"John and I were Lieutenants in Charlie Company. I had the 2nd Platoon and John had the 3rd Platoon. We competed with each other for everything and argued endlessly about who had the best platoon." "We were best friends and when he died I promised never to forget him. John, you were a great soldier, a great leader and a great friend." "Our unit, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1966, and arrived in Vietnam that December. We assumed responsibility for Operation Fairfax, defending the approaches to Saigon, until late 1967. In December 1967, we undertook Operation Uniontown, a sweep into War Zone D known as the Iron Triangle." "During the Tet Offensive, we defended the Bien Hoa airfield together with the Long Binh complex and headquarters of II Field Force Vietnam. Some elements of our brigade were used to recapture the Pho Tho racetrack in Saigon and held the area during two days of house-to-house fighting." "In 1968, the 199th Light Infantry Brigade continued to patrol the area around Bien Hoa in support of a series of joint American-Vietnamese operations known as Operation Toan Thang. The 199th Light Infantry Brigade was withdrawn from South Vietnam in the fall of 1970." "The 199th suffered more than 3,200 casualties (KIA and wounded) during combat operations in Vietnam." - - Jim Kearney, April 2, 2013

The three men who died as a result of a booby trap detonating were: PFC Thomas Patrick Klausing, Des Plaines, Illinois 1LT John Smythe Manchester (Bronze Star), Lisbon Falls, Maine SGT Dickie Owens Nelson (Bronze Star), Simpsonville, South Carolina

In the news clipping below, it was noted that Lt Manchester received the Bronze Star posthumously - The Virtual Wall is in the process of verification and getting citation. The Manchester family, with parents Nancy S and Ralph M Manchester, had been residents in Maine since 1960. At the time of his death in 1968, 1Lt Manchester was survived by both parents. It is unknown if his sisters Shirley and Kathleen had been born yet and were surviving at the time of his death. Ralph Malcolm Manchester passed away at the age of 76 on Thursday, March 25, 1993. On Thursday, January 5, 2006, Nancy Smythe Manchester, age 91, of River Common Road in Sabattus, and formerly of Franklin New Hampshire, also passed away. Lt Manchester is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Lewiston Maine and it is assumed his parents are with him. - - The Virtual Wall April 4, 2013

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