Rock County, WisconsinBiographies"William Paul Martin" |
|
WILLIAM PAUL MARTIN After entering the service, William (Billy) Martin went through Medical training at Fort Bragg, NC and advanced training at Fort Sam Houston, TX, with the Army. He was sent to Vietnam as a Medic and arrived there on July 27, 1966. In late 1965, the U.S. Military began making secret crossings into Laos and Cambodia in order to gather reconnaissance and disrupt the flow of North Vietnamese troops that were following the "Ho Chi Minh" trail with supplies and weapons. A main camp was set up at Kontum, South Vietnam, for Special Forces Troops. Billy was quickly assigned to Camp A-241 as a replacement Medic for a soldier that had been killed earlier at another camp. Special Forces used different teams for various purposes in 1966-67. Recon Teams (RT's) consisted of 3 U.S. soldiers and 9 indigenous (local) members to go gather information. If they made contact or ran into trouble, they would be reinforced by Hatchet Forces--5 U.S. and 30 indigenous. Once targets were identified, a combination of air and artillery weapons would be called on, along with a SLAM (Search, Location, and Annihilation Mission) that would be of a Company sized strength. Hatchet and SLAM missions invariably would have a Medic along in the field. Billy was known to his fellow troops as a gangly, blonde-headed soldier that did not talk much but took every mission seriously. With 8 months experience behind him, he was well respected and had saved many lives. A-241 was a new team that had been set up to establish a western influence within the Central Highlands and was composed of experienced Special Forces men out of Kontum. On Easter Sunday, April 2, 1967, the camp came under a mortar attack from the enemy around 8 p.m. As he was running to his position, a mortar exploded next to him and he was killed instantly. He was the first person killed for this camp, and his loss still affects men today that served with him. William Paul Martin's name is on the Vietnam Wall at Panel 17E, line 93. Sources: SF documents, eyewitnesses.  |
|
