Fullbore Friday

Hill 881S

"Like who?"

That is a tough question; it seems easy, but it isn't.

What defines a leader and what qualities should a young leader emulate? Books have and will be written about such things - but often it is better just to point at a man and say, "This."

While most people recognize his father-in-law's name, many Marines are also familiar with his own legacy—a fact I was reminded of when I wrote about him 12 years ago, after his passing.

Like many of his generation, proper recognition of his actions took a while—in this case, 37 years—but he was finally awarded the much-deserved Navy Cross in 2005.

For here at least - I think that citation should do.

The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to:

William H. Dabney (0-80399), Colonel [then Captain], U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism while serving as Commanding Officer of two heavily reinforced rifle companies of the Third Battalion, Twenty-Sixth Marines, THIRD Marine Division (Reinforced), Fleet Marine Force, in connection with operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam from 21 January to 14 April 1968. During the entire period, Colonel Dabney’s force stubbornly defended Hill 881S, a regional outpost vital to the defense of the Khe Sanh Combat Base.

Following his bold spoiling attack on 20 January 1968, shattering a much larger North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force deploying to attack Hill 881S, Colonel Dabney’s force was surrounded and cut off from all outside ground supply for the entire 77 day Siege of Khe Sanh. Enemy snipers, machine guns, artillery, and 120-millimeter mortars responded to any daylight movement on his position. In spite of deep entrenchments, his total casualties during the siege were close to 100 percent. Helicopters were his only source of re-supply, and each such mission brought down a cauldron of fire on his landing zones. On numerous occasions Colonel Dabney raced into the landing zone under heavy hostile fire to direct debarkation of personnel and to carry wounded Marines to evacuation helicopters.

The extreme difficulty of re-supply resulted in conditions of hardship and deprivation seldom experienced by American forces. Nevertheless, Colonel Dabney’s indomitable spirit was truly an inspiration to his troops. He organized his defenses with masterful skill and his preplanned fires shattered every enemy probe on his positions. He also devised an early warning system whereby NVA artillery and rocket firings from the west were immediately reported by lookouts to the Khe Sanh Combat Base, giving exposed personnel a few life saving seconds to take cover, saving countless lives, and facilitating the targeting of enemy firing positions.

Colonel Dabney repeatedly set an incredible example of calm courage under fire, gallantly exposing himself at the center of every action without concern for his own safety. Colonel Dabney contributed decisively to ultimate victory in the Battle of Khe Sanh, and ranks among the most heroic stands of any American force in history. By his valiant combat leadership, exceptional bravery, and selfless devotion to duty, Colonel Dabney reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Fullbore. A proper farewell;

Thanks to General Caulfield, we are informed that a memorial service will be held for Colonel Dabney at Robert E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, 123 West Washington Street, Lexington, VA 24450 at 1400 on Sunday, 26 February, with a reception afterward at Virginia Military Institute. Col. Dabney has been cremated and internment will occur at a later time.

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For the full story of The Warriors of Hill 881S spend some time here.

As a final note, the more I read about what our Marines and others did in Vietnam, the more I think of the injustice our popular culture from DC to Hollywood did to them. It truly is a national disgrace.

In the two decades I’ve been writing, things have continued to improve in how we remember those who served during the Vietnam War, a turn that started in the mid-1980s.

By the mid-2000s, the same people who smeared Vietnam veterans began to target GWOT veterans - but they never got traction and eventually gave up. The reason they had trouble was at the start, the Vietnam generation had this generation's back. They helped make sure that what happened to them would not happen to us. For that, we owe them another debt of gratitude.

Along those lines, as a reminder to new readers and those under 40, if you want to give credit to the person who started the move to tell the truth about the Vietnam veterans and set the conditions for where we are today - get a copy of B.G. Burkett's 1998 Stolen Valor : How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History.

It is hard to understate what a ground breaking book this was. When you read it, you can see a lot of the methods used by those making false claims … and those who try to smear those who served … are still being used today. However, they don’t get away with it as much as they used to.