SFC E4 Peter M. Lopez Jr.
18th MP BDE
Army

The Wall
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Tribute

This is my dad Peter M. Lopez and I am very proud to be his daughter. He gave the ultimate sacrifice, by giving his life for my and my children his grandkids freedom.

Sergeant Bernard James Creed
D Co/2nd Bn/7th Cav/1st Cav Div
Army

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Tribute

Sergeant Bernard James Creed was a distinguished member of the “Greatest Generation”. Barely out of high school, Bodie Creed enlisted in the Army, just in time to fight the Axis in Europe. After WWII our Nation called upon him again where he served as an Infantryman in the Korean Conflict. SGT Creed honorably left the service in 1952 only to return in 1961 because being Infantryman was all he knew.

In August of 1965, and having just turned 40, Sergeant Bernard “Bodie” Creed was off to war again, serving as a Weapons Platoon Sergeant with Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. After being in Vietnam for only 2 months SGT Creed was killed in action in an ambush at LZ Albany on 17 NOV 1965 and died with 24 other valiant troopers from Delta Company. Our family of 6 were notified of his death by a telegram delivered by a taxi cab driver on 19 NOV 1965.

It wasn’t until the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, that SGT Creed’s body was returned to us with his finally resting place at Arlington National Cemetery with all of America’s other heroes.

He will always be missed. Garry Owen!

Captian Carroll “Wayne” Spragins
272nd MP’s
Army

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Tribute

Daddy, not a day goes by that I don’t think of you.

I see your face in the face of my son, your grandson. He has your hands and crooked smile too. He’s just like you actually, in so very many ways. I’m so proud of your grandchildren and I know you are too. I feel you around us and feel your guidance in the good times and in the bad.

I miss you, love you and will see you again when God calls me home. Until then, I miss you.

SFC E7 Robert Hyatt Wescott Jr
Co “A” 1st Bn 8th Cav / HHC 2nd Bn 8th Inf 4th Inf Division
Army

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Tribute

Dear Daddy,

Words can not express how proud I am of you. Heaven needed a hero and you were called home. I miss you and love you and there isn’t a day gone by that I don’t think of you.

You were brave enough to stand up for what you believed in. I carry your name with pride and know you will not be forgotten. Your story will live on.

Captian Harry G. Cramer, Jr.
1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)
Army

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Tribute

Dad was a third-generation soldier, and set out to make the Army his career. He graduated from West Point in June, 1946. He married Anne Supple of Newburgh, NY. He served as a rifle company commander in the 25th Infantry Division (“Tropic Lightning”) in the Korean War.

He was wounded twice, and earned the Silver Star for valor. Returning to Fort Bragg after Korea, Dad volunteered for the newly-formed Special Forces (“Green Berets”). He deployed to Thailand in 1956 to train the Royal Thai Special Forces. His next mission was to Indochina. Dad departed Hickam Field in Hawaii on June 25, 1957 (my parents’ tenth anniversary) in command of the first US Special Forces “A Team” to deploy to South Vietnam. It was to be a six-month mission to train Vietnamese Special Forces soldiers in unconventional warfare. He expected to meet us at our new family quarters in Okinawa by Christmas.

(While he shipped out for Vietnam, my mom, sisters and I sailed from Hawaii to Okinawa aboard the transport USNS Sultan). On October 21, 1957 Dad was killed by an explosion during what was supposed to be a training patrol in the hills about 10 miles southwest of Nha Trang. We are still uncertain of the cause of the explosion. Some witnesses were certain it was a Viet Cong ambush, others were certain it was an accident caused by the deteriorated French munitions that Dad and his team were forced to use (over his objections). There is evidence to support both conclusions. Whatever the case, we lost our Dad.

He was 31 years old; a husband and father of three; and a brilliant, happy, funny, and loving man. He is buried at the US Military Academy Cemetery at West Point. Dad’s name was left off The Wall when it was first built, because the Department of Defense did not report the casualty to the VVMF. A year later, on Veterans’ Day of 1983, his name was added to the first panel.

On October 21, 2007 the DOD made amends by conducting a special ceremony at West Point, recognizing the 50th anniversary of his loss as the first American serviceman killed in Vietnam.

Dad is still a huge influence in the lives of his children and grandchildren. I know he watches over us, and not a single day passes that I don’t think of him. I am sure that is a bond I share with every other son and daughter in SDIT.

We love you and miss you, Dad.
(Submitted by LTC (Ret) Harry G. Cramer III, son).