14 Sep 2005 John was my cousin. Jack Senior (his father) was an uncle. John was 4 years older than I. I remember when he was transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso. I rode with him from Deming, NM to El Paso in his Karman Ghia the day he reported in. We had lunch at a Furr's cafeteria in El Paso. I also remember when John visited us before he went to 'Nam. He took this time to visit all the family, and that was good, as that would be the last time we would see him alive. I was 17 when he was killed. That is when the war became personal to me. I joined the Army in 1973 and made it a career. I visited The Wall when I returned from from an Army assignment in Germany in 1989. I made two impressions of his name, one to keep, and one to give to Jack Sr. I always remember John on Veterans' Day and wonder what kind of life he would have led. Our family and country suffered a great loss that day in January, 1968. Thanks to Billie Calvery for the photo. Rick Rumbaugh likeke@swbell.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Just after midnight on 01 Jan 1968 the 271st and 272nd VC Regiments attacked Fire Support Base BURT, near Soui Cut and about 40KM northeast of Tay Ninh City. The defenders, from the 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 22nd Infantry, withstood desperate fighting throughout the night. Air support from fixed and rotary wing aircraft helped the men on the ground, whose reserves were close to exhaustion when the enemy withdrew at daybreak on 02 January. Twenty US soldiers died in the fighting, which became known as the Battle for FSB BURT and/or the Battle of Soui Cut. The dead were C Co, 2nd Bn, 22nd Infantry: SP4 Thomas G. Bernardy, Killeen, TX PFC Jack W. Miller, Fountain City, IN PFC Willie Petty, Chicago, IL HHC, 2nd Bn, 22nd Infantry: PFC Houston C. Box, Sacramento, CA A Co, 3rd Bn, 22nd Infantry: SP4 Ennis E. Crow, Lovington, NM SP4 James W. McCaffrey, Farmingdale, NY CPL Able C. Stroud, La Grange, NC PFC Samuel Rivera-Fernandez, Caguas, PR C Co, 3rd Bn, 22nd Infantry: 2LT John W. Beckett, Albuquerque, NM SSG Fred C. Dubose, Birmingham, AL SGT Robert E. Bowman, Wadsworth, OH SGT Kenneth B. Carpenter, Booneville, MS SP4 Eldon Garamillo, Overton, NE SP4 David R. Smith, Columbus, OH CPL Alton L. Watkins, Hyattsville, MD CPL Bobby J. Winkler, Marshall, MO PFC Ronnie E. Ballard, Warm Springs, AR PFC Ralph L. Rotter, Lewiston, ID PFC Victor D. Tomczyk, Dorchester, WI HHC, 3rd Bn, 22nd Infantry: PFC Odell Stokes, Newton, NC

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