DIBBLE, MORRIS FREDERICK

Name: Morris Frederick Dibble
Rank/Branch: E3/US Army
Unit: Company B, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division
Date of Birth: 18 August 1944
Home City of Record: Corning NY
Date of Loss: 05 December 1965
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 112552N 1063324E (XT690473)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground

Other Personnel In Incident: George J. Eisenberger; Edward C. Upner; (both
missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.  2020

REMARKS: KIA GND COMB - REMS NOT LOC - J

SYNOPSIS: PFC Morris Dibble and SSgt. Edward C. Upner were squad members of a
team lead by Sgt. George J. Eisenberger on a ground combat mission in Binh Duong
Province, South Vietnam on December 5, 1965.

The unit came under hostile fire from what was believed to be a Viet Cong
encampment, and in the first burst of fire, the three men were mortally wounded.
When the unit was able to withdraw from the combat area, it was not possible to
recover Dibble, Upner and Eisenberger.

When the enemy threat abated, the squad reentered the area in an attempt to find
the bodies, but they were gone. It was generally believed that they were taken
by the Viet Cong and probably buried, which was not at all an uncommon thing to
do. (Veterans note that the Viet Cong also seemed to make it as hard as possible
for the graves to be found).

The three members of Company B are listed among the dead, but because their
bodies were not recovered, they are also listed among the missing. Witnesses
felt certain that the three died on the day their unit was hit. Other cases of
the missing are not quite as clear, however. Many missing were known to have
been alive at last point of contact. Some were photographed as POWs. Others even
wrote home from POW camps, never to be heard from again.

Since the war ended, thousands of reports have been received that have convinced
many authorities that hundreds of Americans remain alive in captivity in
Southeast Asia. Perhaps Upner, Eisenberger and Dibble are not among them. But
one can imagine them proudly defending one last firebase for their freedom.

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KYgIEAW

PFC MORRIS FREDERICK DIBBLE

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On December 5, 1965, a squad from Company B of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, were on a ground combat mission in South Vietnam when its members encountered a Viet Cong encampment near grid coordinates 48P  XT 690 473. The enemy opened fire, killing three squad members. The remainder of the unit was forced to withdraw, and because of the continued enemy presence, could not recover the three fallen members' remains at the time. Searches conducted over the following two days were unsuccessful in locating the three fallen men.

Private First Class Morris Frederick Dibble entered the U.S. Army from New York and served with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He was one of the three men killed during this action on December 5, 1965, and his remains were not recovered. Subsequent attempts to locate his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Private First Class Dibble is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

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