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Howard Ogden is Golf Company's only MIA.  Below are two accounts concerning his disappearance.   The first
comes from Task Force Omega, Inc.  The second comes from The Virtual Wall (virtualwall.org).  They in turn get
their info from official records.




On 18 October 1967, LCpl. Howard Ogden, Jr. was a rifleman assigned to a patrol operating in the densely
forested and uninhabited area on the northwest side of Dong Top Mountain, Phu Loc District, Thua Thien
Province, South Vietnam.

During the patrol, LCpl. Ogden’s squad was dispatched to assist with the extraction of a reconnaissance team that
was engaged in heavy combat with a VC force of unknown size. When the squad reached the vicinity of the battle
site, enemy soldiers brought them under attack. During the ensuing firefight, LCpl. Ogden was seriously wounded
and possibly killed. Several attempts were made to reach Howard Ogden, but the accurate enemy gunfire
prevented them from doing so.

As the battle raged around them, the Americans realized the situation was untenable. The rest of the squad and
members of the reconnaissance team were finally able to break contact. However, due to the tactical situation, the
other Americans were unable to recover Howard Ogden before they were forced to withdraw under fire. He was
last seen lying motionless on the ground. Due to the intense enemy presence, no search and rescue (SAR)
operation was possible. Howard Ogden was immediately declared Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.

The location of loss was near the top of Dong Top Mountain approximately 1 mile south of Highway QL1 and a
single track railroad line that ran along the south side the highway, 19 miles southeast of Hue-Phu Bai Airfield
and 19 miles northwest of DaNang.

In May 1993, members of the Joint Task Force for Full Accounting (JTFFA) traveled to Thua Thien Province to
investigate losses in that region. While pursuing information about the fate of LCpl. Ogden, team members
interviewed two witnesses and conducted a surface site survey of the battle site. The site survey yielded no useful
evidence.

The first witness interviewed was a member of the VC militia who fought the Americans in this region on many
occasions. He reported that the Americans would always collect all of their casualties after a battle. He stated that
he had never seen a dead or wounded American. Further he said he never heard of anyone finding an American
body. The second witness had no information relevant to this loss, and neither one knew of any grave sites in the
area.
The red X marks the approximate spot of Ogden's loss according to Task Force Omega.
In mid-October 1967 the 1st Recon Battalion was conducting frequent patrols in the upper Song Bu Lu River valley
and the Ho Hiep Mountains. Both areas were within the 2nd Bn, 7th Marines' area of responsibility. On the 14th,
patrol "WAR CLOUD" from C Company, 1st Recon, had a heavy contact with 20 or more VC in prepared
positions. After a ten-hour fight, a reaction force from Hotel 2/7 reached and extracted WAR CLOUD, which had 2
Marines killed and 3 wounded.
On the 16th and 17th, two patrols found themselves heavily engaged.

"TEXAS PETE", a 19 man patrol from Alpha 1st Recon, was engaged on the 16th, broke contact, and was
re-engaged at 0800 17 Oct by 40 to 60 enemy troops. Once again an all-day fight ended when a reaction force from
India 3/7 closed with TEXAS PETE at about 1500. TEXAS PETE lost 3 men and had 10 wounded.


"PETRIFY", a 17-man patrol from 1st Force Recon Company, was heavily engaged on the 16th and continued so
until finally extracted on the 19th. In this case, Golf 2/7 provided the initial reaction force.
The following entries are taken from the 2/7 Operations Logs for 14 through 19 Oct 1967. Entries in brackets [xxx]
come from the WAR CLOUD, TEXAS PETE, and PETRIFY post-patrol reports. Dates and times are in DDHHMM
format (141015 = 1015, 14 Oct); all times local.
[140850 - WAR CLOUD inserted.]
141015 - Recon insert WAR CLOUD under heavy sniper fire
141530 - Beachnut from 3/7 (India 3/7) and BALD EAGLE OPCON to 2/7 to help recon insert WAR CLOUD - 2
KIA, 3 WIA
[150745 - PETRIFY inserted]
[150845 - WAR CLOUD extracted. 2 KIA, 3 WIA.]
151015 - PETRIFY insert found 15 fighting holes
151545 - Chopped OPCON of Beachnut
[151630 - TEXAS PETE inserted]
[161715 - TEXAS PETE engaged by estimated 20 NVA; 2 NVA KIA; broke contact]
[170800 - While moving toward extraction LZ, TEXAS PETE engaged by 40-60 NVA]
171100 - Beachnut 1 3/7 to BALD EAGLE for recon insert. TEXAS PETE is under heavy fire.
171130 - F3 dispatch 4 LVTs (light armored vehicles) to aid TEXAS PETE.
171245 - Beachnut 1 (1st Plt, India 3/7) OPCON to 2/7.
171252 - Beachnut 1 landed first wave
171322 - Beachnut 1 moving to TEXAS PETE
171500 - TEXAS PETE - 3 KIA, 9 WIA
171800 - Recon unit PETRIFY pinned down with heavy auto fire - G-6 (Golf 2/7) to send unit to get them out.
171842 - G-6 on way to aid PETRIFY
171845H Choppers tried to get out PETRIFY - could not because of heavy VC fire - 1 crew chief WIA (Note: this
was CH-46A BuNo 151959)
180900 - Chopper downed by enemy fire trying to get out PETRIFY, Golf 2/7 rear to provide security (Note: this was
CH-46A BuNo 152502)
181030 - G6 fire team going along trail was ambushed by 5 VC. Engaged in firefight - 1 VC KIA but body was taken
back by VC
181105 - G6 pinned down by auto wpns - firing approx 100 meters from PETRIFY. Activity has died down, link up
with PETRIFY should be shortly
181140 - G6 linked up with PETRIFY
181230 - G unit with chopper received 81 or 82mm mortar fire. No casualties
181435 - G6 under heavy fire - receiving M79 and MG fire. Golf 3 MIA, Recon 11 MIA. Need assistance to get out
of hill. 60mm mortars hitting CP.
181445 - G6 under heavy fire.
181523 - G6 feels they have to pull out of posit and link up with recon insert ... they don't have the gear to stay in -
if they stay they will have to be pulled out before morning. Enemy has bunkers and are dug in - air strikes have not
hurt them.
181600 - Beachnut 1 and F3 got TEXAS PETE out and resupplied BALD EAGLE for G6 and PETRIFY insert
181720 - Beachnut 1 and F3 first way {sic}.
181800 - G6 in contact for 20 minutes - has 1 KIA and 4 WIA USMC. Receiving heavy auto wpns fire, M79 rnds,
and M26 grenades. Trying to link up with rest of recon.
181810 - G6 move west 900 meters to get out of hot spot.
181815 - 2nd chopper downed by enemy - gunship (this was UH-34D BuNo 148120)
181910 - 1st wave of Beachnut - 20 men to go to downed chopper.
190330 - Anticipate request for emergency medevac ... at first light. Anticipate lift of G6 at 0900. Beachnut India will
return to LZ with PETRIFY.
[191445 - PETRIFY extracted. 2 KIA, 3 WIA (serious), 12 WIA (minor).]
191500 - Chop OPCON of Beachnut India 3/7.
Seven men from the three recon teams were killed in action. Golf 2/7 had one man killed in action, body not
recovered. There are no known deaths from India 3/7 or the helicopter units. The dead were
C Co, 1st Recon Bn ("WAR CLOUD")
Sgt Robert C. Rudd, Dallas, TX (10/14/1967)
Cpl Edward J. Simons, Bluefield, WV (10/14/1967)


1st Force Recon Co, 1st Recon Bn ("PETRIFY")
Sgt Alan T. Jensen, Hales Corners, WI (10/17/1967)
LCpl Jerry F. De Gray, Milwaukee, WI (10/17/1967)


A Co, 1st Recon Bn ("TEXAS PETE")
GySgt Lemuel L. Alewine, Thornton, TX (10/17/1967)
LCpl Edward H. Rauch, San Francisco, CA (10/17/1967)
Pfc Lawrence H. Collier, Memphis, TN (10/17/1967)


G Co, 2nd Bn, 7th Marines
LCpl Howard Ogden, Omaha, NE (10/18/1967) (Silver Star)
As noted in the 181800 entry above, Lance Corporal Howard Ogden was killed in the late afternoon of 18 October.
His family received a posthumous Silver Star for his actions during the rescue of Recon Team PETRIFY - but his
body could not be recovered, and he has not come home.
In early June of 2009 I was returning home from doing the Run For The Wall on my bike.  We stopped in a small
town on the Iowa/ Nebraska border.  The next morning I picked up a newspaper (I think it was the Omaha paper) to
read during breakfast.  On the front page was a large picture of Howard Ogden, I recognized him at once.  It was
like a slap in the face.  The article was about his family finally realizing his body wasn't coming home and their
having a burial ceremony for him.  That summer his sister came to the reunion in St. Louis.