MSG Gabriel Ralph Alamo, Lyndhurst, NJ on www.VirtualWall.org The Virtual Wall® Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

A Note from The Virtual Wall

Gabriel R. Alamo entered the military before World War II and served with the 82nd Airborne Division during the war. After the war's end he completed a variety of military courses, finishing the Chemical Corps School in 1950, following which he served in the Korean War. He did overseas tours in occupied Germany and Japan, and eventually volunteered for and qualified in the Special Forces. In 1964, Master Sergeant Alamo volunteered for duty in Vietnam, arriving in late spring. He was assigned to Detachment A-726, based in Nam Dong, South Vietnam.

The hamlet of Nam Dong lies in a valley just east of the Laotian border and 32 miles west of the coastal city of Da Nang. Nam Dong was important for only one reason: it sat astride an infiltration route which connected to the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos. A CIDG camp was established in Nam Dong, stiffened by the presence of a twelve-man Special Forces Detachment led by Captain Roger Donlon. Warrant Officer Kevin G. Conway, Royal Australian Army, was attached to the team, and Master Sergeant Gabriel Alamo was the senior enlisted team member.

At about 2:30 AM on the morning of 6 July 1964 the camp was taken under attack by two reinforced battalions, an attack which lasted until well after daybreak. Although the camp's perimeter was breached in several places, the South Vietnamese irregulars and the Special Forces troops held out - but at a very high cost. Most of the local force was killed in action, and so too were WO2 Conway, MSGT Alamo, and Sergeant John Houston.

All of the Special Forces personnel were decorated for heroism under fire - the Medal of Honor for Captain Donlon; posthumous Distinguished Service Crosses for MSGT Alamo and SGT Houston; four Silver Stars (including WO2 Conway); and five Bronze Stars.

The President of The United States of America,
authorized by Act of Congress, July 25, 1963,
has awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross

posthumously to

MASTER SERGEANT GABRIEL R. ALAMO
UNITED STATES ARMY

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

Master Sergeant Gabriel R. Alamo distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving an opposing armed force in the Republic of Viet Nam on 6 July 1964. As a team Sergeant, serving with the United States Army Special Forces Detachment A-726 at Camp Nam Dong, Sergeant Alamo displayed bravery, fortitude, and perseverance when a reinforced Viet Cong battalion suddenly launched a full scale, pre-dawn attack on the Camp. During the violent battle that ensued, lasting five hours and resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, he participated with outstanding effectivness in defending the installation. Upon the initial onslaught, he prompty directed a radio operator to transmit a message requesting support, and then rushed into a blazing building to assist in the removal of weapons and ammunition. Ignoring the burns he received while in the burning structure, he then ran through a hail of enemy gunfire to a 60mm mortar position and set the weapon for firing. As he noticed the enemy attempting to breach the main gate, he again dashed through a heavy volume of automatic weapons fire to abort the hostile action. Although he sustained a serious wound in this courageous action, he demonstrated superhuman effort, reached the gate, and prevented entry of enemy troops. Despite his wound, and intense grenade attack, he reached the 60mm mortar pit, refused evecuation for medical treatment, and directed the fire of the 60mm mortar while simultaneously manning a 57mm recoilless rifle. Undaunted by the vicious enemy assault, he remained at his battle position and defended the camp until mortally wounded by the enemy. Sergeant Alamo's valiant efforts and extraordinary heroic actions are in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.

WAR HERO'S DEATH ETCHED IN MEMORY

by John A. Harnes
Coastal Monmouth Bureau

HOLMDEL -- On the 37th anniversary of his death in battle, Master Sgt. Gabriel R. Alamo was honored yesterday by his old comrade in arms, retired Col. Roger H.C. Donlon, the first American to earn the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War.

Already a veteran of World War II and Korea, Alamo was a grizzled 45-year-old New Jerseyan affectionately known as "Pop" by his younger colleagues at Nam Dong in the early days of the war.

"He was our leader and inspiration," Donlon told those who gathered at a ceremony at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial off the Garden State Parkway. "He was certainly a warrior among warriors."

On July 6, 1964, Donlon was in command of Detachment A-726, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, when a reinforced Viet Cong battalion launched a full-scale, pre-dawn attack on the camp.

The ensuing battle lasted five hours and resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. Donlon, then a captain, directed the defense operations in the midst of an enemy barrage of mortar shells, falling grenades and extremely heavy gunfire.

Donlon said the shape of the memorial was similar to that of the mortar pit he and Alamo were literally blown into by an explosion.

"To my dying day I will carry the memory of having Pop die in my arms," Donlon said.

The defenders at Nam Dong, outnumbered at least 3 to 1, would become one of the most highly decorated units in Army history.

In addition to Donlon's Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Crosses -- the nation's second-most-sacred awards for military valor -- were presented posthumously to Alamo, who hailed from Lyndhurst, and Sgt. John Houston. Four team members were awarded the Silver Star, and another five each received the Bronze Star with "V" for valor.

Representing Maj. Gen. Paul J. Glazar, the state's adjutant general, during yesterday's ceremony was Col. Michael Warner, who presented Alamo's son, Michael Sr., with his father's New Jersey Distinguished Service Medal, the state's top military award. After receiving the award, he passed it to his own 16-year-old son, Michael Jr.

Michael Sr. was only 4 when his father died. He reminded onlookers that engraved on the war memorial's walls are the names of people like his father who "gave their lives for their country."

He came to the ceremony with his wife, Demy, and children, Michael Jr. and Alyssa, 10, from their home in Alabama.

Michael Sr. said Donlon, now living in Leavenworth, Kan., recruited him, and in 1983 and he earned a place in the ranks of the Special Forces and served in the Army for six years.

Donlon said Michael Alamo Sr., now a firefighter/paramedic, is "still battling fires, but this time they are at home."

Donlon quoted a message from Maj. Michael Davis O'Donnell, who on Jan. 1, 1970, in Dak To, Vietnam, crystallized the sentiments he and other veterans share concerning the loss of men such as Alamo:

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."

O'Donnell, a helicopter pilot, was killed in action March 24, 1970, during a rescue attempt.

The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial consists of one panel for each day of the year. The panel for 06 July carries six names:

MSG Gabriel R. Alamo, Lyndhurst 7th SF Grp, 1964 (DSC)
Cpl Michael Piascik, Elizabeth C/2/12th Marines, 1966
LCpl Robert J. Slattery, Whippany H&S/2/3rd Marines, 1967
CPT Michael R. Nawrosky, Dumont B/1/5th Cav, 1968 (Silver Star)
Cpl Dennis Bagley, Newark H/2/1st Marines, 1969
PFC David F. Ackerman, Summit D/2/60th Inf, 1969

When You Are A Soldier