On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on July 13:
1396 Philip the Good Duke of Burgundy
1527 John Dee London, alchemist/astrologer/mathematician
1608 Ferdinand III, King of Hungary/Bohemia/German Emperor (1637-57)
1793 John Clare Northamptonshire peasant poet (Shepard's Calendar)
1815 James Alexander Seddon, Secy War (Confederacy), died in 1880
1821 Nathan Bedford Forrest Tennessee, brilliant cavalry leader, Lt Gen
1863 Emma Mary Wooley educator (Mary Anna Wells)
1901 Mickey "Toy Bulldog" Walker welterweight boxing champ (1922-26)
1913 Dave Garroway Schnectady NY, TV host (Today Show)
1928 Bob Crane Waterbury Ct, actor (Hogan's Heroes)
1934 Alexei S Yeliseyev cosmonaut (Soyuz 5, 8, 10)
1935 Jack Kemp (Rep-R-NY)/QB Buffalo Bills/US Secretary of Housing (1989- )
1940 Patrick Stewart actor (Capt Picard-Star Trek Next Generation)
1940 Paul Prudhomme cajun chef
1942 Harrison Ford actor (Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Blade Runner)
1942 Roger McGuinn rocker (Byrds-Turn Turn Turn, Mr Tambourine Man)
1946 Richard "Cheech" Marin comedian (Cheech & Chong-Up in Smoke)
1950 George D "Pinky" Nelson Iowa, PhD/astro (STS 41C, STS 61-C, STS-26)
1954 Louise Mandrell Corpus Christi Tx, country singer (Mandrell Sisters)
1975 Danielle Boatwright, Kansas, Miss USA (Kansas-2nd-1996)
GALLANT, HENRY JOSEPH Name: Henry Joseph Gallant Rank/Branch: E8/US Army 5th Special Forces Unit: Detachment B-52 Delta Date of Birth: 30 September 1929 Home City of Record: Tampa FL Date of Loss: 13 July 1965 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 140342N 1083335E (BR365558) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 3 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Refno: 0109 Other Personnel In Incident: Fred Taylor (missing) Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 1998. REMARKS: WOUND GUT - AIRGND SERCH NEG - J SYNOPSIS: On July 13, 1965, SFC Fred Taylor and MSGT Henry J. Gallant were U.S. Army Special Forces (B-52 Delta) advisors to a South Vietnamese unit (ARVN) on a reconnaissance mission in Dien Bien Province, South Vietnam when they were engaged by a hostile force. During the battle, Gallant was wounded, although the seriousness of his wound was not known. The two were cut off from the bulk of their ARVN unit and were last seen as they were moving southwest into the surrounding jungle in an attempt to evade the enemy. All searches conducted were negative. While the A Detachments of the Special Forces concentrated on manning static defenses and training natives in local defense, the B Detachments were committed to deep strikes into uncontrolled territory to seek out Viet Cong formations and supply sources. The genesis of this program (May, 1964) was called Leaping Lena, and provided the groundwork for the formation of a combined American/South Vietnamese special reconnaissance unit capable of conducting these hazardous missions. Organized as Project DELTA in October 1964, Detachment B-52 was created to provide a control headquarters in June 1965. Sgts. Gallant and Taylor were not ordinary foot soldiers. They were highly trained in survival and evasion techniques. The chances of their survival, barring outright assassination, are high. The fact that Gallant was wounded and that all searches proved negative do not suggest survival, but do not contraindict it. As the years have passed, over 10,000 reports have been received relating to Americans missing, prisoner, or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. These reports have convinced many that hundreds are still alive in the hands of a long-ago enemy. Gallant and Taylor could be among them. What are we doing to bring these men home?
Not enough, IMHO. |
1898 Guglielmo Marconi patents the radio