PFC Strickland
Name: James Henry Strickland
Rank/Branch: Private First Class/US Army
Unit: Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Americal)
Date of Birth: 13 October 1947
Home of Record: Dunn, NC
Date of Loss: 08 January 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 153551N 1081006E (AT964263)
Status in 1969: Returned Prisoner of War
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Other Personnel In Incident: Richard F. Williams; Frances E. Cannon (remains returned); David N. Harker, James H. Strickland; Willie A. Watkins; James A. Daly (released POWs); Thomas Booker (killed /body recovered) and Richard R. Rehe (missing).
SYNOPSIS: In preparation for the massive Tet Offensive, which included the siege of Khe Sanh in northwestern South Vietnam, the NVA and VC moved thousand of troops into staging areas and stockpiled large quantities of supplies in strategic locations. They also attempted to take over specific locations that could be used by American and South Vietnamese forces to transport troops and supplies to the primary target areas. One of those strategic areas was Happy Valley with Highway 548, the primary east/west road, running from major centers to Khe Sanh.
On 8 January 1968, Companies A and D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Americal) were moved from their base at Chu Lai to Happy Valley, Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, where other companies were already engaged in a prolonged battle with the VC forces. The sector in which the battle was taking place was densely populated and hotly contested; covered in rice fields, small hamlets and villages, scattered forested areas and elephant grass. It was located approximately 21 miles west-northwest of Tam Ky, 24 miles northeast of Kham Duc, 29 miles south-southwest of the southern end of the DaNang airfield runways and 36 miles northwest of Chu Lai.
Members of Company A included PFC James A. "Jim" Daly, Jr., Cpl. Willie A. Watkins, and PFC Derri Sykes, all riflemen; and PFC Richard R. Rehe, a grenadier. Members of Company C included 1st Sgt. Richard F. "Top" Williams, the company's first sergeant; PFC Frances E. "Frank" Cannon, radio operator; Sgt. Thomas A. Booker, platoon sergeant; PFC David N. Harker and PFC James H. Strickland, riflemen.
Upon arriving in the combat area, the replacement troops were assigned battle positions on the south side of Highway 548 to bolster American lines. In the continuing fierce battle, air support was repeatedly called in to suppress enemy action. As the battle raged around them, a mortar shell exploded near PFC Cannon, the company radioman, injuring him and killing Sgt. Booker. Frank Cannon's wounds consisted of a large hole in his upper back and smaller hole near his neck. As the hand-to-hand fighting continued, a VC stabbed PFC Harker in the side with a bayonet, PFC Strickland was wounded, but not seriously; and 1st Sgt. Williams was shot through the right hand and sustained less serious injury to his arm. All four men were captured on 8 January 1968.
For Americans caputured in South Vietnam, daily life could be brutally difficult. Some of these camps were actually way stations for the VC used for a variety of reasons. Others were regular POW camps. Regardless of size and primary function, conditions in the VC run camps frequently included the prisoners' being tied at night to their cages, commonly referred to as tiger cages, and in yet other camps the dense jungle itself provided the bars to their cage. There was rarely enough food and water to sustain them, and as a result, the Americans suffered from a wide variety of illnesses in addition to their injuries and wounds.
Willie Watkins and PFC Strickland were considered by the Viet Cong to be "progressive" prisoners. In a propaganda move, the VC released them in Cambodia on 5 November 1969. After their release, the soldiers provided vital information to the US military about the other Prisoners of War, the POW Camp and the Viet Cong.
For other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, their fate could be quite different. Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
American military men in Vietnam were called upon to fight in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served. Even though there was never a WELCOME HOME PARTY I dedicate "Scarred For Life" to all the Vietnam heroes who gave their life for our country.
Rank/Branch: Private First Class/US Army
Unit: Company D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Americal)
Date of Birth: 13 October 1947
Home of Record: Dunn, NC
Date of Loss: 08 January 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 153551N 1081006E (AT964263)
Status in 1969: Returned Prisoner of War
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Other Personnel In Incident: Richard F. Williams; Frances E. Cannon (remains returned); David N. Harker, James H. Strickland; Willie A. Watkins; James A. Daly (released POWs); Thomas Booker (killed /body recovered) and Richard R. Rehe (missing).
SYNOPSIS: In preparation for the massive Tet Offensive, which included the siege of Khe Sanh in northwestern South Vietnam, the NVA and VC moved thousand of troops into staging areas and stockpiled large quantities of supplies in strategic locations. They also attempted to take over specific locations that could be used by American and South Vietnamese forces to transport troops and supplies to the primary target areas. One of those strategic areas was Happy Valley with Highway 548, the primary east/west road, running from major centers to Khe Sanh.
On 8 January 1968, Companies A and D, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade (Americal) were moved from their base at Chu Lai to Happy Valley, Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam, where other companies were already engaged in a prolonged battle with the VC forces. The sector in which the battle was taking place was densely populated and hotly contested; covered in rice fields, small hamlets and villages, scattered forested areas and elephant grass. It was located approximately 21 miles west-northwest of Tam Ky, 24 miles northeast of Kham Duc, 29 miles south-southwest of the southern end of the DaNang airfield runways and 36 miles northwest of Chu Lai.
Members of Company A included PFC James A. "Jim" Daly, Jr., Cpl. Willie A. Watkins, and PFC Derri Sykes, all riflemen; and PFC Richard R. Rehe, a grenadier. Members of Company C included 1st Sgt. Richard F. "Top" Williams, the company's first sergeant; PFC Frances E. "Frank" Cannon, radio operator; Sgt. Thomas A. Booker, platoon sergeant; PFC David N. Harker and PFC James H. Strickland, riflemen.
Upon arriving in the combat area, the replacement troops were assigned battle positions on the south side of Highway 548 to bolster American lines. In the continuing fierce battle, air support was repeatedly called in to suppress enemy action. As the battle raged around them, a mortar shell exploded near PFC Cannon, the company radioman, injuring him and killing Sgt. Booker. Frank Cannon's wounds consisted of a large hole in his upper back and smaller hole near his neck. As the hand-to-hand fighting continued, a VC stabbed PFC Harker in the side with a bayonet, PFC Strickland was wounded, but not seriously; and 1st Sgt. Williams was shot through the right hand and sustained less serious injury to his arm. All four men were captured on 8 January 1968.
For Americans caputured in South Vietnam, daily life could be brutally difficult. Some of these camps were actually way stations for the VC used for a variety of reasons. Others were regular POW camps. Regardless of size and primary function, conditions in the VC run camps frequently included the prisoners' being tied at night to their cages, commonly referred to as tiger cages, and in yet other camps the dense jungle itself provided the bars to their cage. There was rarely enough food and water to sustain them, and as a result, the Americans suffered from a wide variety of illnesses in addition to their injuries and wounds.
Willie Watkins and PFC Strickland were considered by the Viet Cong to be "progressive" prisoners. In a propaganda move, the VC released them in Cambodia on 5 November 1969. After their release, the soldiers provided vital information to the US military about the other Prisoners of War, the POW Camp and the Viet Cong.
For other Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, their fate could be quite different. Since the end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
American military men in Vietnam were called upon to fight in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served. Even though there was never a WELCOME HOME PARTY I dedicate "Scarred For Life" to all the Vietnam heroes who gave their life for our country.