Captain James Eddie Reed, An American Hero, February 1, 1968, Vietnam

December 4, 1942 - February 1, 1968   Company A, 3rd/39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Vietnam

 

Forty-four years ago today Captain James Eddie Reed, 1942-1968, an American Hero, gave his life in the service of his country alongside Lt. John Sevick, Lt. Donald Small, and 2nd Lt. Davis Boardman at a place called "Fort Courage" by the men who served at Don Rach Cat (French Fort) in Long An Province on the Mekong River in Vietnam. They made the ultimate sacrifice.  Today let us honor and remember these brave men.

Eddie's service was honored and recognized.  He earned the Silver Star, 2 Bronze Stars with V Device, the Army Commendation Medal with V Device, 2 Purple Hearts, Air Medal, Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Airborne Ribbon, Expert Infantryman’s Badge, and various Vietnam Service medals and ribbons. 

Eddie was the third son of four boys born to Kenneth and Minnie Kern Reed of Kingsport, Tennessee on December 4^th 1942.  His brothers are Dwight who died in infancy, Charles Benny Reed of Johnson City, Tennessee and Earl Lee Reed of Rogersville, Tennessee..  Eddie and I were blessed with a son, James Eddie Reed Jr., and daughter, Jamie Elizabeth Reed, and our four beautiful grandchildren. 

Eddie, a farm boy, grew up along the North Holston River in West Carters Valley outside Kingsport, Tennessee.  He attended Bell Ridge Elementary School and graduated from Lynn View High School, then East Tennessee State University where he received a commission as an officer in the United States Army, Infantry Branch.  Eddie  excelled at track and field events, loved running and pole vaulting.  He was best at having fun, laughing, and playing practical jokes.  He was an avid fisherman and hunter.

In January 1965 Eddie began his active duty military service as a 2nd Lieutenant at Fort Benning, Home of the Infantry.  He graduated from Infantry Officer’s Basic School, Ranger School,, and Airborne School.  In July 1965 he was assigned as a platoon leader at Fort Ord in the Advanced Infantry Training Unit and later was promoted to First Lieutenant and served as company commander of D-1-2.   In June 1967 Eddie received his orders to Vietnam just days after being promoted to Captain and became the company commander of Company A, 3rd/39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division in July 1967, replacing a well-loved commander who had completed a year's service in country.  On February 1, 1968, the life of Captain James Eddie Reed prematurely ended in an instant of violence during at an enemy artillery attack during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. He was twenty-five years old. He had not yet begun to fulfill his dreams. Eddie, Davis, Don, and John did not die for naught as 120

brave men in Company A survived that fateful day.

July 1965 - July 1967 Eddie served in an AIT company at Fort Ord, California, first as platoon leader and then as company commander.  Most of the trainees received orders for service in Vietnam.  Recognizing his commitment to his men and his country, when his military obligation was nearly completed, Eddie extended his service in the military.  Just before we left Fort Ord (he for Vietnam and me for our hometown of Kingsport, Tennessee with our young son), Eddie was called upon to serve as the Escort Officer for one of his fallen friends and colleagues with whom he had served in D-1-2 at Fort Ord. The experience weighed on him heavily in his last days at home before he deployed from Travis Air Force Base.

Upon arriving in Vietnam mid-July 1967 Eddie was assigned as company commander of a counterinsurgency infantry company in the Mekong Delta.  He was responsible for the 120 or more good men who served alongside him in Company A, 3rd/39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division.  He went to Vietnam determined to keep the men under his command safe and alive. That dream, too, was dashed as young soldiers were killed and maimed in ambushes as they marched through the black muck of the open rice paddies of the Mekong Delta. The responsibilities of leadership weighed heavily upon him. His superiors asked the impossible of Eddie and his men, who were mostly mere boys away from their homes in small towns across America for the first time. At home there was little support for the war. And even less for the brave soldiers serving in Vietnam.  They trudged onwards in service to our country.

Eddie worried about his men’s fungus covered feet and whether or not they received mail from home or had good food to eat. He walked the lines at night and talked one on one with his men, getting to know them and their loves and worries.  When they fell in battle, Eddie consolingly wrote letters to the families they left behind. A piece of Eddie Reed went to the grave with each of those young soldiers. First Sargent Hershel Johnson and his men dubbed him“the best company commander in Vietnam.”

Eddie & Brenda Reed 1967

I met Eddie when he was only nineteen – a handsome track star, a ROTC cadet, a farm boy. I pulled him from the swimming pool the last day of summer in 1962 when he belly flopped from the diving board at the hometown swimming pool in east Tennessee – just to get my attention. I still remember the mischievous way he laughed when he wrenched from my grasp at the side of the pool. That hot afternoon he won my heart forever. We eloped eighteen months later.  In August 1964 at East Tennessee State University Eddie was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U. S. Army. I proudly pinned his gold bars on the collar of  his khaki uniform. He gave me a prize winning smile and laughed, “It’s a lifetime commitment, honey.”
When our son, James, was born two months later, Eddie  changed his diapers and gladly gave him his bottle in the middle of the night. He adored his boy and he his father.

A few months later we settled into life at Fort Benning. Eddie breezed through IOBC, Ranger and Airborne schools.  Being a Ranger was second only to being a father.

Every day that we were together Eddie made me laugh. He  gave his all to our family. We struggled on his second lieutenant’s salary but always managed to have fun. I can still hear him drawling out “Your Cheatin’ Heart” he showered in the morning.

Eddie watched as the young men in D – 1 – 2, at Fort Ord were sent off  to Vietnam immediately after finishing their advanced infantry training. They were green and Eddie feared for their lives. His commanders took note of his interest in even the clumsiest grunt. Eddie knew the lives of each man depended on what he and his colleagues taught him. Eddie grappled with the deaths of his friends who preceded him into combat and when his day came to go in July 1967, he declared, “I have to do this. Somebody has to look after those boys.” I asked, “But who is going to look after you?” He just laughed and pointed to the sky.

Four weeks in country I wrote Eddie a letter telling him that he was going to be a proud papa for the second time. He immediately celebrated and passed out cigars to the men in A Company of the 3rd/39th Infantry of the 9th Infantry Division.  Sadly he was buried just six days before his beautiful baby girl was born.

Eddie hated the war, but he loved his men and they loved him. Every day was a challenge.

The day the Company A relocated to the French Fort at Don Rach Cat, Eddie wrote that at last his  men had a secure, dry home when they were not on the battlefield. They nicknamed the concrete bastion Fort Courage and adopted a pig as Company A’s mascot. Eddie  wrote that Vietnam was a beautiful country. He described the sunsets from the top of the fort as romantic. He wished I could see them but more than that he wanted to be home. He marked the days off the calendar in Vietnam. I did the same at home.

Eddie’s Mom and Dad missed his help on the farm. Our son at three was too young to put up hay and milk cows, but he had Eddie’s sparkle, mischievous nature, and good looks. When we looked at his blonde hair and blue eyes, we saw Eddie.

In November 1967 Eddie took a bullet in the leg and declared that it was nothing. The Army gave him a Bronze Star with V device for his  heroism and a Purple Heart. The only thing that he really cared about was getting his men “out of that hell hole alive.” 

A few days later we met in Hawaii for R & R. Eddie  reeked of war and your skin was saturated with dirt. He scrubbed for hours to wash off the stench of Vietnam. For seven days we laughed and cried and loved one another. His eyes filled with desperation and he asked me to make so many promises. I was scared. I tried hard not to be.

On the morning of December 4^th 1967, Eddie’s  twenty-fifth birthday, he once more donned his combat gear and boarded the plane back to the war zone. His last words to me were, “Promise me you won’t ever let my children forget me.” When he turned to wave goodbye, I knew it would be the last time that I would ever see him alive.  Eddie  headed back to the war zone. I returned to Tennessee to face the bleak winter that lay ahead.

On February 1, 1968, the commanders of Eddie’s battalion summoned him to the 3rd/39th battalion headquarters to give him an intelligence report, stating that Company A on its island fortress was in danger of being overrun by fifteen hundred newly supply NVA troops fresh off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Eddie returned to his company of about one hundred and twenty men and prepared for the attack as best they could. At sunset Company A came under heavy mortar and artillery fire from across the river full of sampans. As darkness descended Eddie and several men went to the top of the fort to survey the situation. Eddie determined the coordinates to return fire on the NVA’s heavy artillery and mortars from across the river. He radioed battalion headquarters and your own men simultaneously, giving orders and requesting assistance. As he spoke on the radios issuing orders for counterfire, an NVA artillery round landed on the concrete gun turret at his feet. The spray instantly killed our beloved Eddie Reed. The records show that your final orders saved all of the men in Company A except for three brave men who died with him. Days later a mass grave of NVA soldiers along with damaged weaponry was found across the river. Company A had been successful in their efforts to disable an NVA regiment.

On  February 7, 1968, two Army officers notified me that Eddie was Missing in Action. Within a few days his letters stopped coming, and mine to him were returned unopened and unread. Two weeks later the officers returned to our home. The major held a yellow telegram and nervously read, “We regret to inform you that your husband, Captain James Eddie Reed, was killed in action.” 

On March 1, 1968, we buried Eddie  in Oak Hill Cemetery in our hometown. When the bugler played “Taps” and the honor guard fired the volley of shots, I felt each bullet rip through my heart. The Army didn’t tell me much. Mostly I was left to wonder, as I did for years to come.  

Six days after we buried Eddie, our daughter Jamie, a beautiful little blue-eyed blond, was born. She has Eddie’s warm smile and strength of character – his funny feet. Like her dad  she is a fighter and natural leader. She missed Eddie at the father-daughter nights at school. Eddie missed her first smile, her first words, her first day at school, her first date, her senior prom, her college graduations, her weddings, and the birth of her three children. Jamie would have loved to have danced with her dad.

In June 1991 the United States Army posthumously awarded Captain James Eddie Reed the Silver Star and Air Medal at our nation's Capital Building.  His sacrifice was at long last recognized.

Eddie was a natural leader – a lover of people – a bright spot in the universe. The world is a better place for having had him. I was blessed to be his wife and the mother of his children.

Captain James Eddie Reed, Vietnam 1967

Jamie Elizabeth Reed, Brenda Reed, James Eddie Reed, Jr. with Captain Reed's Silver Star, June 1991

Eddie's Parents, Minnie & Kenneth Reed

 

Eddie, know that we love you forever.  

We miss you still.  

We know you are in heaven having a great time.

Blessed be, dear Eddie.

Honoring America's Fallen War Heroes

This message of Honor and Respect was sent to me yesterday by a member of Gold Star Wives of America as written by a Vietnam War veteran.  Let me share it with you just as  it came to me.

" MAY GOD BLESS THIS AIRLINE  CAPTAIN:
 

This Vietnam War Veteran  writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We  have an H.R. on this flight." (H.R. stands for human remains.) 

"Are they military?" I  asked.

 'Yes',  she said.

 'Is there an escort?' I asked.

 'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.

 'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said..

 A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck.  He was the image of the  perfectly  dressed soldier.  He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of  these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.

 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,'  he said.  He proceeded to answer my questions,  but offered no words.

 I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no.  I told him that he had the toughest  job in the military and that I appreciated the  work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand.  He left the flight deck to find his seat.

 We completed our pre-flight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure.  About  30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I  just found out  the family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board', she said.  She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home.  The family was upset  because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left.  We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia  .

The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that  knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment  and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear.  He had  asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear  the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she  asked me if there was anything I could do.. 'I'm on  it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

 Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the  form of  e-mail like messages.  I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher..  I  explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted.  He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

 Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher.  We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family.  I sent a text  message asking for an update.  I  saved the return  message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:

 'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There  is policy on this now and I had to check on a few  things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will  meet the aircraft.  The team will  escort the family to the ramp and plane side.  A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family.  The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp.  It is a private area for the family only.  When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home.  Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans.    Please pass our condolences on to the family.  Thanks.'

 I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job.   I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight  attendant to pass on to the father.  The lead flight  attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'

 Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and  landing.   After landing, we cleared the runway  and taxied to the ramp area.  The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway.  It  is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit.  When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller,  we were told that  all traffic was being held for us.

 'There is a team in place to meet the  aircraft', we were told.  It looked like it was all coming  together, then I  realized that once we turned the  seat belt sign off,  everyone would stand up at  once and delay the family from  getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the  copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop  short of the gate to make an  announcement to the passengers.   He did that and  the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'

 I  stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake.   I pushed the  public address button and said,  'Ladies and gentleman, this is  your Captain speaking I  have stopped short of our gate to make a  special  announcement.  We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect.  His Name is  Private X,  a soldier who recently lost his life.   Private X is  under your feet in the cargo hold.  Escorting him today is  Army Sergeant.  Also, on board are his father,  mother,  wife, and daughter.  Your entire  flight crew is  asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to  allow the  family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

 We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and  started our  shutdown procedures.  A couple of  minutes later I opened the cockpit door.  I  found the two forward flight  attendants crying,  something you just do not see.  I was told  that  after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft  stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit  the  aircraft.

 When the family got up and gathered their things, a  passenger slowly  started to clap his hands.   Moments later more passengers  joined in and soon  the entire aircraft was clapping.  Words  of 'God  Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind   words were uttered to the family as they made their  way down the  aisle and out of the airplane.  They  were escorted down to  the ramp to finally be with  their loved one.

 Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the  announcement I  had made.  They were just words, I  told them,  I could  say them over and over again,  but nothing I say will bring back  that brave soldier.

I  respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event  and the  sacrifices that millions of our men and women  have made to ensure  our freedom and safety in these  United  States of AMERICA .

Foot note:
As a Viet Nam Veteran I can only think of all the veterans  including the ones that rode below the deck on their way home and how they were treated. When I read things like this I am proud  that our country has not turned their backs on our soldiers returning from the various war zones today and give them the respect they so deserve. I know every one who has served their country who reads this will have tears in their eyes, including  me."   

On a personal note it was on February 28th, 1968  that Major Richard McDaniels assumed the duty to escort my husband, Captain James Eddie Reed (killed in action on February1, 1968 at Don Rach Cat, Long An Province, Vietnam) home to Kingsport, Tennessee.  

Major McDaniels began his duties at Travis Air Force Base greeting Eddie as he disembarked from his flight from Saigon.  They then rode rogether in a hearse to the Oakland Army Depot Mortuary where Eddie was further prepared for his final trip home.  Eddie and Maj. McDaniels then drove across the San Francisco Bay Bridge to San Francisco International Airport.  Major McDaniels oversaw Eddie's placement in the hold of a Delta Airlines flight and together they flew into Atlanta, Georgia.  Major McDaniel then made sure Eddie was properly removed and transferred to another plane for what they thought was the final trek into   TriCities Airport in Kingsport, Tennessee.  Due to severe weather conditions the plane into TriCities was diverted into Knoxville, Tennessee.  There Major McDaniels saw to it that Eddie again disembarked with honor and respect.  A hearse that had come one hundred miles through the snow from Kingsport waited for them on the tarmac.  Though the journey had been long, Major McDaniels again perfectly executed his duties and together the driver, his assistant, the Major and his soldier headed northeast up Highway 11W as the snow continued to fall.  

As fate would have it -- or the angels -- near Rogersville, Tennessee an overturned tractor trailer truck blocked the highway.  The Tennessee Highway Patrol diverted Eddie and his escorts to a small state highway named West Carter's Valley Road. Eddie grew up in West Carter's Valley and drove on that road nearly everyday of his childhood and college years.  The hearse took Eddie by the Reed farm where he grew up, by his favorite fishing hole in the North Holston River, the meadows where he hunted arrowheads and played cowboys and Indians or rode his pony, by his favorite hunting grounds, by Bell Ridge Elementary School, and where he played with his brothers.  At Lynn Garden community they turned right onto Lynn Garden Drive and went past Lynn View High where Eddie ran track and pole vaulted, past the small apartment where my son and I lived.  They headed into downtown Kingsport.  The driver of the hearse took him down the icy streets past the Texas Steer Drive-in where we had gone on our first date.  Together the men and their soldier slowly cruised Broad Street one last time before arriving at 1:30 A.M. at the Hamlett Dobson Funeral Home.  Though dead tired Major McDaniels stayed with his soldier as his family slowly arrived to welcome their soldier home, just not the way they wanted. 

Though Eddie didn't have his family on board his flights from Vietnam to Knoxville, Tennessee, Eddie did see the people and places he loved.  He had his final goodbye. We are deeply grateful that Eddie had a wonderful escort who stayed with him until he was peacefully interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Kingsport, Tennessee on March 2nd 1968.

I have always been grateful that our friend, Dick McDaniels, whom we had known from Fort Ord, accompanied Eddie on his journey home.  I don't know where he is today but I remain grateful for the loving consideration, the honor and respect he gave to Eddie --- that Eddie had a friend by his side as he rejoined his family in Tennessee.

Join me in honoring the Military Escorts of America's Fallen Heroes.