Special Forces Losses in Southeast Asia Three Weeks: 13 Mar-2 Apr, 1957-75

Here’s another installment of our list of SF casualties, on the way to assisting the USA to the Silver Medal in the Southeast Asian War Games. We haven’t done this in a while so there are three weeks at once to start catching up.

The next couple of paragraphs, before the tables, are the boilerplate that goes with this series of posts.

The list was a life’s work for retired Special Forces Command Sergeant Major Reginald Manning. Reg was beloved for his sharp mind and sense of humor; among other tours he survived one at what was probably the most-bombarded SF A-Camp in the Republic of Vietnam, Katum. (“Ka-BOOM” to its inmates).

There is a key to some of the mysterious abbreviations and codes, after the list.

May God have mercy on their souls, and long may America honor their sacrifices and hold their names high in memory.

After the lists you will find a key to the status codes for the Causes of Death or Missing in Action, and also a decoder for some of the common abbreviations.

In addition, we have some individual comments, that are inserted before the weeks to which they apply.

For the week of 12-19 Mar, no SF soldier was lost on 15 or 19 Mar. Note particularly the loss of Captain William Craig due to a dropped Swedish K. (SF term for the Carl Gustav M45B submachine gun, a favorite for “stylin’ and profilin’” for the crowd, but, like all open-bolt submachine guns, hazardous).

Year	Mo.	Day	Rank	First	Last	Unit	Code	Nation, Location, Circumstances
1966	03	13	E-6 SSG	James E.	Hughes	05B4S	KIA	SVN; A-302, Mike Force, Phuoc Long Prov., YT132368, 8km north of A-312, Xom Cat, Opn Silver City
1966	03	13	O-3 CPT	Edward D.	Pierce	9301	KIA, fixed wing shotdown	SVN; B-31, 519MI, near Xuan Loc; shot down in an L-19
1968	03	13	E-5 SGT	J. Athan	Theodore	11F4S	KIA	SVN; A-238, Buon Blech, Pleiku Prov.
1969	03	13	E-8 MSG	Willis F.	House	11F5S	KIA	SVN; B-55, An Giang Prov., on Hill 92 at Nui Coto, NCOIC of the flamethrower platoon
1969	03	14	O-2 1LT	James L.	Ripanti	31542	KIA	Laos; CCC, RT New Hampshire, in Juliet 9, SSW of Leghorn Radio Relay Site
1966	03	16	E-7 SFC	William H.	Hubbard	71B4S	DNH, accidental homicide	SVN; B-31, Xuan Loc, shot by friendlies while reentering the perimeter
1967	03	16	E-8 MSG	Kenneth R.	Chadwick	11F5S	KIA, DOW	SVN; Advisors, MACV Team 77 at Trung Hoa Ranger Tng Ctr, was w/ SF in Laos at Thakhet in ’61-’62
1969	03	16	O-2 1LT	Francis E.	Sievers, Jr.	31542	KIA	SVN; 2 MSFC, A-201, at A-244, Ben Het, Kontum Prov.
1969	03	16	E-8 MSG	Robert G.	Daniel	11F5S	KIA, DOW, WIA 03/03/1969, DSC	SVN; 2 MSFC, B-20, Kontum Prov., at A-244, Ben Het, YB871242 1 km S of Ben Het
1969	03	16	O-4 MAJ	Marvin L.	Foster	unk	DNH, BNR, recovered ’00; ID’d ’05	SVN; Command Liaison Det, YC936965, aboard U-21A 66-18007, crashed during approach to Hue-Phu Bai
1966	03	17	O-3 CPT	William H.	Craig, Jr.	9007	DNH, accidental self destruction	SVN; CCN, FOB1, Kham Duc, Swedish K fired when dropped
1969	03	17	E-6 SSG	Benedict M.	Davan	11F4C	KIA, DSC	SVN; 5 MSFC, A-504, 521 MSF Co, at Nui Coto, Chau Doc Prov.
1970	03	17	O-3 CPT	James M.	Gribbin	31542	KIA, DOW	SVN; 2 MSFC, A-204, near A-244, Ben Het, Kontum Prov.
1971	03	17	O-5 LTC	Bryan J.	Sutton	31542	DNH, helicopter crash	SVN; w/ 101st, Quang Tri Prov., w/ SF in Laos in ’61 & w/ A1/232 in ’63; on OH-58 #68-16884
1971	03	17	O-4 MAJ	Ronald O.	Scharnberg	31542	DNH, helicopter crash	SVN; w/ 101st, Quang Tri Prov., was first Cdr of B-40 in 1967 as a CPT, on OH-58 #68-16884
1969	03	18	E-7 SFC	Margarito	Fernandez, Jr.	11F4S	KIA, DOW	Cam; CCS, w/ RT??, XT441912, during BDA 11km due East of A-322, Katum; w/ B. Murphy
1969	03	18	E-5 SP5	Barry D.	Murphy	12B4S	KIA, BNR	Cam; CCS, w/ RT??, XT441912, during BDA 11km due East of A-322, Katum; w/ M. Fernandez

In the week of 20-26 Mar, somebody died on every date… and along with the usual combat losses, there’s two aircraft shootdowns, one taking the lives of a whole recon team (RT Pennsylvania). Destroyed RTs were usually reconstituted with new personnel.

Year	Mo.	Day	Rank	First	Last	Unit	Code	Nation, Location, Circumstances
1968	03	20	O-1 2LT	Franklin E.	Speight	31542	KIA	SVN; w/ C Co, 503rd/173rd, Kontum Prov.; mult frag wounds
1969	03	20	E-7 SFC	Ricardo G.	Davis	91B4S	MIA-PFD	Laos; CCN, RT Copperhead, YC409110, 59k west of A-105, Kham Duc
1966	03	21	E-4 SP4	John F.	Scull, Jr.	unk	KIA	SVN; 5 SFG, Signal Co., at A-233, Buon Ea Yang, Darlac Prov.
1967	03	21	E-7 SFC	Charles E.	Hosking, Jr.	11B4S	KIA MOH	SVN; A-302, Mike Force, Phuoc Long Prov., on BLACKJACK 32
1967	03	22	E-7 SFC	Allen H.	Archer	11F4S	KIA	SVN; B-52, “RT 2”, BS779188, Binh Dinh Prov.
1968	03	22	E-7 SFC	Estevan	Torres	11F4S	KIA, DOW	SVN; B-50, FOB2, Binh Dinh Prov.
1968	03	22	E-7 SFC	Linwood D.	Martin	05B4S	KIA, DSC	SVN; B-50, ST Delaware, FOB2, Binh Dinh Prov.
1968	03	22	E-4 SP4	John C.	Wells	11B4S	DNH	SVN; HHC, FOB3, Binh Dinh Prov., got run over
1969	03	22	E-7 SFC	Richard F.	Salazar	05B4S	KIA	SVN; A-333, Chi Linh, Binh Long Prov.
1963	03	23	O-3 CPT	Lavester L.	Williams	31542	DNH, DWM, drowned	SVN; A5/5, An Long, Kien Phong Prov., WS409854; hit on head by passing VN boat while SCUBAing
1964	03	23	E-7 SFC	Thomas L.	Lewis	11F4S	DNH, accidental self destruction	SVN; A1/334B, Bu Prang (old), Quang Duc Prov., YU520545
1967	03	23	E-8 MSG	Paul A.	Conroy, Jr.	11F5S	DNH, accidental self destruction	SVN; CCN, FOB1, RT Maine, at Kham Duc, WP grenade accident during training
1965	03	24	O-3 CPT	David J. W.	Widder	32162	KIA	SVN; B1/410, at A-106, Ba To, shot on board Caribou during approach to A-106, Ba To
1967	03	24	E-7 SFC	Roger C.	Hallberg	11B4S	KIA, DWM	SVN; A-302, Mike Force, Phuoc Long Prov., YU100305, 3km NE of A-341, Bu Dop
1967	03	24	O-4 MAJ	Jack Thomas	Stewart	31542	MIA-PFD, DSC	SVN; A-302, Mike Force, Phuoc Long Prov., YU100305, 3km NE of A-341, Bu Dop
1968	03	24	O-2 1LT	Michael A.	Merkel	17860	KIA, DOW	SVN; 7th PsyOps Gp, attached to MACV Tm 21, Pleiku Prov.
1969	03	24	E-7 SFC	William M.	Bryant	11F4S	KIA MOH	SVN; 3 MSFC, B-36, A-362, Long Khanh Prov., Opn Centurian V at Rang Rang
1969	03	24	E-5 SGT	John M.	Greene	05B4S	KIA, DOW	SVN; 5 MSFC, A-503, 512 MSF Co, at Nui Coto, Chau Doc Prov.
1970	03	24	O-2 1LT	Jerry L.	Pool	31542	MIA-PFD (remains ID’ed 06/2001)	Cam; CCC, RT Pennslyvania, YB484003 38k SSW of Leghorn, Ratanakiri Prov., on UH-1H #68-15262
1970	03	24	E-7 SFC	John A.	Boronski	unk	KIA, BNR (remains ID’ed 06/2001)	Cam; CCC, RT Pennsylvania, YB484003 38k SSW of Leghorn, Ratanakiri Prov., on UH-1H #68-15262
1970	03	24	E-6 SSG	Gary A.	Harned	05B4S	MIA-PFD (remains ID’ed 06/2001)	Cam; CCC, RT Pennsylvania, YB484003 38k SSW of Leghorn, Ratanakiri Prov., on UH-1H #68-15262
1967	03	25	O-3 CPT	Richard E.	Legate	31542	KIA	Laos; CCC, FOB2, Nung Company Commander
1967	03	25	E-5 SGT	Albert C.	Files, Jr.	91B4S	KIA, fixed wing shotdown	SVN; A-243, Plateau Gi, Kontum Prov., aboard O-1E #56-2509, shot down during takeoff from A-243
1968	03	25	E-6 SSG	Balfour O.	Lytton, Jr.	05B4S	KIA, DOW, DSC	SVN; 2 MSFC, B-20, Darlac Prov., near Ban Me Thout, vic BR248245 on Opn BATH
1969	03	25	E-7 SFC	Joseph C.	Haga	12B4C	KIA	SVN; 3 MSFC, B-36, A-361, Long Khanh Prov., at Rang Rang on Opn CENTURIAN V
1967	03	26	E-5 SP5	Raymond B.	Guarino	12B2S	KIA, DWM	SVN; A-235, Nhon Co, Quang Duc Prov., w/ SFC G.D. Hoskins
1967	03	26	E-7 SFC	Gomer D.	Hoskins, Jr.	11B4S	KIA, DWM	SVN; A-235, Nhon Co, Quang Duc Prov., w/ SP5 Guarino
1969	03	26	O-2 1LT	Robert E.	Sheridan	31542	KIA	Laos; CCC, Hatchet Force, Co B; small arms fire

For the week of 3/27-4/2, no SF soldier was lost on 29 or 31 March, or 1 April. In addition, a SOG veteran has informed the community that “the remains of Alan Boyer, line 6, were returned to CONUS and were formally buried at Arlington 6/12/16, with his sister Judi and several SOA/SFA brethren, LTG John Mulholland and many SF men from 5th SFG in attendance.” While Boyer’s teammate George Brown was recovered in 2002, the remains of their other teammate on RT Asp, Charles Huston, have not yet been recovered and/or identified.

Year	Mo.	Day	Rank	First	Last	Unit	Code	Nation, Location, Circumstances
1966	03	27	E-7 SFC	Alden B.	Willey	11C4S	KIA	SVN; A-222, Dong Tre, Phu Yen Prov.
1968	03	27	E-7 SFC	Johnny C.	Calhoun	05B4S	KIA, DWM, DSC	Laos; CCN, FOB3, YC422918, 5k South of Ta Bat
1968	03	27	O-3 CPT	Mac W.	Speaks	31542	KIA	SVN; A-102, Tien Phuoc, Quang Tin Prov.
1968	03	28	E-8 MSG	George R.	Brown	11F5S	MIA-PFD (Recovered 02/2000)	Laos; CCN, FOB4, RT Asp, XD434574 40k WNW of Khe Sanh, w/ Boyer & Huston
1968	03	28	E-6 SSG	Charles G.	Huston	05B4S	MIA-PFD	Laos; CCN, FOB4, RT Asp, XD434574 40k WNW of Khe Sanh, w/ G. R. Brown & Boyer
1968	03	28	E-6 SSG	Alan L.	Boyer	05B4S	MIA-PFD (Recovered 03/2016)	Laos; CCN, FOB4, RT Asp, XD434574 40k WNW of Khe Sanh, w/ G. R. Brown & Huston
1968	03	30	E-5 SGT	John F.	Link	12B4S	KIA, DOW, WIA 29 March, DSC	SVN; B-52, 91st Ranger Bn Advisor, vic YD554037 18k NE of A Luoi on Opn Samurai IV
1967	04	2	E-5 SGT	William P.	Martin	91B4S	KIA	SVN; A-241, Polei Kleng, Kontum Prov.
1968	04	2	E-5 SP5	Ingo J. R.	Wiskow	12B4S	KIA	SVN; B-36, A-362, Rapid Fire VIII, Phuoc Long Prov., YU322138, 14km ENE of Song Be
1970	04	2	E-7 SFC	Donald G.	Armstrong	11F4S	KIA	Laos; CCC, FORD DRUM during a low-level photo mission; aircraft managed to return to base

SVN SF KIA Status Codes:

BNR – Body Not Recovered. (Known to be dead, but his body was left behind).

DOW – Died of Wounds. (At some time subsequent to the wounding, days/weeks/months).

DNH – Died Non-Hostile. (Accident, disease. There’s a couple suicides among them).

DWM – Died While Missing. (Usually implies body recovered at a different time during the war).

KIA – Killed In Action.

MIA – Missing In Action.

PFD – Presumptive Finding of Death. (This was an administrative close-out of all remaining MIAs during the Carter Administration).

Common Abbreviations

A-XXX (digits). SF A-team and its associated A-camp and area.

AATTV – Australian Army Training Team Vietnam. Their soldiers integrated with SF in VN.

BSM, SS, DSC, MOH: Awards (Bronze Star, Silver Star, Distinguished Service Cross, Medal of Honor).

CCC, CCN, CCS. Command and Control (Center, North and South). Covernames for the three command and support elements of the Special Operations Group cross-border war.

MGF – Mobile Guerrilla Force, indigenous personnel led directly by US.

MSFC – Mobile Strike Force Command, indigenous personnel led directly by US. Aka Mike Force.

We’ll cheerfully answer most other questions to the best of our ability in the comments. Note that (1) it’s Reg’s list, and we can’t ask him any more, and (2) it was Reg’s war, not ours, and all our information about SF in the Vietnam war is second hand from old leaders and teammates, or completely out of secondary sources.

2 thoughts on “Special Forces Losses in Southeast Asia Three Weeks: 13 Mar-2 Apr, 1957-75”

Keith April 8, 2017 at 22:09

A roll call of honor, sacrifice and duty indeed.

Desertrat April 9, 2017 at 18:12

For anyone reading this: Anyone ever know Howard Upchurch? I met him after his retirement. I had occasion to read his mimeo copy of his 201 file. Scary impressive. Howard died maybe ten years ago.

Kevin O’Brien

Kevin was a former Special Forces weapons man (MOS 18B, before the 18 series, 11B with Skill Qualification Indicator of S). His focus was on weapons: their history, effects and employment. He started WeaponsMan.com in 2011 and operated it until he passed away in 2017. His work is being preserved here at the request of his family.