CPT CHARLES A SPRINGER CPT CHARLES A SPRINGER

 

09 Dec 2006 Dad, I was only seven when you were killed and I have missed you each and every day of my life. It has been 39 years now, and I am finding you through the men that served alongside you. I have found that you touched their lives in so many ways and they have carried your memory close to their hearts all this time. I am so very proud of you, Dad. You were my hero at seven and remain so still. I thank you and your men for giving me and all Americans the freedoms we have. I look forward to the day we can be together again. I love you! From a proud son, Charles Phillip Springer lpspringer@yahoo.com The photo at the top of the page is of my Dad and me about two weeks before he left for Vietnam. The one immediately above was taken in Vietnam.

 

25 Dec 2006 Bravo 6 I would like to thank you for the impact and influence you have had on my life. We only knew each other for a brief period of time but you taught me so much. Thanks to you I was able to survive my tour in Viet Nam and return to my family and friends. It has not always been easy but when I think about you and the others that didn't make it I get back to reality real fast. I have a new friend, your son Phil. He is just a few years younger than my own brother. You would be very proud of him and his family. He has been searching for people that served with you in Viet Nam for a long time and is finally starting to have some success. We had a bit of a reunion at the Wall in November and I hope it turns into an annual event. Rest well my friend, thanks to you we stay safe. Andy Barber E-mail address is not available.

 

14 Jan 2007 To my good buddy Chuck, I sure miss you, Bud. Many of us who served with you and made it home think of you often, as well as all of the other Wolfhounds that are with you on the Wall. A bunch of us have taken your son Phil under our wing, and have tried to tell him more about you, and what you were like. We knew you would have done the same for us if circumstances had been reversed. You would be VERY proud of him, and his lovely family. As you know, we took him to the Wall last Veterans Day to meet other Hounds, and to allow us all to be together on that special day. It was a success beyond our wildest dream, and your boy was at his best. All who met him and knew you said - "Boy, there's no doubt in your mind who that boy's father is!!!!" Our relationship with Phil has not only been good for him, but for some of us too. SOOOO, you're still with us even now, in spirit, and by the son you left behind. I told him not long ago the good Lord blessed me with two beautiful daughters, but if I could have chosen a son I would want him to be just like him. Rest in peace my friend. I look forward to seeing you after my last ambush patrol. From a fellow Wolfhound, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Ehart U.S. Army, Ret. Alpha 3-6, Hotel 6 Edinburg, Va. E-mail address is not available.

 

20 Feb 2007 Bravo 6, It's been almost 40 years since we parted company. I learned of your passing from the hospital bed in Cu Chi. I lost several good friends that day, but you became my best friend and mentor in those months before 12 Nov 67. You taught me several great lessons about patriotism, loyalty, single malt Scotch, angry water buffs, a good education, and leadership. We relied upon each other, you as my boss, and me as your Doc. I miss you. I've had the privilege of knowing your son, Phil, for almost a year now. What a good man he is. He has brought me together with several others who knew you back then. I'm sure your hand is guiding his way. Your name on the Wall has been touched many times by me over the years, but never so proudly as when I shared the touch with Phil this last November. See you someday. Doc Ronald C. Detmer 477 Wood Ridge Drive, Blue Eye, Mo 65611 rcdetmer@tri-lakes.net

 

20 Feb 2007 I too am a Wolfhound. Though I never got to meet you. I got to meet your son, Phillip. We made contact as he searched for those who may have known you. Not only did it work but many of those he found I knew from previous Wolfhound and other gatherings. I even have been in touch with the sister of another Wolfhound from your company that fell that day, Sgt. Jacob Ortiz. You would be proud to have seen him at the Wall amongst the Wolfhounds. He is truly a tribute to you and I got to know a great deal of the kind person you were through him. Once a Wolfhound, Always a Wolfhound, FOREVER! Take care Easy!!!!! Co A 1/27 1967 From a fellow Wolfhound, William R. I. "Easy" Smith Sacramento, California 95833 wsmith@winfirst.com

 

22 Jul 2007 Bravo 6 Captain, you arrived in Bravo Company months after I did but to say you were a Godsend to us all is an understatement. In the short time I knew you, I was proud to be under your command. Your leadership and compassion for your men is what I remember most about you. Never asking any of us to do anything you would not do yourself. Always keeping us as safe as possible, and always well supplied as we trudged our way through paddies, pineapple fields, sugar cane fields, jungles, swamps, plantations, and villages. Sharing sorrow and laughs along every klick. I remember the day you were killed. There were several others that went with you that day. All were good men, all were good friends and every one of you made the ultimate sacrifice. For those of us that made it back, we carry you and our brother Wolfhounds in our hearts. Thank you for the leadership and friendship that held us all together and allowed many of us to return home safely. I have met your son Phillip and I see so much of you in him. He was a little boy when you died but now he is a grown man that any father would be proud to call his son. He is a leader like you, honest, compassionate, yet strong and steadfast in his beliefs. In the short period of time you had with him, you were able to mold him into who he is today. In a way, he has taken what is left of Bravo Company and assumed the leadership position as you once did, reuniting us after forty years. Thank you, Captain, for everything you have given to me. Craig Gianelloni primespy@aol.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Bravo 2/27 Infantry lost four men on 12 November 1967: CPT Charles A. Springer, Memphis, TN (Dist Svc Cross); SSG Jacob Ortiz, Denver, CO; SP4 Gregg M. Goslin, Spooner, WI; and SP4 Elzie Sanders, Smiths Grove, KY. The Citation to Captain Springer's Distinguished Service Cross gives an idea of the circumstances: The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS posthumously to CHARLES A. SPRINGER Captain United States Army for service as set forth in the following CITATION: The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to Charles A. Springer, Captain (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Company B, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, 2d Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. Captain Springer distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 12 November 1967 while serving as commander of an infantry company conducting a search and destroy operation deep in enemy controlled territory. As the company moved through a clearing late in the afternoon, it suddenly received savage automatic weapons fire from a Viet Cong force occupying well fortified positions in a nearby tree line. Fire from a well-emplaced machine gun pinned the unit down. With complete disregard for his own safety, Captain Springer charged across the bullet-swept terrain toward the enemy bunker complex. Throwing grenades into the Viet Cong machine gun position, he single-handedly destroyed it, killing two insurgents and capturing the machine gun and a rifle. Throughout the ensuing battle, he courageously directed his company's retaliatory fire, while continually exposed to a hail of hostile bullets. When the enemy had been routed, Captain Springer reorganized his men and directed them toward another objective. The company had moved only two hundred meters when intense automatic weapons and machine gun fire erupted from both flanks, again pinning the unit down. With bullets striking all around him, Captain Springer rushed to his forward element, regrouped the men, and directed their defensive fires. He was mortally wounded during this savage fight to repel the enemy. His unhesitating actions and personal bravery, in close combat, inspired his troops to succeed in overcoming and destroying the numerically superior insurgent force. Captain Springer's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

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