Today our walk was dedicated in honor of:
Navy Seal SN Frank George Antone, Age 21 of Carmel, CA.
KIA Dec 23, 1967 Vietnam
SN Frank G. Antone was a Navy SEAL serving with Task Force 116, Detachment Golf, SEAL Team 1, U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam.
On December 23, 1967, SN Antone was killed while on patrol in Gia Dinh Province, RVN. The following is an account of his loss taken from Hombres of the Delta on facebook.com: On December 23, 1967, Bravo Platoon ran into part of a Viet Cong main force regiment gathering for the January (1968) Tet Offensive, only a few miles south east of Saigon. LT Bruce Van Heertum had planned carefully for the mission, but the omens were bad for the 13-man unit. The Army UH-1 slicks that were to carry the SEALs did not show up until approximately 1415 hours.
As a result, the platoon inserted during the hottest part of the day. Once on the ground, point man Leonard Scott led the SEALs towards the ambush site in the notorious T-10 area, but in the intense heat and thick vegetation, fatigue quickly set in. Scott, close to succumbing to heat exhaustion, suggested that a relief man take over the position. Seaman Frank G. Antone took point. Almost immediately after resuming the patrol, a sheet of flame erupted at the front of the platoon. Antone and a Vietnamese SEAL were thrown backward, the point man had been killed instantly, hit in the neck. The ambush had been triggered when Antone was actually in the act of stepping on a VC guerrilla, who was forced to fire directly up from a camouflaged trench. The platoon returned fire and air support suppressed the VC fire for just long enough to extract the bodies of the KIA’s by McGuire rig, with the rest of the platoon finding a nearby LZ and extracting in the nick of time.
He is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Panel 32E, Line 49
He is buried in the EL Carmelo Cemetery, Pacific Grove, CA.
We had a great 6.46 Mile walk today. We walked over by CCHS and then took some side roads and stopped over at the Boats & Harbors to see the big Anchor. We then worked our way to the War Memorial Park down town and then back. The weather was perfect. I want to thank all who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had 156 honks today. It was amazing.
Navy Seal SN Frank George Antone will not be forgotten !
