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Francis Michael Boyle
Second Lieutenant
A BTRY, 2ND BN, 13TH ARTILLERY, 23RD ARTY GROUP, II FIELD FORCE, USARV Army of the United States Yonkers, New York October 21, 1941 to March 22, 1966 FRANCIS M BOYLE is on the Wall at Panel 6E, Line 38 |
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2LT Francis M. Boyle was discovered as a part of my research on 2nd Battalion 13th Artillery. I never met him, but was informed he was a good guy with a college education who was liked by the enlisted men. LT Boyle came over with the Battalion on 20 October 1965 and was a casualty on 22 March 1966. LT Boyle was one of the first of many deaths the battalion experienced from 1965-1970. I learned of his situation from communicating with an early veteran from A Battery. No additional information has been mentioned. Rest in Peace, LT Boyle. You are remembered by the Red Dragon Clan.
From a unit veteran, |
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I was in the Battery when we all went to Vietnam. I transferred from the 13th FA to Headquarters prior to Lt. Boyle's passing. I knew Lt. Boyle and Sgt. McWhorter. These were good honest men who paid the ultimate price (their lifes). These men emulated leadership and pride in themselves and their men. I am blessed to remember them. Faces blur over time but the names are not forgotten. Who ever made this web page is to be praised for remembering Lt. Boyle.
From a friend, |
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I shall always remember Lt. Boyle. He was a nice guy and had some plans for when he got back to the World. As I recall, he had worked in or wanted to work in the banking business in New York. Lt. Francis Boyle was a rather quiet person from my point of view. He seemed to know what he was doing though and was an impressive officer. If you were working with Lt. Boyle you would want to do well whatever you were doing. My sense was that he had high expectations and took his job - all of our jobs - seriously. I can't remember everything from back then. I think that I was on an ambush patrol with him once just outside of our base camp at Phu Loi. There was no contact and our biggest fear was that of coming back in to the base camp. We were worried that we might wake up someone and get shot at. I do remember the night before Lt. Boyle got killed. If memory serves me right, he was a bit late in rotating back to the US by a couple or three days. His paperwork got messed up and he was just waiting to go home. I think he went on that ride into the laterite pits the next day just out of sheer boredom. Nothing ever happened there and it was something to do. But the night before, we were standing next to a pile of sandbags. Lt. Boyle was talking about what he wanted to do when he got back to the US for a while, and then we went on and on and were discussing, of all things, metaphysical poetry. That's right - poetry. Francis Boyle was a well-read man and he, just like me, had developed an affection for the poetry of Crashaw and Dryden and Shakespeare and Milton and others of that sort. We stood there sipping canteen cups of water and talked about poetry and tried to remember favorite lines of favorite poems and sonnets. As we were talking, I remember looking up at the night sky and it was full of stars and just beautiful and peaceful. That's how I remember Francis Boyle. Full of hope and happy anticipation of his future, and with a mind whirling with wonderful thoughts. I was shocked by his loss and still miss him today. All I can remember about Sgt Jerry McWhorter is that he was a nice guy. He was not grim, did not have an attitude, but, instead, was a good guy who did a good job and was respected by most everyone. You did not mind seeing him coming around. His death and that of Lt. Boyle upset everyone. These were two good men who were lost and I think we were all hurt by that. Two good men who never got old and missed so much of life. We owe them much. They were our friends.
Frank W. Tencza |
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I knew Lt. "Mick" Boyle. We both came from New York City and would talk about people and places we both knew. I went over with the unit and Mick joined us later from OCS. He was well liked and respected by all, both the enlisted, NCOs and officers. His death, along with Sgt McWhorter's, was a shock and the memorial service was extremely emotional. He was a good man and is still missed by those who knew him.
From a member of the Red Dragon Clan, |
A Note from The Virtual WallA Battery, 2/13th Artillery, lost two men on 22 March 1966:
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