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Index of Other Articles for

Ronald A. Radcliffe

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••• Late 1971 - Scavenger Hunt: .......Radcliffe was Mission Commander in back of UH-1. LOH Crew was Jackie White & Ronald Terry. Cobra Pilots not known. Found and captured group of women and children gathering scraps from wrecked helicopter. Flew them to Lai Khe & released them with some goodies. date?

••• Late 1971 - Bicycle Caravan: .......Started with BDA of B52 Strike near Cambodian border above Tay Ninh. Big bunkers were not destroyed. It need another strike. Found people with bicycles and supplies. Crew Chief Ron Terry rounded them up using gunfire theen destroyed all of the bikes and equipment. Found and destroyed motorcycles. date?

••• Late 1971 - Recon For Generals: .......Late afternoon late 1971, Generals Hollingsworth and McCaffrey ask Redcliffe and crew to find NVA headquarters in Cambodia. Crew chief was Ron Brochu and observer was "Neu" (?) who had red hair. Found the HQ and put an Air Strike in after finally getting higher up approval. Radcliffe was wounded. No awards that we know of outside of the Purple Heart. date?

••• 20 February 1972: Iron Triangle Battle. Detailed story by MAJ John Spencer F Troop Commander. .LOH crew CPT James Hamrick Scout Pilot and SP4 Don Ware Crew Chief were shot down and killed in the Iron Triangle when returning to Long Binh from action in near the Mushroom. The third passenger, CW2 Rod Lacewell had managed to crawl out of the burning helicopter and roll into a partially water filled bomb crater. This extinguished the smoldering clothing he was wearing. Ron Radcliffe, was initially impacted with a DFC but then was then nominated for the Medal of Honor by his Troop Commander, John Spencer, for his amazing actions. This MOH recommendation may have gotten lost. Years later Spencer resubmitted the MOH (April 1975) and the award was downgraded to the Silver Star...Upgraded from the orginal DFC.
.................The article "Five Receive DFC (Stars Stripes)" fruther describes the incident (February 20, 1972) and names the other brave men involved. Chuck O'Connell, Mike "BG" Woods, Ron Radcliffe, Joseph Arzate, Steven Suiter, James Carlson, Joel Randy Woodley, John Schlinski, Steven Powell, Raymond Seawthorn (corrected to Scawthorn), Marvin Hwery and probaby Joseph "Joe" Litton.
.......Different Grid Coordinates given for the crash site (XT565273 & XT564723) do not appear to be in the Iron Triangle. The last name "Hwery" does not exist on the internet.
.................Two of the men awarded DFC's for 20 Feb1972 , Raymond C. Seawthorn Slick Gunner and Marvin J. Hwery Slick CE do not exist on any roster or the internet. (Actual spelling Scawthorn, on Second tour, unit unknown, no DFC listing, Obit). Could they have been Ron Woodley's crew? or maybe crewmen of a Slick from another unit. None was mentioned.
..................It appears, from all the comments and info, that Spencer's Award Officer submitted Radcliffe for MOH immediately and that the paperwork was lost during all the moves and battles. Could be that the award recommendation did go through and was the reason why the original DFC was upgraded to a Silver Star. Two years later Spencer noted the Silver Star and may have assumed his recommendation had not gone through. He then resubmitted an Afffidavid recommending the MOH. No date on that and currently no follow up action reported. Years later major efforts by Joseph "Joe" Litton. followed then by Frank Dillon, were not accepted.
...............Also an article about Radcliffe in African American Heros by James B. Martin editor

................Comments from Frank Dillon: Here is my understanding of February 20 1972. More than 5 were awarded DFC; they weren’t all listed in the Stars & Stripes News Article, like John Schilinski and Steven Powell.
Other units were very much involved. MAj John Spencer wrote up the MOH recommendation for Ron Radcliffe for that day. He was awarded a Silver Star. Later Joe Litton put in a ton of effort to get it upgraded to MOH. It was rejected. Not knowing what Joe had done at first, I took up the effort and worked on it several months until I finally realized it was futile. (Not enough rescued, not enough killed). I’m thinking those two guys were on the medivac/slick that went in before the Centaurs did and got shot up. One (some?) of the crew was shot. They were not Centaurs. Back then I knew the unit they were in, an AHC is all I remember today.
......Woodley recently said he thought he recovered James Hamrick. Body badly burned and decapitated.
......Ron Radcliffe told me Hamrick took a 51 cal to the head

•••28 April 1972- 37mm Takes out Cobra - LOH Kills Tank: .......Two Centaur Cobras were covering pilot CPT Ron Radcliffe and his Crew Chief Bill Labore, in their LOH, and involved in a ground battle. CPT Charles O'Connell was in the lead Cobra copilot not known. CPT Paul Martindale with his copilot WO1 William Haines was flying wing. The Cobras were mosltly below 50 feet altitude. Martindale and Haines climbed and were taken out by a 37mm Anti-aircraft weapon. Radcliffe and LeBore took out a Russian Tank by tossing a Thermite Grenade down its hatch. Explosions probably caused by ordinance in the tank. Radcliffe received the Distinguished Service Cross.
......Stars & Stripes article incorrectly says tank was destroyed with WP smoke grenade. Ron confirms it was a Thermite Grenade or "Burner"

••• 1 May 1972- Shot Down at Quang Tri: ......CPT Ron Radcliffe and his crew chief Crank Labore and his wingman, Fred Ledfors with Harvey Clark (SP5 CE?) were trying to get into Quang Tri to rescue CPT Bruce Riddle. Both Radcliffe and Ledfors were shot down (mid air collision) . Rescued by CPT Pete Barber and CPT Frank Hock in a Huey covered by CPT Charles OConnell with a Cobra fire team. Hundreds of enemy killed in that battle.

••• 23 May 1972- Marine Beach Assault Video .......Radcliffe's Recon/Scouting skills, in advance of a Marine Corp Beach Assaut, saved a lot of Marine Corp lives and resulted in hundreds of the NVA killed and wounded. He was wounded twice, received a Silver Star and that action ended his third tour. CPT James Elder flying as LOH Observer. SP4 Bruce Anderson was LOH Crew Chief. CW2 Chuck Rose flying the UH-1H.

A Job Well Done - Army Aviation News Article about Ron Radcliffe - 1973