Thomas Earl Bailey
Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps

The Early Years

Thomas Earl Bailey was born on 14 November 1946 in Columbia, PA, the son of John Donald and Rita J. Bailey. Thomas lived in Columbia, which is located approximately 28 miles southeast of Harrisburg, his entire life. His father, John, was a Sergeant First Class in the U.S. Army who died in Karlsruhe, Germany on 10 October 1956, when Thomas was 9 years old. The circumstances of his father’s death are unknown.

Thomas attended Columbia High School, where he played on the baseball team, and graduated in June 1965. He immediately found employment at the Lucas Manufacturing Company, a clothing manufacturer located in Columbia, PA.

Military Service

Shortly after he began working at Lucas Manufacturing, Thomas received a draft notice from Local Board #83 in Lancaster, PA. He entered active duty at the induction center in Harrisburg, PA, on 3 January 1966 and was assigned to serve his commitment with the U.S. Marine Corps.

He completed “boot camp” at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC where he was meritoriously promoted to Private First Class (PFC). Thomas next completed Basic Infantry Training at Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, NC. Upon completion of these courses, he was assigned Military Occupational Specialty, 0311, Rifleman. Thomas then reported to Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, CA, to participate in the two week work-up called Staging Battalion, as final preparation for his deployment to Vietnam. He left the U.S. on 3 July 1966 to begin his 13-month tour of duty with the Marines in Vietnam. He flew to Okinawa, where he participated in further processing before being placed on a manifest for South Vietnam.

Combat History & Events Leading to the Death of Corporal Thomas Earl Bailey

Upon arrival in Vietnam, Thomas was assigned to the 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force. When he originally joined the 1st Platoon, SSgt Sherman R. Ervin was his platoon commander. By the end of July 1966, 2ndLt David L. Mellon had assumed command of the platoon and Thomas was assigned as a rifleman in Cpl Harry T. Ooten’s fire team with the Third Squad under Squad Leader, Sgt Carl Whipple, Jr. From the time Thomas joined the platoon in July, until the end of September 1966, the platoon was located on the southwest limit of his Battalion’s Tactical Area of Operation. The platoon had a squad-sized outpost, reinforced with two Ontos (light armored tracked anti-tank vehicles), on the banks of the Song Thu Bon River. The balance of the platoon was located approximately 200 meters north.

The 1st Platoon remained in that disposition for about 6 weeks and then consolidated at the River’s edge. The move was required to provide enhanced security for the pontoon ferry and the newly-arrived Landing Craft Medium (LCM), which were moored on north side of the River at night. The ferry and landing craft were being used to shuttle men and materiel across the Song Thu Bon in support of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, that was deployed on the south side of the River. While the platoon remained at its position on the Song Thu Bon, enemy activity was minimal. During this period, Thomas’ squad participated in security activities that consisted of daily daytime squad patrols, nighttime squad ambushes and fire-team sized nighttime listening posts. Beyond these security measures, Thomas and the balance of the platoon engaged in activities to constantly improve the patrol base’s defensive positions and their field living quarters. During this period of negligible enemy activity, Thomas was able to build his infantry skills. He was also promoted to Lance Corporal (LCpl) and credited with participation in Operation Da Nang.

On 29 September 1966, his Battalion was sent to Okinawa, Japan, aboard the USS Henrico for refitting and training in preparation for serving as a Battalion Landing Team with the Special Landing Force (SLF). The Battalion took up residence at Camp Schwab and commenced receiving new personnel and equipment. One of those joining 1st Platoon was Sgt Gilberto Telles, who would become Thomas’ new squad leader, as Sgt Carl Whipple rotated home. The time at Camp Schwab was a period of intensive training that, in addition to normal military skills, included a stint at the Northern Training Area (NTA), where jungle patrolling skills were developed. At NTA, the platoon also crossed gorges using rope bridges, learned rappelling techniques and rode a zip line. The platoon also participated in live-fire training on the “Jungle Combat Trail” and Raid Training via Submarine Insertion. Next, the Battalion moved to the SLF Camp aboard the Naval Base at Subic Bay in the Philippines. Further training took place in the the more tropical Philippines to improve the platoon’s acclimatization to the intense heat they would encounter in Vietnam. After making a practice amphibious landing designated Mud Puppy II on the island of Mindoro, the Battalion was tasked with conducting Operation Deckhouse V.

On 6 January 1967, Thomas’ Bravo Company was the amphibious assault force for Operation Deckhouse V landing on the coast of the Phanh Phu District of Kien Hoa Province, south of Saigon in the Mekong River Delta. Bravo Company launched from the USS Washtenaw County (LST-1166) in Amtraks (LVTP-5) forming the second wave of the landing force and assaulting the beach. The purpose of the operation was disrupting the activities of the Viet Cong’s 518th Coastal Security Battalion and the independently operating C-530 Company. Thomas’ company was proud to take part in the amphibious landing that, in a small way, reflected the expertise the Marine Corps had developed during the island hopping campaigns of World War II. Bravo Company’s landing was unopposed and once the beachhead was secure, Bravo Company moved off to the Northeast along the beach.

On 7 January, the 2nd and 3rd Platoons of Bravo Company were moved by continuous helicopter lift to the north side of the mangrove swamp inland from the beach leaving Thomas’ 1st Platoon to sweep along the shoreline. The entire company, now spanning the mangrove, began sweeping in a northeasterly direction in their assigned sectors to locate and destroy Viet Cong forces in the area. Thomas’ platoon operated independently and swept through the small villages and the dry rice patties on the coast between the South China Sea and the impenetrable mangrove. Thomas and the 1st Platoon operated on this narrow front for 7 days before they were relieved and heli-lifted to the operation’s command ship, the USS Iwo Jima, to be re-designated the Battalion reserve for the final two days of the operation. During the period ashore, 1st Platoon received sniper fire daily and was involved in a few intense fire fights with what appeared to be squad-size Viet Cong units. The first serious action occurred on 8 January when his platoon was attacked in their night defensive position at approximately 22:00, with small arms and rocket propelled grenade (RPG) rounds. The platoon responded with 105mm artillery and 60mm mortars. The platoon and its attachments suffered only one minor wound as Sgt Brown, leader of the 60mm mortar section, received a gunshot wound to the right hand.

Two days later, on 10 January, Thomas and the 1st Platoon passed through a village gate at 14:45. As they moved up to the village through the narrow beach approach, they received small arms fire from approximately 6-8 Viet Cong, who sprung an ambush from prepared positions. As the platoon assaulted up the beach, with Thomas’ 3rd squad in the lead, the Viet Cong broke from cover and escaped into the mangrove to the north of the abandoned village. Unfortunately, during the assault, two members of Thomas’ squad and an attached 60 mm mortar man were casualties. LCpl Robert Wayne White [Honoree Record ID 285494], an M-79 man, received a fatal gunshot wound to the chest and LCpl Robert A. Clark, a rifleman, received a grazing gunshot wound to the neck. Additionally, LCpl Pereira, a 60mm Mortar ammo-man, was wounded during the brief encounter. The casualties were evacuated by helicopter to the sick bay on the USS Iwo Jima. On 11 January, the 1st Platoon moved to its final phase line objective and set up in a platoon patrol base for the next two nights. This was the deepest penetration the platoon would make to the northeast.

On the afternoon of 12 January, the 3rd Squad or Bravo 1, Thomas’ squad, extracted a bit of revenge on the Viet Cong unit that had been harassing them. The squad was patrolling through an abandoned hamlet that the platoon had passed through the previous day. The Marine on point observed a Viet Cong carrying a rifle enter a hut in the abandoned hamlet to the southwest of the platoon’s patrol base. Sgt Telles, Thomas’ squad leader, deployed his fire teams and had one of his men crawl forward and lob a hand grenade into the hut. When four Viet Cong attempted to flee, the squad killed all four. The results were 4 Viet Cong by body count, a Russian carbine, 3000 rounds of 7.92mm linked ammo, 40 rounds of 7.63mm carbine ammunition and a pack containing the Viet Cong tax collection records for the District.

On 13 January, Thomas’ platoon was ordered to retrace its earlier advance and move about 1500 meters back to the southwest. At 08:45, the front of the column began receiving sniper fire. A fire mission was called in to place 105mm artillery shells on the area from which the sniper rounds were thought to originate. The first round the artillery battery fired was a White Phosphorus (WP) marking round, which could be easily seen and adjusted before the high explosive rounds were fired. Unfortunately, the marking round was long and exploded to the south side of the middle of the platoon column where Thomas’ Third Squad was located. Three Marines suffered minor WP burns not requiring evacuation, one was Sgt Telles, the squad leader of Thomas’ 3rd Squad. At 15:00 on 13 January, Thomas’ platoon was relieved by Alpha 2 and the Alpha Company command group, which had previously been the Battalion reserve. The helicopters that brought Alpha 2 to the field backhauled Bravo 1 to the USS Iwo Jima (LPH-2), the Special Landing Force command ship and Bravo Company assumed the mission of Battalion Reserve Company.

Operation Deckhouse V concluded on 15 January and after stops in Vung Tau, Vietnam, Subic Bay, Philippines and Camp Schwab, Okinawa, the Battalion returned to Vietnam on 5 February 1967. The Battalion debarked their shipping at sea and motored up the Perfume River on Landing Craft, Medium (LCM) to the ramp in downtown Hue City. Once ashore, the Battalion moved by truck to the 3rd Marine Division headquarters at Phu Bai. It was there that Thomas’ Bravo Company learned that they were going to be detached from the Battalion and proceed by C-130 aircraft to the Khe Sanh Combat Base. They were to relieve 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines of the security mission for Khe Sanh. Thomas’ squad leader, Sgt Telles was among those assigned to the Advance Party, which immediately flew up to Khe Sanh. The Advance Party was tasked with coordinating with the departing unit and planning exactly how Bravo Company’s platoons would deploy around the airfield. Once the Advance Party completed its work on 6 February, several members of the Party were warming themselves around a fire burning inside a 55-gallon drum, when some type of ordinance that had erroneously been discarded in the drum exploded. Sgt Telles and 4 other members of the Advance Party were injured by the exploding debris and were evacuated by C-130 back to Alpha Medical Company at Phu Bai for immediate triage. Sgt Telles had received serious enough injuries to his back that he was evacuated to the southern port city of Vung Tau for recuperation. During the ensuing 20 days that Sgt Telles was hospitalized, Corporal James Pomerleau, the senior Corporal in Third Squad, took over as Thomas’ squad leader.

The Khe Sanh area had been very quiet before Thomas’ Bravo Company arrived but, in mid-February, the DMZ Front Headquarters of the North Vietnam Army made a decision that they wanted to make a show of force and expose the vulnerability of the Marine strong points arrayed just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) through a coordinated mortar attack. The planned targets included the Marine installations at Phu Bai, Dong Ha, Con Thien, the Rockpile, Camp Carroll, Khe Sanh and the Special Forces Camp at Lang Vei. The only attack that did not occur was at Khe Sanh, where Bravo Company, through patrolling activity, detected the NVA force as it was moving into position to conduct the mortar attack. All of the other locations were mortared on 25–26 February. Fortuitously, a squad patrol from Bravo 2, led by Sgt Daniel E. Harper originally encountered the NVA mortar section on 25 February. To exploit the contact, the Combat Base’s “Sparrow Hawk” quick reaction force, a reinforced squad, was activated and moved by foot to the site of the contact. The leadership of the reaction force consisted of Bravo 1 platoon commander 2ndLt David L. Mellon, the platoon right guide SSgt Kendell D. Cutbirth, and the 1st Squad leader, Sgt Robert A. Chapp. The NVA Mortar section was forced to withdraw under massive use of small arms, artillery and close air support from a flight of F4B Phantom jet aircraft. The engagement was costly for the command group, as SSgt Cutbirth [Honoree Record ID 242158] was killed outright as a result of fragmentation wounds to his entire body. Sgt Chapp [Honoree Record ID 3631] received multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and died of these wounds on 14 April. 2ndLt Mellon received a gunshot wound to the right knee and was evacuated to Japan. Seven other Marines in the quick reaction force received fragmentation wounds and were evacuated to the Naval Support Activity, Da Nang for treatment.

The next extensive battle(s) that Thomas’ squad and platoon were engaged in are referred to as the “Hill Fights” that developed in late April. Bravo Company was scheduled to be relieved as the primary security provider for the Combat Base by Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines on 1 May. Before the switch occurred, however, Bravo Company would be engaged again by the NVA. In that action, two more Marines from Thomas’ Third Squad and his squad leader would be gravely injured and evacuated.

On the evening of 23 April, 2ndLt James D. Carter flew in with the helicopter resupply and assumed responsibility for Thomas’ platoon, Bravo 1. The platoon was in the field northeast of Hill 861 and they had been tasked along with Bravo 3 with checking out some caves to the northwest of Hill 861 the following day. The caves were suspected of holding logistic facilities supporting the NVA troops operating in the area. That evening, the two platoons set up Platoon Patrol Bases approximately 300 meters apart. After the fog lifted on the morning of 24 April, the two platoons merged and moved to the west on a trail to the base of Hill 516, where the caves were located. At midday, the platoons set in briefly for chow and then separated by about 300 meters to begin investigating the caves. Thomas’ squad encountered 4 NVA carrying a 5th soldier on a stretcher and a brief firefight broke out. The NVA attempted to evade the Marines by going down into a gully. Cpl James G. Pomerleau [Honoree Record ID 271033], one of the squad’s fire team leaders aggressively led his fire team down into the gully in hot pursuit. Apparently, an NVA AK-47 round struck the white phosphorus grenade that Cpl Pomerleau carried on his web belt and the grenade exploded, nearly cutting him in half. Corporal Pomerleau’s body was wrapped in a poncho and carried out of the gully to the trail on the finger above.

Simultaneously, on the southern approach of Hill 861, Bravo 2 had moved two 81mm mortars to Hill 700 within range of the Bravo 1 and Bravo 3. Bravo 2 dispatched a 5-man Forward Observer team to the summit of Hill 861 to see if they could find a vantage point from which to adjust 81mm mortar fire in support of the two Bravo platoons maneuvering to the northwest. As the FO team approached the top of Hill 861, they walked into an ambush and 4 of the 5 men were killed. Realizing that NVA troops were located on the summit of Hill 861, the Company Commander, Captain Sayers, ordered Bravo 2 to move up to the summit of Hill 861 from the south and Thomas’ platoon, Bravo 1, to move in from the northwest hoping to trap the NVA on the summit and eliminate them. In order to move unencumbered, Thomas’ squad was forced to leave Cpl Pomerleau’s body on the trail, and SSgt Reyes, the platoon commander for Bravo 3, was requested to recover it and get it evacuated. Bravo 1 had been moving southward for approximately 30 minutes with Sgt Vermillion’s 2nd Squad on point, when the NVA triggered an ambush. The NVA were in a prepared position firing from hardened bunkers. Suddenly, there was a scream - LCpl Wayne Barth, a member of Thomas’ squad, had been hit in the leg. While the volume of fire was initially very heavy, and precluded a Corpsman reaching him to administer first aid, in time it subsided. During the lull, Barth’s Squad Leader, Sgt Telles, was able to make his way to Wayne’s side and recalled him yelling at the NVA “It’s okay Charlie (nickname for Viet Cong and NVA soldiers), I’m going home and I’ll still be able to ride a bike!” Moments later, LCpl Wayne Barth [Honoree Record ID 271033] was mortally wounded by a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest. Wayne was killed just days before he was scheduled to be withdrawn from the field to begin out-processing for his return to the States. He was within two weeks of his flight out of Vietnam.

As Bravo 1 continued the move to the southeast, they were taken under heavy fire by NVA troops and sustained additional casualties. Bravo 3 attempted to support Bravo 1 by fire and the NVA diverted fire in their direction, too. Bravo 3, which had taken custody of Cpl Pomerleau’s body, suffered 6 wounded, including 3 serious requiring evacuation. Thomas’ squad leader, Sgt Telles moved the Bravo 1 casualties to a hasty Landing Zone (LZ) and was assigned to get the wounded on board the MedEvac Helicopter, but when the bird settled into the LZ, the NVA placed accurate mortar fire on the LZ and Sgt Telles was seriously wounded by shrapnel to his arms and legs. Sgt Telles was evacuated by a second MedEvac helicopter. As Bravo 3 moved trying to find a lower area in defilade for a landing zone, a Marine F4B Phantom dropped a 250 pound bomb on the point squad, and friendly fire resulted in 6 killed and 13 wounded. With limited manpower, SSgt Reyes had to abandon Cpl Pomerleau’s body and the 6 Marines from Bravo 3 that had been killed by friendly fire. As darkness fell, a CH-46 helicopter made it in to the hasty LZ and 6 of Bravo 3’s most seriously wounded were evacuated.

The next morning, 25 April, Bravo 3 was ordered to move about 900 meters to the east to Bravo 1’s position to join up with the rest of the company, which consisted of Bravo 1, approximately 20 Marines from Bravo 2, and the Bravo Company Command Group that had been inserted by a CH-46 helicopter at 10:00. It was the only flight to reach Bravo Company that day. Bravo 3 resumed the march with the 7 KIA toward the Company Command Post. The dampness of the heavy fog made the trail slippery and treacherous and the Marines were exhausted and without chow or water. The burden of carrying the wounded and dead plus their equipment was crushing. Accordingly, before Bravo 3 could join up with the Company, they again had to abandon the 7 dead bodies. Despite moving all day, they did not reach the Company position and spent another night in a defensive perimeter.

On the morning of 26 April, Bravo 3 sent a squad back to retrieve the 7 bodies that had been abandoned late on the 25th. The team was ambushed 50 meters outside their perimeter and another Marine was killed and two more were wounded. SSgt Reyes' platoon was forced to abandon the 8 bodies in order to move fast enough to catch up to the other two platoons moving easterly toward the summit of Hill 861. As they approached Hill 861 from the west, Bravo Company was attacked with small arms and mortars, fighting valiantly during the day. As night fell, the Battlefield Commander, LtCol Wilder of 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, sent the 3rd Platoon of Kilo, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines under 2ndLt John B. Woodall to link up with Bravo and help extricate them by slipping down the west side of Hill 861 to the Battlefield Command Post established on Hill 700.

During the three days of combat, Bravo Company had suffered 22 KIAs, including Cpl Pomerleau and LCpl Barth, from Thomas’ squad. Additionally, 46 Marines had received wounds serious enough to require evacuation and medical attention, including Thomas’ squad leader, Sgt Telles. The 8 Marine bodies that had been abandoned on the western flank of Hill 861 were recovered a few days later, when units from the growing task force battling the NVA swept past Hill 861 on their way to assault Hill 881 North and Hill 881 South. When the Marine bodies were discovered, an evacuation helicopter was called in and the bodies were flown to the Khe Sanh Combat Base to begin the long process of being repatriated to the United States for burial.

The remnants of Bravo Company were flown by C-130 from Khe Sanh to Dong Ha at 16:30 on 27 April. They were then moved by truck to Camp Carroll on 28 April. Bravo Company assumed a perimeter security mission at Camp Carroll, while new Marines were being assigned to replenish their depleted ranks. It was at Camp Carroll that Thomas lost another close friend in Third Squad, Bravo 1, even before Thomas joined it in July 1966. Corporal Robert A. Mettert was the senior enlisted Marine in 3rd Squad, so, after Sgt Telles was evacuated, he became the Squad Leader. Cpl Mettert rejoined the squad on 27 April at Dong Ha. Cpl Mettert had extended his Vietnam tour for 6 months and had been given 30 days leave, which he used to travel to his home in Vancouver, WA, and spend time with his family. Because he left the Khe Sanh Combat Base for leave on 24 March, he missed the intensive fighting that took place during the “Hill Fights.”

On 7 May 1967, Cpl Mettert was leading a patrol outside Camp Carroll when they began receiving sniper fire. At about 14:10, he called for fire support on the suspected location of the sniper from an 81mm mortar section. The first round was short of the intended target and landed among members of the patrol. Cpl Robert A. Mettert [Honoree Record ID 264916] was hit by shrapnel from the high explosive round and sustained mortal fragmentation wounds to the right side of his chest and left wrist. He was MedEvaced by helicopter to Delta Med (Delta Company, 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Division) at Dong Ha where he died at 19:00. In this tragic battlefield accident, another of Thomas’ close friends was killed by friendly fire. Additionally, two other Marines on the patrol were wounded and evacuated.

After serving approximately 12 months of his 13 month tour, Cpl Thomas E. Bailey was killed on 2 July 1967. The events of that terrible day are as follows:

As Bravo Company moved out to the north on Route 561, approximately 3 kilometers northeast of the Con Thien Combat Base on the morning of 2 July, 2nd Platoon under 2ndLt Thomas King had the point. Third Platoon, led by SSgt Alfredo Reyes, followed the command group, while 1st Platoon, Thomas’ platoon, under SSgt Leon Burns, was tasked with receiving the morning resupply and then joining the Company column. When the point, Bravo 2, arrived at the Company’s initial objective, the junction where Route 605 resumed its easterly course, the platoon set in on line. 3rd Platoon was ordered to pass through 2nd platoon and take the point. Soon after moving out, 3rd Platoon began receiving sporadic sniper fire from their front left. As 3rd Platoon began maneuvering, the intensity of the small arms fire increased as they approached enemy forces in well-camouflaged and entrenched positions. Bravo Company had encountered the NVA’s 1st Company, 8th Battalion, 3rd Regiment of the 324th Division (identified by Marine sources as the 90th Regiment). The NVA were moving toward Con Thien with the objective of overrunning the outpost. The NVA infantry were supported by integral 82mm mortar units and heavy artillery units located in and north of the DMZ. Thomas was scheduled to rotate to the States on 3 August and normally would have been moved to a rear echelon job, as he had just a few weeks to go in country. The new Bravo Company Commander, Captain Sterling K. Coates, a Naval Academy graduate, refused to let him go to the rear, citing his need for every available Marine. One of Thomas’ squad members, Lance Corporal David M. Granger provided the following account of Thomas’ death:

“Corporal Mike Pitts was by now the squad leader of 3rd Squad. On the afternoon of 1 July, the company had received a partial supply, approximately one-half of its water and chow rations, at our bivouac approximately 1200 meters east of Con Thien. Ironically, the Company pay officer had come out and paid the troops in the field that afternoon as well. On the morning of 2 July, Bravo 2, Bravo 3 and the Company Command group, moved out to the North on Route 561, after staging their packs with us (Bravo 1), while we waited for the rest of the resupply. When the helicopters came in with the resupply, the Pay Officer and the water cans were back loaded and returned to Con Thien. Shortly after we received the resupply, around 09:30, we heard the firefight commence to the North. Cpt Coates ordered our platoon to move up behind the rest of the Company to provide rear security and act as his reserve. We left everything in place, except the machine gun ammo that had just arrived aboard the resupply helicopter, and moved North on Route 561 on the double. When we arrived at Bravo 2’s position, astride of intersection with Route 605, the area called “The Marketplace,” the NVA were everywhere and the fighting was intense. The NVA were attacking from the front and on both flanks. There was a small hill (Hill 70) a few hundred meters to the east and we could see NVA moving down the hill toward us in column to reinforce those already attacking on our right flank. I had been in several firefights before, but actually seeing that many NVA moving in the open, confirmed that this fight was going to be different. The NVA fire from our flanks was really effective and our casualties began to mount quickly. We couldn’t move without abandoning our dead and wounded, so we were pinned in place with only very limited lateral movement. As the fighting continued, we began receiving NVA mortar fire along the road as they obviously had it pre-registered. I am not exactly sure when Cpl Bailey was killed, but I’m pretty sure I heard about him dying before we started to receive NVA artillery fire from the DMZ. After the tanks arrived at our position later in the day, I helped load his body on a tank for the trip back to Con Thien.”

The official “Report of Casualty” on Corporal Bailey stated, “Died 2Jul67 vicinity of Quang Tri Republic of Vietnam result of fragmentation wounds left side of head from hostile mortar fire while on patrol during operation.”

The action in which Cpl Bailey was killed kicked off what would be designated “Operation Buffalo.” During this action, Bravo Company sustained one of the highest casualty counts of any Marine infantry company during the Vietnam War. The Company formed up at the Con Thien Combat Base on the morning of 3 July with only 27 able-bodied Marines. Bravo Company reported that 17 Marine KIA had been recovered from the battlefield on 2 July, including that of Cpl Bailey. Additionally, it was reported that 36 Marines were Missing in Action. The remaining Marines in the Company had received wounds sufficiently serious to warrant evacuation to a medical facility for treatment. Of the 36 Marines listed as Missing in Action, subsequent operations located and recovered 3 of the bodies on 4 July, and 32 more on 5 July. One Marine body was never recovered.

Medals and Awards

Purple Heart
Combat Action Ribbon
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal

Honors

The name Thomas E Bailey is located on Panel 22E Line 95 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Burial

Corporal Thomas Earl Bailey’s body was returned to the United States and he was laid to rest with full military honors at the Fairview Cemetery in Wrightsville, York County, PA in Section M, Lot 1960, Grave 02.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=64935231

[The information in the above Combat History & Events was furnished by Cpl Bailey's Platoon Commander, 2ndLt David L. Mellon (later Captain), and is used with his written consent.]