Person(s) of Interest | Vietnam Vets Remember the Battle They Survived

— by Lin McNulty —

The last time they were all together was 1968. February 14, 1968. Valentine’s Day. And this week six members of 9th Infantry Division, 3-47th Battalion, Bravo Company reunited at the home of Bill Wulff on Orcas to remember, in their own way, a life-altering battle in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta that forever bonded them.

Their commanding officer, Captain (at the time) Craig H. Boice credits his team from the 9th Infantry Division, 3-47th Battalion, B Company as being the “living legacy and the demonstrated example of what America and Democracy stand for” following the harrowing battle. In return, the Bravo Company team–Richard Blair of Naples, Florida, John Bowen of Ferndale, Washington, Frank Cason from Ocala, Florida, Harry Ford of Tucson, Arizona, and Orcas Island’s Bill Wulff–credits their commanding officer. Truth be told, they all worked, and sweated, in the hot, humid weather together, pooling skills, resources, training, and outright sheer courage they might not have realized, at the time, that they even possessed. As Cason pointed out, however, “no amount of training can prepare you for being shot at.”

While on patrol in the Mekong Delta on that Valentine’s Day, they came across a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) unit that was headed toward the city of Cần Thơ. As the 150-man unit from Bravo Co. approached the NVA from the rear, they became surrounded by 3,000 NVA regulars. Under attack, greatly out-numbered, surrounded, cut-off, and essentially written off as a loss, the soldiers, under command of Capt. Boice, slowly gained the upper hand, causing the NVA to withdraw before they could attack Cần Thơ. “We thought we were goners,” they say as they recall that fateful day.

Although Blair, Boice, Bowen, Wallace & Wulff had received Purple Hearts during their Vietnam combat tour, none were wounded on February 14, 1968.

Wulff met up some years later with Boice at Mike’s American Grill in Virginia where they grabbed a table, laid out big sheets of paper, gave the restaurant staff $100 to let them hang out, and re-strategized their original battle plan. Just like they had won in the field, they again won the battle in the restaurant.

Major General Craig H. Boice, USA

One of the most decorated generals in U.S. Army history, Boice remained in the military retiring as a two-star Major General. As a result of his heroic action on that 1968 Valentine’s Day, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (citation) for extraordinary heroism.

Wulff recently made a visit back to Cần Thơ, Vietnam, and with the assistance of a cell-phone GPS was able to pinpoint the actual location, and was shocked to see that the area is a suburb of Cần Thơ; their former battleground is now right in the middle of someone’s backyard. The city, now the fourth largest in Vietnam, was no doubt saved from destruction by the actions of Bravo Company.

Orcas Islander Ron Wallace popped in on the group during their reunion on Wednesday. Although he was no longer with the unit on that day in 1968, he had previously been assigned to that same 9^th Infantry Division Company.

A few in this group saw this week for the first time, a copy of a letter dated 19 April 1968. It’s a heartfelt letter from their Commanding Officer Boice expressing his pride for Bravo Company. It reads, in part, “If I had to isolate one thing that has made an impression on me during my tenure as your Company Commander it would be you, the soldiers of Bravo Company; you who have been wrenched from civilian life, trained as soldiers and thrust into combat….You have smelled the stench of death and felt the anxieties of armed conflict and you have endured this test in a remarkable fashion.” 

They laughingly toss barbs back and forth as if no time has passed. They share, at a cellular level, this specific, profound experience to which no one else on the planet can relate. The bond is unmistakably palpable.

[Editor’s Note: Every time I typed “Bravo Company” for this story, my heart caused my fingers to type “Brave Company.”]

This article has been updated to reflect that although they each received a Purple Heart during their Vietnam tours, none of them was wounded on February 14, 1968. Cần Thơ is, and has always been, a city rather than a village.