Today we pause to remember SSG Gary Lee Crone, SP5 Michael Thomas “Tommy” Mahoney and SFC Charles Tredinnick of FOB-3, Khe Sanh. On January 29th, 1968, SSG Crone and SP5 Mahoney, as members of MSG William S Wood’s recon team, were on patrol near Hill 471 in Khe Sanh. The team was ambushed by a North Vietnamese force that vastly outnumbered them.
SSG Crone was killed almost immediately upon being ambushed, reportedly as he attempted to radio for support. SSG Crone's remains would not be recovered until the summer of 1968. He is honored on Panel 35E, Row 58 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and buried in Quickels Lutheran Church Cemetery, Zions View, York County, PA. SSG Crone was due to be redeployed to Okinawa the day after he was killed. He was survived by his parents and three siblings.
“Tommy” Mahoney had been a volunteer on that team. He was wounded in the leg during the ambush, and the team was split. He was last seen alive on the hill trying to evade the enemy and get back to the FOB. In April 1968, after the siege was lifted, Marines found Tommy's remains on Hill 471. We remain uncertain of exactly how or when he died, but it is likely that he died from the wound(s) received earlier, and/or further enemy fire. He is buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, Towanda, PA.
SFC Charles “Chuck” Nicholas Tredinnick of Dallas, PA, was killed leading a unit to recover SSG Crone's remains and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 33 Site 11550. He was married to Joy Keller who joined him in Arlington in 2005.
SFC Tredinnick Silver Star citation follows:
“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Sergeant First Class Charles Nichol Tredinnick (ASN: RA-52357613), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Sergeant First Class Tredinnick distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 29 January 1968 as a member of a small Special Forces rescue party on a search and rescue mission near Khe Sanh. When his team came under intense small arms and automatic weapons fire, Sergeant Tredinnick fearlessly led his small group in a blazing assault against a numerically superior force. The ferocity of the assault caused the enemy to abandon their well fortified positions. When Sergeant Tredinnick spotted an enemy platoon attempting to outflank his position, he personally took them under fire, delivering such a withering and accurate volume of machine gun fire that he broke the flanking maneuver, causing the enemy to flee. When he saw one of his comrades fall, he showed a complete disregard for his own safety by running through a curtain of fire to pull his comrade to safety. Sergeant Tredinnick was mortally wounded while placing the welfare of his comrades above his personal safety. Sergeant First Class Tredinnick's gallantry in action, a the cost of his life, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”
SSG Crone was killed almost immediately upon being ambushed, reportedly as he attempted to radio for support. SSG Crone's remains would not be recovered until the summer of 1968. He is honored on Panel 35E, Row 58 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and buried in Quickels Lutheran Church Cemetery, Zions View, York County, PA. SSG Crone was due to be redeployed to Okinawa the day after he was killed. He was survived by his parents and three siblings.
“Tommy” Mahoney had been a volunteer on that team. He was wounded in the leg during the ambush, and the team was split. He was last seen alive on the hill trying to evade the enemy and get back to the FOB. In April 1968, after the siege was lifted, Marines found Tommy's remains on Hill 471. We remain uncertain of exactly how or when he died, but it is likely that he died from the wound(s) received earlier, and/or further enemy fire. He is buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery, Towanda, PA.
SFC Charles “Chuck” Nicholas Tredinnick of Dallas, PA, was killed leading a unit to recover SSG Crone's remains and was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 33 Site 11550. He was married to Joy Keller who joined him in Arlington in 2005.
SFC Tredinnick Silver Star citation follows:
“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 8, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Sergeant First Class Charles Nichol Tredinnick (ASN: RA-52357613), United States Army, for gallantry in action while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. Sergeant First Class Tredinnick distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 29 January 1968 as a member of a small Special Forces rescue party on a search and rescue mission near Khe Sanh. When his team came under intense small arms and automatic weapons fire, Sergeant Tredinnick fearlessly led his small group in a blazing assault against a numerically superior force. The ferocity of the assault caused the enemy to abandon their well fortified positions. When Sergeant Tredinnick spotted an enemy platoon attempting to outflank his position, he personally took them under fire, delivering such a withering and accurate volume of machine gun fire that he broke the flanking maneuver, causing the enemy to flee. When he saw one of his comrades fall, he showed a complete disregard for his own safety by running through a curtain of fire to pull his comrade to safety. Sergeant Tredinnick was mortally wounded while placing the welfare of his comrades above his personal safety. Sergeant First Class Tredinnick's gallantry in action, a the cost of his life, was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.”
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