|
Posted on 08/13/2026 6:00:08 PM PDT by beachn4fun
|
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Gotta post and run.
Leaving early in the morning to begin our vacation.
While I’m gone, keep the Canteen rocking. And clean!
Ma is watching...
Have fun and a wonderful weekend.
FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT
Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.
CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREADS
CLICK FOR Current local times around the world
CLICK FOR local times in Seoul, Baghdad, Kabul,
New York, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Anchorage
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and every one of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.
The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running
daily thread specifically designed to provide
entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.
We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.
My neighbor, Major Jack Wright. Everyone should know this story. 30 guys against 2,000 North Vietnamese Army, >50% casualties … and WON. Silver Star Recipient.🏅
News feature on Jack:
As Jack tells me, he went at those 2,000 guys with 30 guys for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS.
Calling in artillery at 50 yards …
Jack died. Massive heart attack in the street. Passers by called 911 and applied CPR for maybe 12 minutes. Paramedics brought him back to life.
Jack remembers nothing.
I see Jack once or twice a day walking his dogs in front of my house.
Jack is MY hero.
Bad guys had over 300 KIA.
Go Jack!
Thanks Beachie, Happy Vacationing!
Greetings to all at the Canteen!
To all our military men and women, past and present,
THANK YOU
for your service!
Howdy, beachy! *HUGZ*
Safe travels and have fun while on vacation!
Per ChatGPT:
The Marine was Edward F. “Jack” Wright Jr., who was a second lieutenant in Vietnam and later retired as a major. On August 21, 1967, Wright led about 30 Marines of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, into an extraordinarily dangerous fight after a North Vietnamese force ambushed a resupply convoy near Cà Lu in Quảng Trị Province. He was eventually awarded the Silver Star for the action.
H
Hall of Valor
+1
And there is an especially nice confirmation of your KGW memory: Wright actually received that long-delayed Silver Star at a ceremony in Portland on February 1, 2019. The Marine Corps produced a video about it.
D
DVIDS
+1
What happened that day
The action began shortly before noon.
A three-vehicle resupply convoy headed for Cà Lu was ambushed at about 11:30 a.m. One vehicle managed to get through; the other two were destroyed. The personnel with the convoy were pinned down and called for help. The ambushing force was using intense small-arms and rocket fire.
T
The Virtual Wall
The Marines immediately began assembling a relief force.
Capt. John Ripley, commander of Lima Company—the same John Ripley who would later become famous for destroying the bridge at Đông Hà in 1972—was leading part of the initial relief effort. His force itself became pinned down.
W
Wikipedia
That is where Lt. Wright entered the story.
He took roughly 30 men and moved rapidly toward the fighting. The distance was about two miles, and they made a combat march toward the ambush. Wright knew that they were moving toward a much larger enemy force, but the men trapped at the convoy had to be reached.
H
Hall of Valor
+1
They walked straight into the ambush
Wright’s platoon hadn’t gone far when he recognized that they were approaching the enemy’s main position.
Instead of simply continuing down the road and allowing his entire platoon to be caught in the open, he deployed his men into concealed positions.
That decision proved critical.
Almost immediately, the NVA opened up with automatic weapons, rockets and grenades. Wright’s little force was under extremely heavy fire.
And Wright did something that is central to the Silver Star citation: he attacked rather than remaining pinned down.
He personally drove the assault forward, clearing enemy positions as his Marines advanced. As the fighting became close-quarters combat, he rallied the men and ordered them to fix bayonets. Then they continued the assault.
H
Hall of Valor
+1
The odds were staggering
Your recollection of “perhaps 2,000 NVA” is important, but there’s a distinction between what was estimated and what was officially documented.
Wright’s force wasn’t literally fighting 2,000 enemy soldiers simultaneously in a single close-combat formation. The Marine command chronology records that the enemy force involved in the broader engagement was enormous and ultimately recorded 109 confirmed enemy dead and 305 probable, while Wright’s own recollection, years later, referred to the possibility of “a couple of thousand NVA.”
T
The Virtual Wall
+1
So 2,000 is a reasonable description of the estimated enemy force Wright and the other Marines believed they were confronting, rather than a verified count of 2,000 men killed or directly engaged by his 30-man platoon.
And the official battle record is remarkable in its own right.
The battle became much larger than Wright’s platoon
As the fight developed, other Marine elements were committed.
The battalion sent tanks and M42 “Duster” twin-40mm antiaircraft vehicles toward the fighting. Wright’s company encountered such heavy fire that both Dusters accompanying the initial relief force were hit. Other elements of Lima Company were also engaged. A platoon from K Company and tanks subsequently moved to support them, while M Company worked to recover the casualties and the stranded convoy.
T
The Virtual Wall
Meanwhile, artillery and air support were brought in.
The command chronology records that artillery fire continued throughout the engagement, with the report describing the coverage as excellent. Air strikes were also reported as very effective, and 81mm mortars were employed.
T
The Virtual Wall
This is one reason the action needs to be understood as a combined-arms battle, rather than simply 30 Marines defeating 2,000 NVA with rifles and bayonets.
Wright’s extraordinary contribution was that his small force broke through the enemy’s tactical position and reached the men who were trapped, while coordinating the supporting fires that made that advance possible.
And they actually rescued the people they’d gone in for
This is the part that makes the Silver Star citation so powerful.
Wright’s force steadily advanced through the enemy positions and reached the besieged soldiers and Marines at the convoy.
The official citation specifically credits Wright’s tactical skills and his placement of supporting fire with enabling his men to advance and rescue the trapped personnel.
H
Hall of Valor
The enemy eventually broke contact at about 7 p.m.
The Marines recovered the two destroyed convoy vehicles. Three wounded NVA were captured; only one survived. The battalion’s official accounting was 109 enemy confirmed killed and 305 probable killed.
T
The Virtual Wall
American casualties were comparatively light given the scale of the fight, although they were certainly not insignificant: two Marines and four soldiers from the Duster artillery unit were killed, with additional wounded.
T
The Virtual Wall
Wright’s Silver Star citation
The citation is unusually revealing because it doesn’t merely say that Wright was brave. It describes specific leadership decisions under fire:
He organized the 30-man reaction force.
He led them on the two-mile combat march.
He recognized that enemy contact was imminent and deployed his men tactically.
When the NVA opened fire with automatic weapons, rockets and grenades, he assaulted rather than becoming pinned down.
He personally led the clearing of enemy positions.
When the fighting became close combat, he rallied the Marines and ordered bayonets fixed.
He coordinated supporting fires.
His force continued advancing until it reached and rescued the men trapped at the convoy.
H
Hall of Valor
And there’s an interesting wrinkle concerning the “Jack” name: the official military records identify him as Edward F. Wright Jr., while the Portland/Marine Corps material identifies him as Maj. Edward F. Wright. So if you remember him as Jack Wright from the KGW report, you’ve got the right person, but the formal records use Edward.
D
DVIDS
+1
Why you remembered the story as “Jack and his 30 men”
I think your memory was actually unusually good.
The core elements you recalled all line up:
Jack Wright → Marine lieutenant → about 30 men → NVA ambush of a supply convoy → huge NVA force → Wright goes to their rescue → fierce close combat → bayonets → Americans prevail → Silver Star.
And there’s one more remarkable fact: he didn’t receive the Silver Star at the time. It was awarded 51 years later, in Portland, in February 2019. The Marine Corps video of the ceremony says explicitly that Wright was a second lieutenant with Lima Company, 3/3 Marines during the 1967 battle.
D
DVIDS
+1
So this is almost certainly the Jack Wright you saw on KGW.
Marine Corps video of Maj. Edward Wright receiving the Silver Star
If you want, I can go one level deeper and reconstruct the entire August 21 battle chronologically—from the convoy’s first contact at 11:30 a.m. through the final withdrawal at 7 p.m.—including Wright, Capt. Ripley, the tanks/Dusters, the artillery and air strikes, and exactly where the 30-man platoon fits into the larger fight.
Hi Everybody!
(((HUGS)))
Jack should have received the Medal Of Honor!
Howdy, luvie.
Are you caught back up on your sleep? :-)
    ~
    |
Hey there, radu!
Pretty much caught up. I did some cleaning today and wasn’t completely knackered when finished. Sweaty but not worn out. It was 101 today.
How’re things there? Did it rain or were you able to mow a bit more today? How is your foot reacting to it?
Have fun!
Howdy, Janey! You must be pretty busy. Haven’t seen you for a while. Any interesting destinations? Are you doing some jump-piloting lately?
Hai! Yeah, planning several trips that keep me busy on the computer - then too, having the jump shop keeping up with regs ... phew!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
