Raymond Dean Ellis
June 22, 1950
US Army
Staff Sergeant
Light Weapons Infantry
101st Airborne Division, 75th Infantry LRRP, L Company
Death May 11, 1970
Hostile, Killed in Action
Radio Relay Team S of Ql 9 Vic Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, Thua Thien province.
★ Purple Heart
R%aymond enlisted in the Army. Entered via Regular Military. Served during the Vietnam War. He began his tour on February 11, 1970
3 months
May 11, 1970, Ranger Team Kansas was providing radio relay and reconnaissance for LRRP (Long-range reconnaissance patrol) teams attached to the 101st Airborne inserted in the A Shau Valley, one of the key entry points into South Vietnam for men and materiel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the Communist North Vietnamese Army. The team consisted of six members: SGT Raymond D. Ellis, SSGT Robert L. O’Conner, SGT Gary P. Baker, SGT David Munoz, CPL George E. Fogleman, and PFC Bryan T. Knight. Less than a kilometer away in thick bamboo stands was a LRRP team monitoring an enemy high speed trail a few feet away from their concealed position. While on watch, one of the LRRP team members heard the faint sound of automatic weapons fire coming from the direction of the Kansas team. Listing intently, a few minutes later he then heard what sounded like six single pistol shots spaced about ten seconds apart. Concerned, the LRRP member tried to raise the Kansas team’s radio operator, but got no answer. After several unsuccessful attempts to call the team, the LRRP member called the TOC (tactical operations center) which deployed an OH-6A “Loach” to establish contact with the missing radio relay team. The Loach pilot reported that he’d spotted what appeared to be six bodies sprawled across a trail. A Ranger team was dispatched to the radio relay team’s position. The six Kansas team members lay dead, each with a gunshot wound to the head and each man’s skull crushed with a rifle butt. No one was sure what occurred, but what was surmised is that a small number of NVA had simply walked right up and killed them instantly. The enemy had probably been watching the team for days, waiting for the right time to make their move. Three piles of empty brass cartridges surrounded the bodies, indicating only three NVA soldiers had carried out the shooting. All the American’s weapons were gone. Their web gear and ruck sacks and radio were still there, and their pockets were inside out. A group of 20 men from B Troop, 17th Cavalry was inserted to help with the recovery of their slain comrades. The incident spooked a lot of the Rangers and had a devastating effect on the company. A week later, a Ranger team was inserted in the same AO (area of operations). While surveying the abandoned former Firebase Whip, the team ambushed and killed two NVA soldiers. After searching the dead soldier’s bodies, they found evidence that the two had been responsible for the tragedy which befell the radio relay team Kansas. Vengeance was wrought on the enemy, a fortuitous retaliation and psychological victory for the Rangers.
Death in the A Shau Valley, Larry Chambers]
June 22, 1950
US Army
Staff Sergeant
Light Weapons Infantry
101st Airborne Division, 75th Infantry LRRP, L Company
Death May 11, 1970
Hostile, Killed in Action
Radio Relay Team S of Ql 9 Vic Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, Thua Thien province.
★ Purple Heart
R%aymond enlisted in the Army. Entered via Regular Military. Served during the Vietnam War. He began his tour on February 11, 1970
3 months
May 11, 1970, Ranger Team Kansas was providing radio relay and reconnaissance for LRRP (Long-range reconnaissance patrol) teams attached to the 101st Airborne inserted in the A Shau Valley, one of the key entry points into South Vietnam for men and materiel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the Communist North Vietnamese Army. The team consisted of six members: SGT Raymond D. Ellis, SSGT Robert L. O’Conner, SGT Gary P. Baker, SGT David Munoz, CPL George E. Fogleman, and PFC Bryan T. Knight. Less than a kilometer away in thick bamboo stands was a LRRP team monitoring an enemy high speed trail a few feet away from their concealed position. While on watch, one of the LRRP team members heard the faint sound of automatic weapons fire coming from the direction of the Kansas team. Listing intently, a few minutes later he then heard what sounded like six single pistol shots spaced about ten seconds apart. Concerned, the LRRP member tried to raise the Kansas team’s radio operator, but got no answer. After several unsuccessful attempts to call the team, the LRRP member called the TOC (tactical operations center) which deployed an OH-6A “Loach” to establish contact with the missing radio relay team. The Loach pilot reported that he’d spotted what appeared to be six bodies sprawled across a trail. A Ranger team was dispatched to the radio relay team’s position. The six Kansas team members lay dead, each with a gunshot wound to the head and each man’s skull crushed with a rifle butt. No one was sure what occurred, but what was surmised is that a small number of NVA had simply walked right up and killed them instantly. The enemy had probably been watching the team for days, waiting for the right time to make their move. Three piles of empty brass cartridges surrounded the bodies, indicating only three NVA soldiers had carried out the shooting. All the American’s weapons were gone. Their web gear and ruck sacks and radio were still there, and their pockets were inside out. A group of 20 men from B Troop, 17th Cavalry was inserted to help with the recovery of their slain comrades. The incident spooked a lot of the Rangers and had a devastating effect on the company. A week later, a Ranger team was inserted in the same AO (area of operations). While surveying the abandoned former Firebase Whip, the team ambushed and killed two NVA soldiers. After searching the dead soldier’s bodies, they found evidence that the two had been responsible for the tragedy which befell the radio relay team Kansas. Vengeance was wrought on the enemy, a fortuitous retaliation and psychological victory for the Rangers.
Death in the A Shau Valley, Larry Chambers]
Raymond Dean Ellis
June 22, 1950
US Army
Staff Sergeant
Light Weapons Infantry
101st Airborne Division, 75th Infantry LRRP, L Company
Death May 11, 1970
Hostile, Killed in Action
Radio Relay Team S of Ql 9 Vic Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, Thua Thien province.
★ Purple Heart
R%aymond enlisted in the Army. Entered via Regular Military. Served during the Vietnam War. He began his tour on February 11, 1970
3 months
May 11, 1970, Ranger Team Kansas was providing radio relay and reconnaissance for LRRP (Long-range reconnaissance patrol) teams attached to the 101st Airborne inserted in the A Shau Valley, one of the key entry points into South Vietnam for men and materiel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the Communist North Vietnamese Army. The team consisted of six members: SGT Raymond D. Ellis, SSGT Robert L. O’Conner, SGT Gary P. Baker, SGT David Munoz, CPL George E. Fogleman, and PFC Bryan T. Knight. Less than a kilometer away in thick bamboo stands was a LRRP team monitoring an enemy high speed trail a few feet away from their concealed position. While on watch, one of the LRRP team members heard the faint sound of automatic weapons fire coming from the direction of the Kansas team. Listing intently, a few minutes later he then heard what sounded like six single pistol shots spaced about ten seconds apart. Concerned, the LRRP member tried to raise the Kansas team’s radio operator, but got no answer. After several unsuccessful attempts to call the team, the LRRP member called the TOC (tactical operations center) which deployed an OH-6A “Loach” to establish contact with the missing radio relay team. The Loach pilot reported that he’d spotted what appeared to be six bodies sprawled across a trail. A Ranger team was dispatched to the radio relay team’s position. The six Kansas team members lay dead, each with a gunshot wound to the head and each man’s skull crushed with a rifle butt. No one was sure what occurred, but what was surmised is that a small number of NVA had simply walked right up and killed them instantly. The enemy had probably been watching the team for days, waiting for the right time to make their move. Three piles of empty brass cartridges surrounded the bodies, indicating only three NVA soldiers had carried out the shooting. All the American’s weapons were gone. Their web gear and ruck sacks and radio were still there, and their pockets were inside out. A group of 20 men from B Troop, 17th Cavalry was inserted to help with the recovery of their slain comrades. The incident spooked a lot of the Rangers and had a devastating effect on the company. A week later, a Ranger team was inserted in the same AO (area of operations). While surveying the abandoned former Firebase Whip, the team ambushed and killed two NVA soldiers. After searching the dead soldier’s bodies, they found evidence that the two had been responsible for the tragedy which befell the radio relay team Kansas. Vengeance was wrought on the enemy, a fortuitous retaliation and psychological victory for the Rangers.
Death in the A Shau Valley, Larry Chambers]
June 22, 1950
US Army
Staff Sergeant
Light Weapons Infantry
101st Airborne Division, 75th Infantry LRRP, L Company
Death May 11, 1970
Hostile, Killed in Action
Radio Relay Team S of Ql 9 Vic Khe Sanh, South Vietnam, Thua Thien province.
★ Purple Heart
R%aymond enlisted in the Army. Entered via Regular Military. Served during the Vietnam War. He began his tour on February 11, 1970
3 months
May 11, 1970, Ranger Team Kansas was providing radio relay and reconnaissance for LRRP (Long-range reconnaissance patrol) teams attached to the 101st Airborne inserted in the A Shau Valley, one of the key entry points into South Vietnam for men and materiel brought along the Ho Chi Minh Trail by the Communist North Vietnamese Army. The team consisted of six members: SGT Raymond D. Ellis, SSGT Robert L. O’Conner, SGT Gary P. Baker, SGT David Munoz, CPL George E. Fogleman, and PFC Bryan T. Knight. Less than a kilometer away in thick bamboo stands was a LRRP team monitoring an enemy high speed trail a few feet away from their concealed position. While on watch, one of the LRRP team members heard the faint sound of automatic weapons fire coming from the direction of the Kansas team. Listing intently, a few minutes later he then heard what sounded like six single pistol shots spaced about ten seconds apart. Concerned, the LRRP member tried to raise the Kansas team’s radio operator, but got no answer. After several unsuccessful attempts to call the team, the LRRP member called the TOC (tactical operations center) which deployed an OH-6A “Loach” to establish contact with the missing radio relay team. The Loach pilot reported that he’d spotted what appeared to be six bodies sprawled across a trail. A Ranger team was dispatched to the radio relay team’s position. The six Kansas team members lay dead, each with a gunshot wound to the head and each man’s skull crushed with a rifle butt. No one was sure what occurred, but what was surmised is that a small number of NVA had simply walked right up and killed them instantly. The enemy had probably been watching the team for days, waiting for the right time to make their move. Three piles of empty brass cartridges surrounded the bodies, indicating only three NVA soldiers had carried out the shooting. All the American’s weapons were gone. Their web gear and ruck sacks and radio were still there, and their pockets were inside out. A group of 20 men from B Troop, 17th Cavalry was inserted to help with the recovery of their slain comrades. The incident spooked a lot of the Rangers and had a devastating effect on the company. A week later, a Ranger team was inserted in the same AO (area of operations). While surveying the abandoned former Firebase Whip, the team ambushed and killed two NVA soldiers. After searching the dead soldier’s bodies, they found evidence that the two had been responsible for the tragedy which befell the radio relay team Kansas. Vengeance was wrought on the enemy, a fortuitous retaliation and psychological victory for the Rangers.
Death in the A Shau Valley, Larry Chambers]
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Advertisement
