15 Dec 2000 A FATHER'S TRIBUTE TO HIS FALLEN WARRIOR Military service as a family tradition has been handed down from regiments forever. There is no greater pride enjoyed by a father and mother, nor a higher calling to patriotism, than to have a son answer the summons to serve his countrymen in time of war. Conversely, no pain, no anguish and no suffering can be as great, as deep nor as long lasting, as to have that son lost in combat. Robert, born in Sidney, Ohio on August 6, 1948, entered active service on June 20, 1966. After completing Airborne and Special Forces Training, he was assigned to the Army's elite 5th Special Forces Group Airborne, 1st Special Forces, Republic of Vietnam. On September 8, 1968, Robert was killed in action while leading a reinforcing element of Strike Force soldiers on the beleaguered Ha Thanh Special Forces Camp, I Corps, Republic of Vietnam. Robert's father, Dale, composed a poem and mailed it to his grieving wife, Barbara, while he was serving his second tour in-country, in the Que Son Mountain region of Vietnam. Dale and Barbara now reside in San Antonio, Texas. He was tall, handsome, And very straight, He kidded the girls On every date. And then he was grown, Yet only a teen, He went to Vietnam To help fulfill a dream. He wore his beret And wings so proud, The patch on his shoulder He was even more proud. He fought in the valleys And mountains so high, And walked the trails Where many had died. And when Ha Thanh Was under siege, He led the fight For what he believed. And when he died That September day, God said, "Give me your hand, I will show you the way." Dale Prieser Colonel, United States Army (Ret) prieser@gateway.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The unofficial Special Forces site's memorial page says that two men from Det A-104 were killed in action on 30 Aug 1968 when a 75mm recoilless rifle round fired from Hill 223 hit the Teamhouse: MSG Tadeusz Sosniak and PFC Richard E Traster. The casualty files agree with that. However, a few lines later the memorial shows SP4 Prieser's name - and says that Preiser was wounded in the 30 August incident and died of his injuries ten days later: 19680908 E4 SP4 Robert S Prieser 05B2S KIA, DOW WIA 30 Aug 1968 SVN; A-104, Ha Thanh, Quang Ngai Prov 75mm RR from Hill 223 hit the Teamhouse The Army and DoD casualty files dispute that, stating SP Preiser was killed outright on 08 September ... and perhaps more importantly his father agrees with that statement.

Contact Us

© Copyright 1997-2019 www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd ®(TM)

Last update 08/15/2019.