Philip Howard Sauer
First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps

Philip Howard Sauer was born on 6 July 1942 in Ann Arbor, MI. He was a graduate of Westminster College in Fulton, MO.

Phil enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1965 and entered the 38th Officer Candidate Course at Quantico, VA. Upon completion, he was commissioned as a Marine Corps Reserve Second Lieutenant on 17 December 1965. At The Basic School in Quantico, he was assigned to Basic Class 3-66 in the 5th Platoon of Echo Company and completed that course in May 1966.

As Phil had been assigned Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 1801 of Basic Tank and Assault Amphibious Vehicle Officer, he next was sent to Fort Benning, GA to complete the U.S. Army Basic Armor Officer Course.

Upon his shipment to the Republic of Vietnam, 2ndLt Sauer was assigned as the platoon commander for 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 3rd Anti-Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. In early 1967, his Ontos (M50 Ontos Tank Destroyer) platoon had been moved to the Khe Sanh Combat Base as contacts with NVA forces increased.

On the morning of 24 April 1967, Phil decided to join up with the 2nd platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines which moved out from the Combat Base to Hill 750 in order to be in position to support, with a section of 81mm mortars, Bravo’s other two platoons. They were approximately 1200 meters to the northwest investigating a cave complex on the northwest slope of Hill 861. 1stLt Sauer was apparently attempting to determine if the Ontos could be advanced to a position where they too might be employed in a direct fire role in support of the maneuvering Bravo platoons. When Bravo 1 and Bravo 3 became engaged on the morning of 24 April, the Bravo 2 platoon commander, unaware that Hill 861 was occupied by NVA elements, decided to send an FO (Forward Observer) Team to the top of Hill 861 to adjust the fire of his attached mortars. Phil volunteered to accompany them and the 5 Marines (Forward Observer, Radioman, two riflemen for security, and Phil) started toward the summit.

By 11:00, the group of Marines emerged from a bamboo thicket, approximately 200 meters from the summit (XD 803441). There, they were ambushed by entrenched NVA. The Marine on point was killed immediately, while Phil and the Forward Observer made it into a foxhole; the Radioman and other rifleman found cover approximately 5 meters to the rear. The FO’s new M-16 was caked with mud and would not fire. Phil, armed only with his .45, directed the other three survivors to return to the Bravo 2 position while he provided covering fire. Only the FO survived.

1stLt Sauer’s bravery cost him his life, although exactly how he died is unknown. When his remains were recovered, his wounds were described as “traumatic amputation of both arms and the lower half of body from an unknown hostile explosive device.” The description of Phil’s wounds and those of the FO team radio operator suggest that the NVA occupying the entrenched positions on the summit of Hill 861 had placed some type of anti-personnel mine (or mines) along the trail they anticipated the Marines would use as they approached the summit. It appears that as Phil and the FO Team radio operator attempted their escape from the kill zone, they might have activated one or more anti-personnel mines. Lt Sauer died in Quang Tri Province during one of the initial encounters with the NVA of what would become known as “The Hill Fights” for Hills 861, 881 North and 881 South.

At the time of his death, Phil Sauer was 24 and single.

Medals and Awards

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

Honors

The name Philip H Sauer is located on Panel 18E Line 81 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Burial

First Lieutenant Philip Howard Sauer is buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, CA, in Section W, 1164.