| The Incident
On 28 January 1966, SFC Cecil
J. Hodgson, team leader; SSgt. Frank N. Badolati, SSgt. Ronald T.
Terry, MSgt. Wiley W. Gray, and two other Americans comprised a
6-man reconnaissance patrol operating in the heavily populated
and hotly contested An Lao Valley, Binh Dinh Province, South
Vietnam.
The An Lao Valley was long and
narrow with rice fields interspersed with patches of tall
elephant grass. Heavily forested mountains rose up on either side
of the valley. Further, the area in which the patrol was
operating was located approximately 1 mile west of the Song An
Lao River, 12 miles west of Tam Quan, 13 miles due west of the
coastline and 14 miles north-northwest of Hoai Nhon. It was also
34 miles south-southeast of Quang Ngai and 72 miles east of Dak
To.
At 1205 hours on 28 January,
the patrol came under Viet Cong ground fire. Almost immediately
SSgt. Badolati was struck in the upper left arm by a bullet that
severely mangled, and nearly severed, his arm. SFC Hodgson
immediately applied a tourniquet just before the patrol broke
contact. The Americans moved approximately 600 meters before
stopping to treat Frank Badolati's arm. As soon as the patrol
stopped, it was attacked again. The Americans immediately
returned fire and then separated into two groups of three to
attempt to evade the enemy.
Throughout the rest of the
afternoon and night, Frank Badolati and two unidentified soldiers
slowly, painstakingly moved through the rugged terrain as they
evaded the VC. Periodically they would stop to adjust SSgt.
Badolati's tourniquet. When they would loosen it, the mangled arm
began bleeding profusely again.
In the darkness, they came to a
streambed that flowed westward from the Song An Lao River. The
Americans entered the stream and used it to hide their trail.
Finally SSgt. Badolati stated to the others that he "could not go
any further" and for them to leave him behind. The other soldiers
selected a position two to three feet up the bank that was well
concealed with shrubs and boulders. The three men remained in
place from 0300 hours to 0515 hours. During that time, both men
administered medical attention to Frank Badolati's mangled arm;
however, his condition continued to deteriorate. They believed he
died in the early morning of 29 January 1966. After his death,
they were forced to leave Frank Badolati's body hidden in the
boulders and scrubs as they continued to evade the VC. The two
survivors successfully evaded and were recovered later by
helicopter.
Meanwhile, MSgt. Gray, SFC
Hodgson and SSgt. Terry, evaded the ambush site in a different
direction from SSgt. Badolati and the other two team members.
They successfully evaded the rest of that day and then settled
into a hiding place for the night.
At first light on 29 January,
the three men began moving again. At approximately 1600 hours,
they were lying in elephant grass when they saw seven VC soldiers
standing four feet to the right and rear of them. At that time
Cecil Hodgson was armed with a 9mm pistol and within arm's reach
of both Wiley Gray and Ronald Terry as the three men lay prone in
the tall grass. The Americans opened fire on the enemy killing
three of them immediately. During the ensuing firefight, MSgt.
Gray heard Ronald Terry yell that he had been hit and saw him
holding his right side. As MSgt. Gray continued to watch SSgt.
Terry, he saw his body jump like he had been shot again. Wiley
Gray did not see Ronald. Terry move again.
MSgt. Gray looked around for
SFC Hodgson, but did not see him. He ran roughly 20 feet to a
more defendable position and waited in ambush for the enemy. At
that time Wiley Gray heard a burst of three shots he identified
as coming from an enemy weapon, and then two shots that sounded
like they were from SSgt. Terry's weapon. MSgt. Gray continued to
evade the VC and was recovered the next day by
helicopter.
Once the three survivors
returned to base, each man was debriefed by military intelligence
and a search and rescue/recovery (SAR) operation was immediately
initiated for SFC Hodgson, SSgt. Terry and SSgt. Badolati. During
the next four days the area in and around the An Lao Valley was
searched by air, but found no trace of the missing soldiers. No
ground search was possible due the continuing heavy enemy
presence throughout the sector. At the time the formal search
effort was terminated, Ronald Terry and Frank Badolati were
reported as Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered while Ronald
Hodgson was reported as Missing in Action.
Later the US Army conducted a
Board of Inquiry to investigate and evaluate all known
information surrounding the loss of SFC Hodgson, SSgt. Badolati
and SSgt. Terry. During the Board of Inquiry, a medical officer
testified that SSgt. Badolati's symptoms as described by the
survivors indicated that he had bled to death from the serious
wound to his left arm. The Board also determined that SSgt. Terry
probably died from the multiple gunshot wounds he sustained
during the skirmish. Because SFC Hodgson was uninjured when last
seen by MSgt. Gray during the initial stage of the final
firefight, the Board upheld his status of Missing in
Action.
In April 1991 the US government
released a list of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action who
were known to be alive in enemy hands and for whom there is no
evidence that he or she died in captivity. This list, commonly
referred to today as the USG's "Last Known Alive" list, included
Cecil Hodgson.
Cecil J. Hodgson was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant
during the period he was maintained missing.
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