southeast of the hamlet of Ap Dong Ho (1) and were in immediate trouble with one Marine killed and eight wounded. Two platoons, one each from Charlie and Delta 1/9, were dispatched to assist the 3rd MT Bn Marines. The Charlie 1/9 platoon arrived at 1815 and found that the ambushers had withdrawn. Helo medevac was called in for the 3rd MT casualties, and it was decided that a sweep of Ap Dong Ho was appropriate in order to ensure there was no threat to the helicopters. The Delta 1/9 platoon, approaching from the northwest, was to move on the hamlet from that direction while the bulk of Charlie 1/9 would sweep from the southeast. The sweep began at 1930, but the Delta 1/9 platoon was stopped almost at once by heavy fire from the hamlet and entered into a two hour firefight before being ordered to break contact at 2130.
Charlie 1/9 approached to within 30 meters of the hamlet before drawing fire, but when it came it was devastating. By misfortune, an illumination flare had just been dropped - but rather than illuminating the enemy in the hamlet it illuminated the Marines moving across the open ground bordering the hamlet.
The Charlie 1/9 Company Commander, Captain R. W. Reed, was killed in the first exchange of fires, and the enemy took advantage of their "first kill" to envelop part of the lead platoon's skirmish line. They then broke contact and withdrew to the north before the Charlie 1/9 reserve platoon could engage them.
The enemy force, estimated to be of company size, left 17 bodies in and around Ap Dong Ho. Blood and drag trails indicated that another 40 to 50 VC had been killed and their bodies carried with the withdrawing VC force. The Delta 1/9 platoon had 2 killed and 24 wounded in the engagement; Charlie 1/9 had 15 killed and 20 wounded. Pfc Fitch from 3rd MT had been killed in the initial ambush, and two men from Charlie 1/9's artillery forward observer team were killed in the Charlie 1/9 engagement. The dead were
H&S Co, 3rd Motor Trans Bn, 3rd Mardiv, 3rd MAF
Pfc Ronald J. Fitch, St Johns, MI
D Btry, 3rd Bn, 12th Marines (Arty F/O team w/ C/1/9)
SSgt Leland D. Zahn, Harris, IA (Silver Star)
LCpl Harry E. Wagner, Trenton, NJ
C Co, 1st Bn, 9th Marines
Capt Robert W. Reed, San Francisco, CA (P/P to Major)
HM2 Philip R. Mattracion, Beacon, NY (H&S w/ C/1/9)
Cpl Robert H. Pettit, Charlotte, NC
Cpl Charles L. Salter, Birmingham, AL
LCpl Willard Brookens, Los Angeles, CA
LCpl Thomas E. Combs, Dayton, OH
LCpl Celister N. Harrison, Chicago, IL (DoW 04/06/1967)
Pfc Harold L. Carver, Joplin, MO
Pfc Leonard W. Elie, Alexandria, LA
Pfc James H. Fowler, Ponca City, OK
Pfc Paul L. Harrison, Hyattsville, MD
Pfc Alfred G. Lira, San Antonio, TX
Pfc Jerry W. Manning, Lamont, CA
Pfc Daniel G. Patrick, Salem, WI (H&S w/ C/1/9)
Pvt James A. Slagel, Joliet, IL
D Co, 1st Bn, 9th Marines
Cpl Chester E. Rowe, Lancaster, PA
Pfc Marion R. Hutchins, Jacksonville, AR
Here is everything else I've found on Major Reed. I am planning to get a copy of his records through a FOIA request and plan to post his picture on the various Vietnam rememberence sites. Right now none of them have a picture of him or his record of the Bronze Star.
Robert William Reed
Major
PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: San Francisco, CA
Date of birth: 08/01/1932
MILITARY DATA
Service: United States Marine Corps
Grade at loss: O3
Rank: Major
Note: Posthumous Promotion as indicated
ID No: 062450
MOS: 0302: Infantry Officer
Length Service: 16
Unit: C CO, 1ST BN, 9TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF
CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour:
Incident Date: 04/05/1967
Casualty Date: 04/05/1967
Age at Loss: 34
Location: Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire