Today my walk was dedicated in honor of:
Army CPL William Orel Vaughn, Age 20 of Jamestown, TN.
KIA Dec 30 1969 Vietnam
He is remembered at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on panel 15W, Line 112.
He is buried at the Franklin Cemetery, Fentress County, TN.
He was serving with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade.
On December 26, 1969, B Company was lifted by helicopter from their battalion headquarters at Blackhorse Base Camp to the northwest to conduct search and destroy operations. The door gunners killed three enemy combatants upon arrival to the landing zone. The company moved a few hundred yards west, made no contact with the enemy, and dug in for the night. The following day, they mostly patrolled from their night defensive position, noting an active enemy presence but making no contact. On the third day, they moved south, crossing a deep stream. Two hundred yards later, the point element was fired on by enemy concealed in a bunker to their front. The company pulled back to let artillery and strikes destroy the enemy. They returned the following day to inspect the damage and retrieve any material left behind by the enemy. After hunkering down overnight, they received an ammo resupply and scout dog on the morning of December 30th. After moving out only 200 yards, the dog alerted in front of another enemy bunker. Allowing the Americans to approach within 15 feet, the point element was raked by rifle and machine gun. Vaughn went down, and a medic was wounded in the leg attempting to pull him back. With artillery and air support unavailable, the company withdrew. The senior company medic, assisted by the wounded aidman, worked furiously to save Vaughn who had been hit in the center of the chest. The company commander crawled forward to help and sat Vaughn up to keep him breathing. He died a minute later in the commander’s arms. With much effort, Vaughn’s body was carried to the stream they had crossed days earlier. One soldier volunteered to take him across, but collapsed midway, losing Vaughn’s body beneath the swift water. Another trooper dove in, and in a herculean display, recovered the body and carried it 500 yards to the landing zone. A medivac aircraft soon arrived, and several soldiers placed the poncho-draped body of Vaughn on the helicopter with the wounded medic. Vaughn was posthumously promoted to Corporal.
We had a great 5.67 Mile walk today. I want to thank my friend Robert for walking with us today. We walked to the War Memorial Park down town and read some of the names on the memorial. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had 89 honks. Thank You..
Army CPL William Orel Vaughn will not be forgotten !
