45 years ago today, friend, neighbor & classmate Keith Parr was killed in BINH THUY, RVN. Keith was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on 26th October 1969 . SGT Parr was an excellent RGR. He completed the MACV Recondo Course and was promoted to SGT E-5 and became a Team Leader. (TL) Shortly after the insertion, the team reached an enemy base camp surrounded by mechanical alarm devices. The alerted North Vietnamese charged the rangers, forcing them into an open field, and brought up a machine gun that kept the Americans pinned down. SGT Parr realized that his team members could not break contact until the crew - served weapon was silenced. He advanced through a hail of enemy fire and killed the crew with rifle fire, but was mortally wounded in the process. Despite great pain from multiple wounds that ultimately proved fatal, Parr radioed air strikes until the team was extracted. The gallant action by the dying patrol leader was later recognized by a posthumous Silver Star--although a much higher decoration might have been bestowed in a regular line unit. Valiant acts, however, were so commonplace in ranger ranks that they were routinely above and beyond the call of duty.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 09:18:05 +0000
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