The Veterans' Voice © 2009
Seeing A Lady Warrior Off to Iraq
When Tanna Bia came to Aztec VFW Post 614 to celebrate a birthday and going away party she had no idea what else was going to become a part of our Post History.
Tanna is being shipped out to Iraq and her family and friends were there in the Post Dining Room to see her off. She was surprised beyond words when the VFW Officers and some Army Personnel walked to the podium and asked her to please come forward.
Commander Abe Saiz then made a few opening remarks and presented her with a New Mexico State Flag. The New Mexico State Flag has a yellow field with a red Zia Sun Symbol in the center. It seems appropriate that a state with so many Native American Warriors should have such a flag.
As a Life Member of Post 614 and the proponent for Mount KIA/MIA it was my pleasure to present a Mount KIA/MIA Challenge Coin to her.
While there are already a few of these challenge coins in circulation, we expect them to become very popular. They will be sold for fifteen dollars each and a part of the proceeds will go toward continuing efforts toward a Mount KIA/MIA Memorial, and we are hoping that there will be a memorial built in the city of Saguache. We are also searching to find a place where people can bring, or send, dog tags honoring killed or missing military personnel. Since these stainless steel tags are almost indestructible it is hoped that there will be a perpetual place of honor for them. We really don’t think they should be on the mountain, but more likely at a “memorial” to be built for this special purpose in Saguache.
New Mexico is proud of all its warriors and I was honored to present the Challenge Coin to one of our Lady Warriors. We wish her a safe journey and look forward to seeing her again when she returns home.
A sunny day and a clear blue sky greeted us as we memorialized Army Cpl. John Spruell. As I stood there I could not help but feel the warmth of this December day and compare it to the cold of the Korean War. The people of Cortez can be proud of the event.
On Saturday, December 06, 2008 more than 100 family members, classmates and friends gathered at the Cortez Cemetery to see the memorial for Army Cpl. John A. Spruell dedicated. It was 58 years to the day since Spruell went missing West of Chosin Reservoir while fighting the Communist Chinese Forces in North Korea.
I traveled to Cortez because of my interest in honoring our heroes, because I was invited, and because Cpl. Spruell was part of a military unit that I had been researching for over six years. He was a member of Btry. B 57th FA Battalion, 7th Infantry Division.
When I read the data on Cpl. Spruell I realized that he had been in the same unit as Sgt. Jimmie Jumbo who I have often written about. Jimmie was from Toadlena, New Mexico and he and Spruell went missing on the same day at Hagaru-Ri North Korea, at the Chosin Reservoir. Spruell and Jumbo were from the Four-Corners Area and being soldiers I believe they would have talked about home. They may have discussed Fry Bread, Mutton Stew, Home Fries and Tacos, and probably family and girlfriends were discussed.
A funeral for my friend of many years, Glen Gabehart, was being carried out in Aztec, New Mexico on the same day as Spruell’s memorial and I thought of Glen as I stood there watching the dedication. Glen and I are members of Farmington High School Class of 1949 and the last time we visited we were looking forward to our upcoming 60th Class Reunion.
As we stood beneath a bright sun viewing a clear blue sky I gave thanks for the weather. This man deserved good weather on the day his memorial was dedicated. As I watched the wonderfully performed ceremony my eyes focused beyond the Speakers and the Honor Guard and the crowd as I looked toward Sleeping Ute Mountain behind them. Surely John Spruell saw this mountain every day he lived in Cortez, and it is fitting that his memorial be within view of this famous landmark
When I visit Cortez I will always stop for a moment at the Southwest corner of the Cortez Cemetery and stand at Cpl. Spruell’s memorial stone to say a prayer for him and his buddy Sgt. Jimmie Jumbo and gaze to the West to enjoy that same Sleeping Ute Mountain that I first viewed as a five year old boy when my family moved to Cortez in 1935
I have a younger brother who lives in Cortez now and who is also a Korean War Veteran, and I am sure that George will be pleased to place a fresh red rose on John Spruell’s memorial stone now and then.
A donor who asked not to be identified provided seed-money to the Cortez cemetery to establish a Memorial Fund in Cpl. John A. Spruell’s name. The fund will be used for maintaining the Veteran’s Section of this cemetery. The fund will repair older headstones and provide a buffer if a family cannot afford the hundred and forty dollar cost of stone-setting. Should you desire to contribute to this fund please contact Dennis Spruell, The Cortez Cemetery, or the Cortez Journal Newspaper.
Even after 58 years, it was evident that John Spruell was a favorite with his high school friends and the younger family members who had never met him. Now they will learn about the events of late November and early December 1950 when a small American Force held off the Chinese Army “East of Chosin” just long enough that the Marines and the few surviving Army personnel were able to fight their way out to the sea, and live to fight another day.
When I arrived at home I could not help but think of the love these “Chosin Few” have for each other, so I telephoned my friend Sgt. Carson Gentry who lives in Johnson City Tennessee. Gentry was a part of that unit and had survived having been a prisoner of the Communist Chinese for years. He was the one who first contacted me with a photo and information about Jimmie Jumbo and has put me in contact with others of these brave men who survived the battle West of Chosin. When you look at the photo of Gentry and Jumbo please remember that Gentry still had this photo over 50 years after the event, and that he has fond memories of Jimmie and his other buddies.
The story of the Korean War, which is called “the forgotten war”, is the story of men who still care about each other. Those who fought in this war will never forget!
Bruce L Salisbury
© 12 December 2008
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The Siege of Khe Sanh
by Rick Mowles, BS, DC, DICAK, DABCO
Vietnam Veteran 1968-1970. 1st Battalion 9th Marines, 3rd. Marine Division
The Vietnam war was one of the most controversial as well as costly wars for the United States, though, it was never actually declared a war by the United States. Whether it was actually a war or not is trivial for the essence of this article. The term "war" will be used. It was a war that just seemed to linger and linger withno end.
As the war began in 1965, there were no clear cut objectives. Nothing was certain except the daily reports on the news media of Americans being killed or wounded. When it finally ended in 1975, there were 58,220 Americans killed in action, 1687 missing in action and 303,635 wounded.
South Vietnam was separated from North Vietnam by the demilitarized zone (DMZ). South Vietnam was divided into military sectors called corps. I Corps was the northern most sector which bordered the DMZ. This area was occupied mostly by the Special Forces, the Army’s 101st Airborne and Air Calvary units, and the Marine Corps. The terrain was mostly mountainous jungle. I Corps was bordered by the country of Laos.
The enemy combatants were mainly two groups. There was the Vietnam People’s Army (North Vietnamese Army), which were hard core regular soldiers that wore uniforms and engaged in a more conventional warfare. Then there were the Viet Cong (National Liberation Front, or NFL) a lightly armed South Vietnamese communist-controlled common front. This unit mainly fought in guerrilla warfare tactics.
In the northwestern part of I Corps, not far from the Laotian border and the DMZ was the small village of Khe Sanh. The origin of the combat base lay in the construction by U.S. Army Special Forces of an airfield in August 1962 outside the village of an old French fort. The camp then became a Special Forces outpost. As early as 1964, General Westmoreland described Khe Sanh’s possibilities: "Khe Sanh could serve as a patrol base blocking enemy infiltration from Laos; a base for military operations to harass the enemy in Laos; an airstrip for reconnaissance to survey the Ho Chi Minh trail; a western anchor for the defenses south of the DMZ; and an eventual jumping-off point for ground operations to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail."
In late 1967, intelligence reports revealed massive enemy concentrations just over the DMZ as well as in Laos and Cambodia. This was the early stage set for the Tet Offensive of 1968. The operations were referred to as the Tet Offensive because they began during the early morning hours of January 31, 1968, the first day of the year on a traditional lunar calendar and the most important Vietnamese holiday. In Vietnamese it is translated as "General Offensive and Uprising in the year of the Monkey." The purpose of the offensive was to strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam and to spark a general uprising among the population that would then topple the Saigon government, thus ending the war in a single blow.
The North Vietnamese communist forces felt they could repeat the massacre of the French in March-May of 1954. Communist enemy forces in large numbers were sent against the French at the village of Dien Bien Phu, near the village of Khe Sanh, which lead to the rapid end to the French Indochina war.
The 26th Marine Regiment was assigned to defend Khe Sanh combat base as well as the surrounding hills. In support of the 26th Marine regiment were elements of the 9th Marine Regiment. The actual offensive started on the 31st of January 1968.
The NVA massed two reinforced divisions around the area. They would attack with massive mortar and rocket attacks as
well as large numbers of enemy combatants in an attempt to overrun the base. The Americans relied tremendously on massive air support. B52 bombers dropped 500 and 1000 pound bombs within a quarter mile of the base as well as rockets and mortars. The fighting was savage. Hercules C130 planes brought in food, ammunition and water to the 26th Marine Regiment until one of the planes was hit and crash landed at the base. From that point on, the fighting was so intense that the planes could not land for fear of being shot down. Thus necessary supplies were dropped by air. A lot of the Marines were anchored in man bunkers to avoid being shot or wounded. When they weren’t fighting they were filling sandbags.
The actual siege at Khe Sanh lasted 77 days. In March 1968, an overland expedition was launched by a combined Marine/Army/South Vietnamese task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. The fighting continued until July 1968, when the Americans abandoned the completely destroyed base complex.
The Siege itself didn’t escape controversy. Both sides declared victory. There were 6000 Marines at the combat base. There were an estimated 17,200 North Vietnamese communist forces. Casualties and losses were controversial. The United Forces killed were 274 with 2,541 wounded. The casualties for the enemy were not clearly known. There were 1602 enemy bodies counted, however, total enemy casualties were estimated between 10,000 and 15,000. In June 1968, United forces left the Khe Sanh area and it was quickly taken back by the enemy. The Siege of Khe Sanh was one of the most savage and bloody battles during Vietnam. It has been referred to as "the Iwo Jima of Vietnam." So, the question is often asked, "What was actually accomplished?" One thing that isn’t smothered in controversy is the courage and bravery of the 26th. and 9th Marine Regiments. Both of these Regiments were awarded the Presidential and Naval Unit citations, National Defense Service citation, Vietnam Service citation, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm streamer, and the Vietnam Meritorious Unit citation with actions streamer.
The Tet offensive didn’t achieve the success for the North Vietnamese communists. The initial attacks throughout South Vietnam stunned the United States and South Vietnamese armies and took them by surprise but most were quickly contained and beaten back. This inflicted massive casualties on communist forces.
Today Khe Sanh is nothing but an area overgrown with grass amidst the surrounding jungle. Few reminders reflect the fighting and savagery of battle that occurred nearly forty-three years ago.
-"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for friends"- John 15:13
Rick Mowles
Click on picture for bio.
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