Arkansas VIII

Nick Bacon was the son of share croppers in Arkansas and determined to rise above this life. He lived in several places over the course of his life and served his community and country in every one of them. He is noted as saying that his time in uniform was the proudest in his life.

Perhaps his proudest moment in uniform was when being awarded the Medal of Honor by President Nixon for his service in Vietnam. 

His likeness is preserved at a MoH memorial in Little Rock, across the green from the Vietnam memorial featured here. 

"The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed forces' highest Military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians, and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the president of the United States, but as it is presented "in the name of the United States Congress" it is sometimes referred to as the "Congressional Medal of Honor". The Secretary of the Army, on behalf of DoD, has testified to Congress that the term "Congressional Medal of Honor" is "incorrect", and that "it seems inappropriate to modify the name of the medal with the word 'Congressional' as each award is made in the name of the Congress."

The above is taken directly from Wikipedia, read the whole article here: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_Honor

Next time, on the 3rd, we will return to California, meet me there, as always, at 9:00am.

To see additional memorials from Arkansas,  or any other state,  please click on the state name on the left side of this page. 

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left, or any place else. Please send them to the email at the left or directly to me at Ldddad@comcast.net. Thanks.

 

Colorado XXXIV

Drew Dix is an American hero. One of the 248 who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in Vietnam.

His statue is among other awardees, from other wars, in Pueblo, Colorado and I have tried, here, to add his face to the ongoing series I call Faces of Remembrance. These pictures were taken before I envisioned this effort, so are taken from lager photos, hence the quality suffers some. 

His deeds, however, are crystal clear and speak for themselves.

Below is the official citation of his bravery, gallantry, and just plain decency in aiding those in need.

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. SSG. Dix distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving as a unit adviser. Two heavily armed Viet Cong battalions attacked the Province capital city of Chau Phu resulting in the complete breakdown and fragmentation of the defenses of the city. SSG. Dix, with a patrol of Vietnamese soldiers, was recalled to assist in the defense of Chau Phu. Learning that a nurse was trapped in a house near the center of the city, SSG. Dix organized a relief force, successfully rescued the nurse, and returned her to the safety of the Tactical Operations Center. Being informed of other trapped civilians within the city, SSG. Dix voluntarily led another force to rescue eight civilian employees located in a building which was under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. SSG. Dix then returned to the center of the city. Upon approaching a building, he was subjected to intense automatic rifle and machine gun fire from an unknown number of Viet Cong. He personally assaulted the building, killing six Viet Cong, and rescuing two Filipinos. The following day SSG. Dix, still on his own volition, assembled a 20-man force and though under intense enemy fire cleared the Viet Cong out of the hotel, theater, and other adjacent buildings within the city. During this portion of the attack, Army Republic of Vietnam soldiers inspired by the heroism and success of SSG. Dix, rallied and commenced firing upon the Viet Cong. SSG. Dix captured 20 prisoners, including a high ranking Viet Cong official. He then attacked enemy troops who had entered the residence of the Deputy Province Chief and was successful in rescuing the official's wife and children. SSG. Dix's personal heroic actions resulted in 14 confirmed Viet Cong killed in action and possibly 25 more, the capture of 20 prisoners, 15 weapons, and the rescue of the 14 United States and free world civilians. The heroism of SSG. Dix was in the highest tradition and reflects great credit upon the U.S. Army.^"

^{As I have traveled the country I have found that several states, four I think, actually claim Mr. Dix as their own. He was born in New York, but was raised in Pueblo and I am not sure of the connection to other states.}

^{He attempted to join the Special Forces upon enlisting at 18 years old but was considered too young. Three later he was accepted to this elite force.}

^{He was later given a promotion to officer status and retired years later as a Major.}

^{Mr. Dix was the first Special Forces member to be a recipient of the Medal of Honor.}

^{Next time, I hope to have found something new in Delaware. Check back on the 18th, as always, at 9:00am, to see how that worked out.}

^{To see additional memorials from Colorado, or any other state, please click on the state name on the left side of this page.}

I will ask, as I do at the end of nearly every post now, for anyone who has pictures of Vietnam memorials not seen here to please send them to me. I will give you full photo credit for the pic and any information about it you may know. Check your state, or anywhere you may have visited, from the list at the left.

Colorado

The Colorado Vietnam memorial is in Pueblo, a couple of hours south of Denver. Located in a small park in the median of the road it lists the names of all 621 (the latest figure I can find) from the state who lost their lives in 'Nam. It also tells the story of the first American woman killed. In 1965 a bomb placed outside the American Embassy took her life. In addition there is a marker to the Medal of Honor awardee from the area. Interestingly, Pueblo boasts four MOH awardees and has a separate memorial elsewhere in the city. I may write more about that later.

Located at Elizabeth and 26th Streets the memorial also honors another of Pueblo's sons. A Marine killed in North Vietnam (presumably shot down) and buried in 1999 in Arlington. One makes the assumption that his remains were returned long after the war in the ongoing repatriation efforts between the US and Vietnam. Welcome home, brother.

This alone should be enough to say about this simple, yet elegant, memorial, but the story of how it came to be is, in my view, astonishing.

I often wonder why some memorials are placed where they are? Most seem to be on the grounds of, or near the Capitol, State House or some other government building. Once in a while however, they are in median strips far from the Capitol. Most of the time I am completely unsuccessful in tracking down the reasons for this, but in this case, the following story makes the answer obvious!

It seems a young man in Pueblo wanted to honor his buddies from 'Nam. No one took him too seriously. You see he was different. Some thought he might be handicapped. After all, he graduated from the local high school two years behind his peers. It took him three cycles to make it through boot camp! Many thought he might not be military material and certainly not Vietnam material.

Well, he ended up in 'Nam and literally slept with his M-16 every night while in-country. He, unlike many of his buddies, survived 'Nam. When he came home he was able to work at menial jobs, just like in 'Nam, but the nightmares and the memories and the fear eventually won out. He was finally designated as disabled with PTSD.

He began to work on building the memorial. He talked with many, raised money sitting outside a grocery store and over a period of time, years actually, managed to get it completed.

My long term readers know that I never use anyone's name in these posts. Too many legal issues, permissions etc, but I often direct you to another site with more info. I do so today. If you have never followed one of my suggested links before, I urge you to do so today. This story is compelling! There are lessons here too numerous to list about the human spirit and how we deal with each other as human beings and as brothers.

Please go to;

http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/delbert.html

to learn more about this most unlikely hero!

Next, I move on to Denver and discover a story that involves lost memorials, Irish writers and just some plain old luck. Join me on the 29th for this remarkable tale.