18 Nov 2006 I played baseball with Art in High School and I remember that he was a great guy. I remember that he was a little older than I, and he went into the service right out of High School 1965. I remember that I heard that he was killed in Vietnam not too long after graduation. I wanted to make sure that Art is not forgotten. The Virtual Wall and the Wall in DC will help preserve his memory although his life was short. I will never forget him. I was drafted into the military about a year after Art was killed, and I went to Vietnam. I thought about him often while I was there. From a friend, Ray Huston rayofaz@cox.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall During the night of 04/05 November 1966 the 1st Infantry Division moved the division HQ and several combat units by air and land into the area around Dau Tieng. Contact was made as the battalions moved into multiple landing zones, and the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 28th Infantry, were moved in behind the enemy's offensive thrusts. On the night of 07/08 November the 1/28th's night defensive position at Ap Cha Do was attacked by elements of the 272nd VC and the 101st NVA Regiments. The battle continued until 11 AM, when the VC/NVA withdrew. When the 2/28th swept the area they found the reason for the VC/NVA's aggressive defense of the area - a base camp that stretched for over a mile through the thick jungle and contained one of the largest caches of ammo and supplies taken to date. The base camp contained 19,000 grenades, a Claymore mine factory, 1135 pounds of explosives, 400 bangalore torpedoes, a command radio system and other items. In addition to the base camp, the US soldiers found 399 VC/NVA dead. The 1/28th received the Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Ap Cha Do - but at the cost of 19 dead and dozens more wounded. The dead were A Co, 1st Bn, 28th Infantry CPT Ronald V. Putnam, Huntland, TN B Co, 1st Bn, 28th Infantry 1LT Bernard F. Kistler, Franklin, PA SGT Calvert J. Johnson, Lynchburg, VA SP4 Walter J. Schmidt, Laurence Harbor, NJ SP4 Caspar M. Walsh, Chicago, IL SP4 Nathaniel Wyley, Olive Branch, MS PFC Howard L. Bowen, Albion, NY PFC Jackie B. Hall, Abilene, TX PFC Jerry L. Happel, St Louis, MO PFC Charles M. Todd, Mansfield, OH PFC Rafael Vega-Maysonet, Barceloneta, PR C Co, 1st Bn, 28th Infantry 1LT David B. Dann, Milwaukee, WI MSG Vertis J. Hill, Ridgeville, SC SP4 Arthur R. Erschoen, Los Angeles, CA HHC, 1st Bn, 28th Infantry CPT Euripides Rubio, Ponce, PR (Medal of Honor) SP4 James M. Kelly, Atmore, AL PFC Henry A. Garza, San Antonio, TX A Co, 2nd Bn, 28th Infantry SFC Lewis E. Bonnie, Evansville, IN SGT Edward G. Blackmon, Austin, TX One of the Division's chaplains, CPT Michael J. Quealy, New York, NY, HHC 3rd Bde, flew in on a resupply helo during the battle. He was shot to death while administering last rites to men from Bravo 1/28. Chaplain Quealy was the third of seven Catholic chaplains to die in Vietnam; the other six were MAJ William J. Barragy, US Army, 1st Bde, 101st Abn Div, helo accident 04 May 1966 LCDR William J. Garrity, US Navy, USS ORISKANY fire 26 Oct 1966 LT Vincent R. Capodanno, US Navy, 3rd Bn, 5th Marines, killed in action, Que Son Valley 04 Sep 1967 (MoH) MAJ Charles J. Watters, US Army, 173rd Abn Bde, killed in action Hill 875, Dak To, 19 Nov 1967 (MoH) MAJ Aloysius P. McGonigal, US Army, MACV Advisors, killed in action with 1st Bn, 5th Marines, Hue 17 Feb 1968 (Silver Star) LT Robert R. Brett, US Navy, 2nd Bn, 26th Marines, killed in action, Khe Sanh 22 Feb 1968

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