First Platoon Company A 3rd Battalion/1st Infantry Regiment 11th Brigade Americal (23rd) Infantry Division
Remembering and Honoring the Fallen Brothers of First Platoon. You are missed! I included the men of First Platoon that have died since returning home - most lost their battle to illnesses related to exposure from Agent Orange.
The song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” by Peter, Paul and Mary is significant to First Platoon. The NVA played this song (one of three) late one night (July 11, 1969) while we were building firebase Hill 4-11. After the songs played, the NVA told us to surrender, leave, or get wiped out.
Turn your speaker on and volume up.
Remembering and Honoring the Fallen Brothers of First Platoon. You are missed! I included the men of First Platoon that have died since returning home - most lost their battle to illnesses related to exposure from Agent Orange.
The song “Where Have All the Flowers Gone” by Peter, Paul and Mary is significant to First Platoon. The NVA played this song (one of three) late one night (July 11, 1969) while we were building firebase Hill 4-11. After the songs played, the NVA told us to surrender, leave, or get wiped out.
Turn your speaker on and volume up.
June 14, 1969
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The hill that Bruce Tufts was killed on, June 14, 1969. The photo was taken by Glyn Haynie on June 16, 2018.
Near midnight June 13, 1969, the enemy attacked the platoon on a hilltop with little protection while we slept. Bruce Tufts died minutes after midnight protecting his position from enemy soldiers who were tossing grenades at his position. Mike Dankert, Dennis Rowe, and Nick VanDyke were in the same position and wounded during the attack. |
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In the photograph Bruce Tufts, to your right, is standing with Warren McVey.
Private First Class Bruce Tufts taught high school before joining the Army; he was from Mendham, New Jersey, and was 26 years old. Charlie Deppen and I referred to Bruce as a Viking because of his solid build, red hair, and beard. He was a kind man with a big heart and would give you his last drink of water. Everyone in the platoon liked and respected him. |
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July 14, 1969
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Fire Support Base Hill 4-11 today. This is the location where Juan and Eldon were killed. Their bunker would've been located in the tree line center of the photograph. I took the photograph on June 2018.
On the night of July 14, 1969, Juan Ramos, Eldon Reynolds, Dusty Rhoades, and Ryan Okino were calling it a night and moved inside their bunker on Hill-411 when the enemy attacked. Enemy sappers killed Ramos and Reynolds while they protected their bunker and the south side of the firebase perimeter. The enemy wounded Dusty Rhoades while he attempted to keep the enemy from his position. Okino and our medic, Doc Windows, administered lifesaving first aid to Dusty during the attack. |
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Private First Class Juan Ramos was an old-timer, in Vietnam for five months when I arrived at the First Platoon. He was quiet, almost shy, but ready to share his experiences on surviving in Vietnam. Juan took the time to teach me the skills I needed. He was 21 years old, from Uvalde, Texas. Juan was well liked by everyone and trusted by the platoon members. If things got tough, you wanted Juan with you. Today his younger sister, Gloria Alejandro, is an honorary member of First Platoon.
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Private First Class Eldon Reynolds arrived at the platoon two weeks before being killed on Hill 4–11. He was from Weatherford, Oklahoma, 20 years old, and married to Donita. I didn’t know him well because of his short time with the platoon and him being in the first squad. Dusty Rhoades and Chuck Council told me of their trust of Eldon and how he was fitting in with the squad.
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August 13, 1969
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This is the approximate location today where the action occured. Where you see the water was a trench used by the NVA in August 1969. The photograph was taken by me in June 2018.
Moving through the fields and hedgerows on August 13, 1969, the point man engaged several NVA soldiers. Jerry Ofstedahl, SSG Robert Swindle, and Richard Wellman moved toward the sounds of the weapons firing to locate the enemy positions. A large enemy force in a well-concealed ambush opened fire, with AK-47s, Rocket-Propelled Grenades (RPG), and a 51 caliber machine gun, on the platoon, killing Ofstedahl, Swindle, and Wellman in seconds. The enemy wounded Frank Brown as he moved toward the sound of the weapons firing. Mike Dankert and a medic administered lifesaving first aid to Frank Brown during the attack. |
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Jerry Ofstedahl is standing on the right with Nick VanDyke on the left.
Specialist 4th Class Jerry Ofstedahl, from Napa, California, was the squad leader for the second squad. Jerry had arrived at the platoon in December 1968, which made him an old-timer with experience. He’d married Claire, his longtime girlfriend, while on Rest and Recuperation (R & R) to Tokyo, Japan, the month before; he had no children. I found Jerry to be an outstanding leader, someone I wanted to emulate. He always shared his experiences and knowledge to help us survive our year in Vietnam and treated the squad members without favoritism. |
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A photograph Rebel had taken and sent to his family while in Vietnam. Photograph provided by Brenda Jones (Rebel’s sister).
Private First Class Richard Wellman, was from Gastonia, North Carolina, and had a Southern drawl. That’s how he got the nickname “Rebel.” He was 20 and had married his wife, Deborah, before coming to Vietnam. He’d received his assignment to the platoon March 1969. Rebel was quiet but always willing to speak if you engaged him in conversation. He proved himself during his first six months while in the first squad and was assigned as the platoon sergeant Radio Telephone Operator (RTO) after Terry Daron left for a rear job. Rebel was well-liked and trusted by the men of First Platoon. |
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SSG Robert Swindle after getting resupplied, in the hills off Highway 1.
Staff Sergeant Robert Swindle was from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was married to Celsa and had a son. Staff Sergeant Swindle, a career soldier, had arrived at the platoon in June 1969 and was assigned as the platoon sergeant. His assignment to Vietnam was in February 1969, but I’m not sure what his first job was. I didn’t know him personally but respected him as our platoon sergeant. He was aloof but maintained a professional relationship and didn’t socialize with the members of the platoon. He was a caring leader and always looked out for our welfare and safety. Swindle had my respect because it wasn’t often a career noncommissioned officer was assigned to the platoon or Company. |
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August 15, 1969
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This is the location today where the platoon was ambushed. The photograph was taken in June 2018.
It was early afternoon, August 15, 1969, as the platoon moved through the rice paddies and then a large field toward the river, east of Hill 4–11, in search of the large NVA force that had attacked the platoon earlier when the enemy detonated two 250-pound bombs. The explosion killed Paul Ponce, Joe Mitchell, James Anderson, and Danny Carey, and wounded seven other platoon members. It took several hours to get the wounded and dead removed from the battlefield and flown back to the division firebase hospital. The wounded were: Ryan Okino, Charlie Deppen, Tommy Thompson, Mike Dankert, Glyn Haynie, Bill Davenport, and Ray Hamilton. |
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Paul Ponce at Duc Pho, Brigade Firebase, on the left, with Leslie Pressley on the right.
Specialist 4th Class Paul Ponce, from Santa Clara, California, had arrived at the platoon in November 1968. He and his wife, Juanita, had no children. Paul was always friendly and talkative, and he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. It was one hot day in May, while we walked along Highway 1, that Paul bought and gave me my good luck charm, the peace sign. He’d gone to Hawaii on R & R to meet his wife and was a happy man upon his return to the squad. I learned in February 2016 while talking with a niece that Paul had a son conceived while on R & R. |
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Joe Mitchell in the center, Maurice Harrington on the left, and Mike Stout on the right on Firebase Debbie.
Specialist 4th Class Joe Mitchell, the first squad leader, was from Chicago, Illinois. Joe had arrived at the platoon in November 1968, which made him an old-timer with experience. He and his wife, Barbara, had no children. Joe was always friendly, talkative, and willing to share his experiences and knowledge with the squad members. We were never close, but he taught me a great deal while I was in the first squad. |
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James Anderson, Basic Training photograph. A photograph of him in Vietnam can’t be found.
Private First Class James Anderson, 20, was from Smiths Grove, Kentucky and had a southern drawl. He was one of the newer guys, an FNG, with the squad for only two weeks, having arrived at the platoon the end of July 1969. James married Janice before coming to Vietnam and had no children. James was quiet but always paid attention to his surroundings, and you could tell he tried to learn as much as possible by watching others. He was adapting to Vietnam and fitting in with the second squad. |
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Danny Carey, Basic Training photograph. A photograph of him in Vietnam can’t be found.
Private First Class Danny Carey, 20, from Utica, Illinois, was unmarried. Danny liked to kid around and laugh. He found the good in any circumstance. It was great that we had someone with his disposition in the second squad. He’d arrived at the platoon the end of June 1969 and was with us when we built the Hill. Danny was an asset to the squad, and we could count on him during the hard times. Danny’s hometown, Utica, dedicated a park in his name, the Danny Carey Memorial Park. |
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January 14, 1970
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The mountains where the action occurred west of Hill 4-11. Glyn Haynie took this photo June 2018.
While patrolling in the mountains west of Hill 4–11, on January 14, 1970, the platoon walked into an NVA ambush of a sizeable force. Within minutes, the enemy killed Gary Morris and Roger Kidwell while they protected their platoon members from the incoming of small arms and RPGs. During the exchange of deadly fire, the enemy wounded Peter Zink and Bill Davenport. Cliff Sivadge attended to the wounds of Zink, and then the dust-off picked up both Zink and Davenport for the flight to the division firebase hospital. |
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Garry Morris’s basic training photograph.
Specialist 4th Class Garry Morris joined the first squad and platoon around August 11, 1969. I didn’t get to know Gary as well as other platoon members because his assignment was the first squad. He came across as likable and appeared to be fitting in with his squad. I know his squad members trusted him, and he was a soldier you wanted next to you in a firefight. He was from Lancaster, Ohio, and 21 years old. |
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Roger Kidwell’s high school photograph.
Private First Class Roger Kidwell arrived at the first platoon the end of December 1969. I left the platoon before he arrived and didn’t know him. Although he was with the platoon for only a couple of weeks, the platoon members told me he was a good soldier and trusted by his squad. He was married, from Front Royal, Virginia, and 20 years old. |
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March 15, 1970
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The mountains where the action occurred west of Hill 4-11. Glyn Haynie took this photo June 2018.
The platoon was on top of a ridge, high in the mountains, west of Hill 4–11, on March 15, 1970, and was preparing their positions for the night. Several NVA soldiers walking along the trail which ran through the platoon position saw the platoon first and opened fire with AK-47s, killing Willie before anyone could react. |
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Willie Matson, Basic Training photograph. A photograph of him in Vietnam can’t be found.
Private First Class Willie Matson came to the platoon in October 1969, and I remember him as a kind person and that he wanted to serve his country. He fit in well with the First Platoon and was a soldier who could be trusted. |
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Honoring First Platoon members of Company A 3rd Battalion/1st Infantry Regiment 11th Infantry Brigade Americal Division - Awarded the Purple Heart
