MY BISBEE, ARIZONA PROCLAMATION MAKING ME AN HONORARY CITIZEN OF BISBEE, AZ FOR WRITING A MEMORIAL FOR MY SQUAD LEADER WHO WAS KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, AND THE EVENTS THAT LEAD UP TO MY SQUAD LEADER'S HOMETOWN OF BISBEE,AZ
MY COMBAT HISTORY
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIETNAM
1969 1970
1969 TET COUNTER OFFENSIVE PHASE
I & II
CASUALITY LIST FOR:
D COMPANY 4th BATTALION
12th INFANTRY
199th LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE
VIETNAM / CAMBODIA
APO 96279
1969 - 1970
3rd SQUAD 1st PLATOON
D COMPANY 4th BATTALION
12th INFANTRY
199th LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE J. E. BOUYER R. A. THURSBY W. A. DEBATES KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 
(ALL THREE OF)
(MY SQUADMATES)
(KILLED IN ACTION)
(RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME)
PFC James Earl Bouyer (KIA)
SGT Richard Allen Thursby (KIA)
SP/4 William Arthur DeBates (KIA)
OFFICERS INVOLVED
CPT Stover CO
LT Blackman XO
LT Grossjean, 1st Platoon Leader
LT Peter Johannades, 3rd Platoon Leader
NCO's INVOLVED
Sgt Hall, 2nd Platoon
Sgt Thursby, 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon (KIA)
Sgt Claud R. VanAndel, 3rd Platoon (KIA)
(GUYS I CAME IN TO THE COMPANY
WITH)
(KILLED IN ACTION)
PFC David Edward Kenney (KIA)
SGT Claude Richard VanAndel (KIA)
(GUYS IN MY COMPANY)
(WOUNDED IN ACTION)
PFC Pat (Smitty) Smith (Mortar Plt) (WIA)
SP/5 "Doc" Ken Reppart (Senior Medic) Command Post (WIA)
LT Peter Johannades, 3rd Platoon Ldr) (WIA)
CAPT Stover CO Command Post (WIA)
(SURVIVORS)
(My Squad)
(ME) SP/4 Gregory Payne (Pointman)
PFC "Doc" Crockett (Black Medic)(My Squad)
SP/4 Brent Lake (Black Grunt)(My Squad)
SP/4 Bradley (Black Grunt)(My Squad)
SP/4 Guy Owens (My Alternate Pointman)
PFC Dan Krapinski (My Squad)
(COMMAND POST SURVIVORS)
CAPT Stover (CO)
LT Blackman (XO)
SP/5 "Doc" Ken Reppart (Senior Medic)
(MORTAR PLATOON SURVIVORS)
SP/4 Pat "Smitty" Smith (Mortar Platoon
PFC Jan C. Scruggs (Mortar Platoon)
(OFFICERS AND NCO SURVIVORS)
CPT Stover CO
LT Blackman XO
LT Grossjean, 1st Platoon Leader
LT Peter Johannades, 3rd Platoon Leader
Sgt Hall, 2nd Platoon
*SPECIAL NOTE:
*JAN C. SCRUGGS was the guy who founded and started "the VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL"
*******************************
On one recon patrol near "The Fishnet" we got ambushed by a Squad of 6 Viet Cong in an open rice paddie, where we stood up and charged the Viet Cong ambush in a typical textbook classic on line Infantry assault with M-16's on fully Automatic. The firefight ended in our favor.
I was on three anphibious assaults off of a U.S Navy Landing Craft (LCM) (Landing Craft Marine) called "THE GREY GHOST)
On one Company operation my Company went up into the deep dark jungles of Bien Hoa, where we found 50, 100 lbs. of raw rice in an NVA Rice Cashe
On night we got a late night radio call asking us to make enemy contact in an area that was not to far from our ambush site so we rowed down a canal in a sanpan bamboo boat
were we ended up in engagging the enemy in my second "On Line Assault" only ths on was at night.
The towns and hamlets we worked or encamped near in our NDP's we operated our combat Operations and Patrols were: Bien Hoa, Bear Cat, "The Fishnet", Binh Chanh, My Yen, "The Pineapple" and the Cambodian Border areas.
WE EXPIERIENCED ALOT OF MORTAR
ATTACKS WITH COMMUNIST 82mm
MORTARS.
Charlie Company 4/12 199th LIB had a firefight right next to our ambush site about 6:00pm near My Yen.
My Squad Leader SGT Richard Allen Thursby two weeks before he was killed stepped flat footed on a "Booby Trap Tripwire" and realizing what he did lowered a can of M-60 Machinegun Ammo off his shoulder and set it down on the tripwire to hold it down until
he could get off the wire and jump to safety. He then had us tie a roll of twine on to the canvas strap on the ammo can got down behind the rice paddy dyke pulled the ammo can off the tripwire and blew the "booby trap" in place.
We operated in III Corps Tacticle Zone in War Zone C & D towards the Cambodian Border in Gia Dinh Province and a geographical area called the "Pineapple."
The Company Operations we went on included:
1969 TET Counter Offensive Phase I
Operation Strangler I
Operation Strangler II
Operation Strangler III
Operation Lulu
Operation Strangler IV
&
1969 TET Counter Offensive Phase II
MY BISBEE, AZ PROCLAMATION FOR WRITING A MEMORIAL FOR MY SQUAD LEADER RICHARD ALLEN THURSBY WHO'S HOMETOWN WA IN BISBEE, ARIZONA.
BISBEE, ARIZONA MEMORY GROUP
FORMER ADMINISTRATOR DAVID LOOPER OF THE OREGON VETERANS' HOME IN THE DALLES, OREGON HOLDS OUT AN AUTOGRAPHED VERSION BY THE AUTHOR THE "B" FOR BISBEE MEMORY GROUP BOOK. WHILE I HOLD UP A HIGH SCHOOL PICTURE OF MY SQUAD LEADER IN VIETNAM SGT RICHARD ALLEN THURSBY KIA 1 APRIL 1969. 3rd SQUAD 1ST PLATOON ALPHA FIRETEAM D COMPANY 4th BATTALION 12th INFANTRY 199th LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE. IN MY LEFT HAND I'AM HOLDING THE BISBEE, ARIZONA PROCLAMATION MAKING ME AN HONORARY CITIZEN OF BISBEE, ARIZONA SIGNED BY NINE DIFFERENT POLITICIANS INCLUDING THE GOVENOR OF ARIZONA FOR WRITING MY SQUAD LEADER'S MEMORIAL AND HAVING IT POSTED ON THE VIRTUAL WALL ALONG WITH PFC JAMES EARL BOUYER, AND SP/4 WILLIAM ARTHUR DEBATES WHO WERE ALL KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ON 1ST APRIL 1969, HERE IS A COPY OF MY BISBEE, ARIZONA PROCLAMATION 3rd SQUAD 1st PLATOON J. E. BOUYER R. A. THURSBY W. A. DEBATES KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 3rd SQUAD 1st PLATOON D COMPANY 4th BATTALION 12th INFANTRY 199th LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE APO 96279 MARCH - APRIL OF 1969 MY YEN, WAS WHERE MY SQUAD LEADER AND TWO OTHER OF MY SQUADMATES WERE KILLED RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ON APRIL 1st 1969. (Please see my memorials on the navagation bar) 3rd SQUAD 1st PLATOON J. E. BOUYER R. A. THURSBY W. A. DEBATES KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 KIA 4/1/69 
