LRRP Action - 4 VC KIA & a DFC - 1966
Vol 1 - No 44 - 23 Dec 1966
Routine patrol by members of the Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP), 3rd Sqd, 4th Cav, resulted in the death of four Viet Cong and the second award of the Distinguished Flying Cross to a "Tropic Lightning" aviator involved in the action.
The recent skirmish took place 15 miles north of the Cu Chi base camp.
"The team had moved about 200 meters west of a river bank when it spotted four Viet Cong," said 1LT Gerald D. Traxler, 22, of Fresno, Calif.
1LT Traxler, who is the Executive Officer of LRRP, was observing the action from a command control helicopter overhead.
After observing the four enemy for some time, the team called for extraction. As it marked the landing zone, the team received heavy automatic weapons fire from the north, south and east. Returning the fire the LRRP team killed four VC to the front.
Two of the enemy were downed with one shot from an M-16. As the hostile machine gun fire became more intense it was evident that to save the patrol members, the extraction ship would have to set down in the lead-infested landing zone. This task was assigned to MAJ Myron E. Squires, 33, of St. Petersburg, Fla.
As aircraft commander, MAJ Squires landed his ship, which had became a target of the hostile fire, and enabled the safe extraction of the patrol.
For his daring actions, which were completed without loss of personnel or equipment, MAJ Squires received the Distinguished Flying Cross.