John F. Stockman reported to Marine Corps Boot Camp at Parris Island on September 21, 1966. A twenty-three year old from Marcus Hook, Pa, he was about to embark on a distinguished career in the Marine Corps. After boot camp and basic infantry training, John Stockman reported for duty on March 10, 1967 with Company D, 3rd Recon Battalion, 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam. Throughout the remainder of this tour he participated in no less than 13 operations against the enemy forces in South Vietnam. On March 24, 1968, he left Vietnam for San Francisco; but in November 1968 he was back in Vietnam. This time he was a scout with 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. Nevertheless, he managed to get back to Company D, 3rd Recon Bn by December 5, 1968. There he remained until September of 1969, when he was released from active service. But for John Stockman, the Marine Corps, and, in particular, recon, was a way of life. So, by October 1970 he was in Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. On May 29, 1969, Fernando Villasana reported for recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, California. He was a young man of 19 years and had left his home in El Paso, Texas. After training in infantry and reconnaissance, he found himself in January 1970 with Delta Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. When Delta Co. was disbanded in 1970, Villasana was transferred to Bravo Company. During his time in Delta and Bravo Company he participated in a total of 25 long-range reconnaissance patrols. He also participated in “Lynch Law”, a long-range combat raid in Que Nam Province, RVN.
Russell Daniels became a Navy Corpsman. At age 19 he reported to Navy boot camp on San Diego, California. After boot camp, he attended training at the Naval Hospital in San Diego and at the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pa. In February 1970 he reported for duty as a Corpsman with 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division; but in July 1970 he was transferred to Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. “Doc Daniels” as he was known, had a mischievous sense of humor. Not unlikely to play a practical joke on one of his buddies; he maintained a good sense of humor when the joke was on him. Bravo Company, for instance, had a Company dog named Willy. Now no one knew what kind of dog Willy was. He bore the main characteristics of a Golden Retriever, with blond fur and all; but it was very unlikely Willy was purebred anything. Anyway, Willy ran around the company area; but it wasn’t unusual for Willy to wander off – particularly at night. When Willy wandered off at night he often went to the rice paddies outside the Battalion compound. The Vietnamese fertilized the rice paddies with manure of all kinds so when Willy came back from a night down there, he often smelled rather rank. One day Willy, fresh from a night in the paddies, decided to plant himself on Doc Daniels cot. Doc Daniels entered the hootch. Spotting Willy, he decided to give the dog a big hug. Almost immediately, Doc Daniels was repulsed by the stench and backed off. Doc’s roommates were amused by his reaction. Doc ordered Willy out of the hootch. Robert Tucker joined the Marine Corps in April of 1969 at the age of 20. He came from Abbyville, Kansas. From boot camp and Infantry Training Regiment he went to Basic Infantry Training School at Camp Pendleton, California. In July of 1970 he was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Recon Bn, soon to become one of a team that would never be forgotten. He participated in “Lynch Law”, the same long-range combat raid as Villasana. Charles Pope, born in Independence, Missouri, reported to boot camp in San Diego at the age of 18. After Basic Infantry Training School at Camp Pendleton, California, he found himself in Bravo Company, 1st Recon Bn by March 1970. Here he participated in “Lynch Law” as well as 23 long-range reconnaissance patrols. At age nineteen, Gary Hudson, another Missourian, left his home in Joplin, Missouri to join the Marine Corps. After boot camp at San Diego, Ca, he underwent training as a radio operator and July 1, 1970 he reported for duty at 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. After two months training at H&S Company, he was assigned to Bravo Company as a field radio operator. Between September 4, 1970 and November 18, 1970, he served as a primary radioman on 10 long-range reconnaissance patrols and an attack on a fortified enemy bunker complex in the Que Son Mountains. Service, for which he earned the Bronze Star. At age nineteen, David Delozier joined the Marine Corps and started training at Parris Island, South Carolina in September of 1969. For David it was a short trip from boot camp to Vietnam. By March 12,1970, he was a member of Bravo Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. Between March 11 and 18 November 1970, he participated in 24 long-range reconnaissance patrols and “Lynch Law”, a long-range combat raid. David Delozier came from Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was a little railroad town where people didn’t talk a lot about the war in Vietnam. In high school, the 5’-8”, 160 lb Delozier, excelled in football and participated in track. A bright lad, with youthful good looks, he was also popular among his fellow students and his senior year they elected him class president. David also managed to score scholarships to college; but left after his first year to join the Marine Corps. He chose the Corps because it was the toughest branch of the services. A couple of months into his Vietnam tour, David’s father had a heart attack. While home on emergency leave, he and a friend, Bill Teufel, went to visit a cousin who was a student at Kent State University. At this time, Kent State was a hot bed of protest against the Vietnam War. In fact, in May 1970 the students organized a demonstration against the war on campus. Things got out of hand, and soon four students lost their lives because the students assaulted National Guard troops, who were sent there to protect people and property. Nevertheless, David Delozier returned to resume his duties in Vietnam, with no less a devotion to country and Corps. In November 1970, Lt. Col. William Leftwich Jr. commanded the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. He was a 34 year-old Marine Officer who had graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1953.
William Leftwich came from a wealthy family in Memphis, Tennessee. In high school he was the captain of the football team and became an excellent tennis player. Bill could probably have afforded to attend any college of his choice; but he chose the Naval Academy instead. In 1949, he entered the Academy as a Midshipman. This 5’-10 ½” tall, good- looking, young man soon won the admiration of his fellow students. Always maintaining good physical condition, Leftwich played tennis, squash and football. He rose to the position of Head of the Brigade. Always displaying his Tennessee friendliness, he won friends easily among the other Midshipman. Two of his good friends, Ross Perot and Bob Bell, would become notable as a Presidential candidate and Admiral years later. Upon graduation, William Leftwich chose to serve as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. By March 1965, William Leftwich had obtained the rank of Major and was serving in Vietnam as an advisor to Task Force Alpha, a Vietnamese Marine Brigade. Major Leftwich demonstrated his courage and leadership skills on a mission with the brigade March 9, 1965. He first arranged for very close air support. The plan was bold, besause he requested that the air crews fire extra close to the front lines and to fake additional attacks as the Vietnamese Marines assaulted the enemy positions. Major Leftwich also planed a route of march, based on last minute intelligence which prevented the Vietnamese Marines from running into a massive ambush. When the assault began, Major Leftwich moved to the front of the assaulting force. Under heavy fire, he directed the air support during the assault. Shouting and shooting point-blank at the enemy, he lead the Vietnamese troops past the outward Viet Cong defenses and to within forty meters of the crest of a hill overlooking Hoai An. Machine gun bullets struck him in the back, cheek and nose. Nevertheless, a comrade fell, mortally wounded; and Major :Leftwich rushed to aid him. Although bleeding profusely himself, Major Leftwich shunned assistance, and medical evacuation, until he could call for additional air strikes and let the Task Force Commander know what was happening. For his bravery during this action, he was awarded the Navy Cross. After recovering from his wounds, William Leftwich became an Aide to the Undersecretary of the Navy. Being a man of action, however, he left the cushy staff officer life behind to return to Vietnam. He first took the position of Battalion Commander, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, on May 16, 1970. While Commander of the 2/1, Lt. Col. Leftwich organized a surprise raid on enemy bunkers, which resulted in the elimination of three high-ranking Viet Cong officers. On September 13, 1970, he took over as the Commander of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. By this time, the Battalion had been reduced from 5 companies of reconnaissance scouts to two. President Nixon had ordered the reduction of troops as part of his policy to withdraw American forces in Vietnam. The President felt that the Vietnamese should increasingly bear the responsibility to defend their country. In March 1970, the control of military operations in the five Northern Provinces was transferred from the Marine Corps to the U.S. Army with the view to eventually transferring command to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. To make the most effective use of his recon marines, Lt. Col. Leftwich turned the responsibility for security of the four observation posts to infantry units and reorganized the two remaining letter companies. The reorganized battalion provided him 24 reconnaissance teams, an average of 12 of which were in the bush at any given time. On November 10, 1970, Corporal Stockman led Corpsman Daniels and five other Marines off Landing Zone Ranch House to conduct a reconnaissance patrol. The team’s call sign was Rush Act. The members of this team would never return. As Corporal Stockman lead his team through their assigned grid of jungle, they soon discovered the enemy had been busy about their business. First, there was the discovery of the LAAW. LAAW stands for light anti-tank assault weapon. Designed and manufactured in the United States, the mere presence of such a weapon in enemy territory evokes suspicion. Someone, however,
placed this one at a 45-degree angle on the insert landing zone. Apparently the guerrillas intended to use it on a helicopter landing on the LZ. Believing that the LAAW might be booby trapped, the team didn’t attempt to disassemble it. About four in the afternoon of the next day, the team came on a recently constructed trail about 18” wide. The next day came the bonanza, they discovered an enemy village. The village was composed of six hootches with thatched roofs. Nearby were rice paddies where four enemy soldiers were located. One of these was of military age; but that one wasn’t working. The team spotted two additional military-aged men entering the hootches. Later that day, more men arrived. This time three carried weapons, one a SKS rifle, the other two AK-47 automatic rifles. At sunrise the next morning, Rush Act came upon a camp consisting of two hootches and four bunkers connecting the hootches. The Marines threw grenades into both hootches and bunkers, destroying all. An enemy soldier appeared, and, after a quick exchange of rifle fire, he lay dead. Two more soldiers appeared; but ran to escape the deadly Marine gunfire. As Rush Act’s position had now been compromised, they were extracted by helicopter and reinserted to continue patrolling at a place called Nu Da Ne. On November 18th, Doc. Daniels, the team Corpsman, fell down a cliff, breaking his leg. The team leader immediately called for an extraction. The supporting helicopter squadron, HMM-263 launched a rescue mission. One CH-46 landed at the 1st Recon Battalion to pick up Lt. Col. Leftwich. The Colonel chose to come along to oversee the extraction. Monsoon season was well underway, and he knew the extraction would be risky; nevertheless, with one of the team seriously injured, he deemed it important to make the attempt. The weather was clearing over the team’s location and they just might pull it off. Arriving at the team’s location, clouds and fog hung low over the Que Sons. It was impossible for the CH-46 to land so Lt. Col. Leftwich ordered the SPIE rig lowered. All members of the team hooked their harnesses to the rig and were successfully pulled from the jungle. Meanwhile, the clouds had closed in, obscuring some of the peaks around the helicopter. The CH-46 crashed into the mountainside. All were killed, the helicopter crew, the extraction crew (which included Lt. Col. Leftwich), and all members of the team, Rush Act. Two reconnaissance teams found the crash site the next day and recovered all bodies - to be interred with full military honors.
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