Clark Vernon Shawnee

Private First Class
C CO, 1ST BN, 46TH INFANTRY, 196 INF BDE
Army of the United States
05 January 1950 - 28 March 1971
Lawton, Oklahoma
Panel 04W Line 090

196 INF BDE

46TH INF RGT 		Combat Infantry

Purple Heart, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for Clark Vernon Shawnee

01 Aug 2005

Dear Clark,

I tried to find your memorial but came up with a blank. It seems they forgot to give you one. You were my friend at Infantry AIT at Fort Polk, the "arm pit of the nation" as we called it. I just wanted you to know that a plaque has been placed on Mary Ann by General Baldwin's son to remember you guys who didn't make it. I know that ain't much, old friend.

I wish you and the rest of the guys could have lived your lives too.

I went on to Recon and made Squad Leader and did all right. I know God is giving you special things to do.

Larry M. Pistole
Squad Leader, Recon, 1/46th, 196th L.I.B.

A Note from The Virtual Wall

On the night of 27/28 March 1971 Fire Support Base (FSB) Mary Ann was occupied by 209 Americans from several units of the Americal Division:
  • HHC 1/46th Infantry;
  • C Co 1/46th Infantry;
  • a Recon Platoon;
  • elements of a Mortar Platoon;
  • two 155mm howitzer sections, 3/16th Arty; and
  • twenty ARVN artillerymen.
At approximately 0230 hours, 28 March 1971, the VC mounted a coordinated mortar and sapper attack. Almost simultaneously with the mortar attack, sappers employed satchel charges and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) to penetrate the FSB's perimeter. Americans in the perimeter bunkers hunkered down until the explosions from the mortar rounds, satchel charges, and RPGs had subsided, but by then the sappers had breached the trench line and were inside the base. Once inside FSB Mary Ann, the sappers struck over half the bunkers.

By the time the VC withdrew, 30 American soldiers were dead and 76 wounded. According to the Department of Defense's casualty database 12 of the 30 dead were killed by friendly fires; the Army's TAGCEN file amplifies that by attributing the deaths to artillery fire.



The point-of-contact for this memorial is
a friend and fellow soldier,
Larry M. Pistole
E-Mail may be forwarded via the
Webmaster@VirtualWall.org


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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 01 Aug 2005
Last updated 09/26/2009