07 Jul 2001 As a comrade in arms who was an upperclassman when Carl was a cadet, I fondly remember him and his leadership and athletic prowess. With Carl's passing we lost a great officer and a true hero. It is with deep gratitude we are remembering Carl Arvin and all the others who served and died in times of war so that we may enjoy the Freedom and Liberties that make the United States of America great. From his West Point Comrade, USMA 1963, Clark T. Ballard, Jr., M.D., Colonel, U S Army (Ret) 66 Leschi Drive, Steilacoom, WA 98388-1514 n6qg1@yahoo.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall 1LT Carl R. Arvin, a 1965 graduate of the Military Academy, was an advisor with the ARVN's 7th Airborne Battalion. He received two awards of the Silver Star Medal, the first for an action on 05 Sep 1967 when "the 7th Vietnamese Airborne Battalion ... came under intense mortar and small arms fire. Though wounded, [Arvin] disregarded the fierce fire and was leading his element forward to engage the enemy when his radio operator was also wounded. [Arvin] dragged the soldier to safety and, undaunted by the perilous circumstances, returned to direct repeated helicopter gunship strikes. He refused his own medical evacuation until the objective was secure and the mission complete." After a brief period of hospitalization, 1LT Arvin requested an immediate return to duty. The second award resulted from the actions which led to his death: "On 8 October 1967 his unit was completing a sweep of a suspected enemy base when it encountered an entrenched enemy regiment. Intense enemy fire pinned down [Arvinï¿ 1/2 s] battalion in an exposed, untenable position. In full view of the enemy he valiantly moved through the fire to a forward vantage point. There, as fighting raged about him, he directed extremely accurate, close-range gunship passes onto enemy positions. As he continually moved through fire-swept fields to position himself better to direct the supporting fire, [Arvin] was mortally wounded. His unremitting attention to duty and superb direction of ground forces and supporting aircraft had enabled his battalion to defeat a strong and determined enemy three times its size." Carl Arvin received a posthumous promotion to Captain.

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