MULLEAVEY, QUINTEN EMILE
Name: Quinten Emile Mulleavey Rank/Branch: E4/US Army Unit: Date of Birth: 16 December 1948 Home City of Record: North Woodstock NH Date of Loss: 29 January 1968 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: BR943909 Status (in 1973): AWOL Category: Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Refno: 2057 Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2006.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: In Vietnam, military experts devised a system to try to relieve the battle fatigue experienced in earlier wars by those who served long tours with their units intact. In Vietnam, soldiers were rotated after roughly one-year tours. The practice had noble intent, but it served to isolate the soldier and interrupted continuity. Virtually as soon as a man learned the ropes, he was shipped home and a green replacement arrived to fill the gap. Some were quite literally, in the jungles one day and at home the next. The emotional impact was terrific and thousands of veterans are dealing with it two decades later.
Vietnam was also a limited political war, and had peculiar problems: a vague enemy, restrictive rules of engagement, an uncertain objective, non-military State Department minds directing many aspects of the war. In certain periods of the war, military morale was lower than perhaps any other time in our history.
Adding to these factors was the extremely young age of the average soldier shipped to Vietnam. For example, the average combatant's age in World War II was 25 years, while Vietnam soldiers were 19. The young fighters became jaded -- or old -- or died -- long before their time.
For various reasons, some soldiers deserted or even defected to the enemy. Their counterparts in the U.S. fled to Canada, manufactured physical or mental problems, or extended college careers to escape the draft.
There are only a handful of American deserters or AWOL (Absent Without Leave) maintained on missing lists. At least one of these was known to have fallen in love with a woman whom he later learned was a communist. Another fled because he had scrapped with a superior and feared the consequences. This man was ultimately declared dead, and his AWOL record expunged.
There is little information regarding those listed as AWOL on the missing lists. For instance, SP4 Quinten E. Mulleavey disappeared on January 29, 1968. Through the years since then, Mulleavey's name has appeared and disappeared from U.S. Government missing lists. At times, he is listed as AWOL, others not. U.S. Army records as of 1988 indicate his status is AWOL. Details concerning his disappearance are not public information. Without this information, it is impossible to know if Mulleavey deserted.
Some of the reports among the over 10,000 received relating to Americans missing or prisoner in Southeast Asia have to do with deserters, although there is no evidence they have been asked if they want to come home. In light of the amnesty granted draft dodgers by the United States Government, can we be less forgiving of them?
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NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF FAMILIES FOR THE RETURN OF AMERICA'S MISSING SERVICEMEN WORLD WAR II - KOREA - COLD WAR - VIETNAM
DOLORES ALFOND - VOICE/FAX 206-881-1499 LYNN O'SHEA ---- VOICE/FAX 718-846-4350 BITS 'N' PIECES JANUARY 27, 1996
ON APRIL 3RD 1968 QUENTEN MULLEAVEY OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY DISAPPEARED. HIS NAME DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE DIA POW LIST DATED OCTOBER 11, 1979. NOR DOES IT APPEAR ON THE CHRONOLOGICAL LIST DATED APRIL 1980. HIS NAME DOES APPEAR ON THE BRIGHTLIGHTS LIST, DATED APRIL 1988, WITH THE CASE NUMBER 2057. (NOTE: THIS CASE NUMBER WAS ASSIGNED OUT OF SEQUENCE. IT WAS NOT ASSIGNED AT THE TIME OF LOSS, BUT WELL AFTER THE WAR ENDED, PROBABLY IN THE LATE 1980'S.) THE DESCRIPTION FOLLOWING HIS NAME READS "MISSING (W)." TRANSLATION: "CARRIED BY SERVICE AS DEAD BUT JCRC ANALYSIS INDICATES INDIVIDUAL TO HAVE BEEN A DEFECTOR/ COLLABORATOR, NOW CARRIED AS DEAD."
LET'S SEE IF JTF-FA (FORMERLY JCRC) CAN EXPLAIN THIS?. MESSAGE TRAFFIC 200315Z JUL 92 (JULY 20 1992 3:15 A.M.) "SUBJ: SUMMARY REPORT OF 18TH JOINT FIELD ACTIVITY IN VIETNAM 19 JUN-18 JUL 92." PAGE 21 ITEM E: "CASE 2057: ON 14 AND 15 JUL 92, IE3 INTERVIEW TWO WITNESSES WHO PROVIDED INFORMATION GERMANE TO CASE 2057. THE INTERVIEWS WERE CONDUCTED IN THE MY DUC VILLAGE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE HOUSE, PHU MY DISTRICT. THE WITNESSES PROVIDED CORROBORATING FIRSTHAND TESTIMONY REGARDING THE CAPTURE AND DEATH AND SU BSEQUENT BURIAL OF AN AMERICAN SERVICEMAN DURING THE DRY SEASON OF 1967 OR 1968. THE AMERICAN WAS LURED ALONG THE BEACH BY THE FEMALE WITNESS TO A VILLAGE WHERE HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY. THE AMERICAN WAS SHOT AND KILLED AS U.S. ARMORED FORCES APPROACHED THE AREA WHERE HE WAS BEING HELD. THE WITNESS LED THE TEAM TO THE AREA OF THE ALLEGED BURIAL SITE WHIST IS LOCATED IN A 6X10 METER AREA OF A PLOWED FIELD. THE SITE WILL BE RECOMMENDED FOR RECOVERY.
QUENTEN MULLEAVEY -- POOR JUDGMENT, PROBABLY.... DESERTER, HARDLY. YET, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT CARRIED HIM IN A DESERTER STATUS UNTIL WELL INTO THE LATE 1980'S.
============================== http://www.hopewellnews.com/hopewellnews/myarticles.asp?P=620287&S=585&PubID=10426&EC=0
News Area residents honor American war heroes
At age 19, Quinten Emile Mulleavey fought amidst the horror of the Vietnam War. His platoon was ambushed and a firefight led to the unit's evacuation from under the thick shrubs of South Vietnam. Through the chaos, military helicopters flew out of the battle zone without hesitation leaving at least one soldier behind on that grim raining day in 1968.
Army Spc. Mulleavey was apparently taken from his defensive position. A few days after the attack, soldiers in his unit returned to the position only to find his cigarettes and lighter in one area, and his helmet and knife about a mile or so from his other items.
Mulleavey was never seen again.
More than 30 years later, his nephew honored the prisoner of war who was pronounced killed in action in 1980.
Michael Murphy attended the American Veterans Traveling Tribute held at Blackstone Airfield at Fort Pickett Sunday.
He learned the grave details of his uncle's death at the memorial service. Murphy said he read the description of his uncle's situation which lead to his later death in a book which depicts the story of each of the 58,226 military members whose names grace the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
Murphy, who is a Hopewell resident, said the event was not only heart-wrenching but also educational. He didn't know what his relatives middle initial stood for until reading Mulleavey's brief biography available at the event. He also learned more details about the war and other conflicts involving American citizens.
A mobile replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. stopped in Southside Virginia this past weekend, drawing spectators from around the state who came to see the names of loved ones who died during the Vietnam War thath ended in 1975. Opening ceremonies took place Saturday, with appearances by Charlie Montgomery, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America and keynote speaker Lt. Gen. Samuel V. Wilson (retired), a veteran of World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
In remembrance, the names of the 1,304 Virginians who lost their lives in the war were read. A candlelight "walk to the wall" was also held during the ceremonies.
Other activities included tents filled with displays from Korean War memorial information to unit patches from various campaigns throughout the world. The Elder Farrar & Co. gospel singers performed also. Norm Bergsma displayed about 30 pieces of his artwork which represents scenes from the Vietnam War. He was a survivor of the war and served with the 25th Infantry Division. His paintings, "visually express one man's journey through Delayed Stress and the struggle to come to terms with war and its aftermath," a information sheet about the author stated.
Those who walked onto the memorial site saw more than a wall; they faced the struggles and burdens of the American heroes who fought for freedom and faced criticism upon returning home. Many had different reasons for being there this past weekend, but most experienced a certain concern for others.
"There were a lot of different people there all with different stories," Murphy said. "One woman had met her husband on the Blackstone airfield. Forty days later they were married within a few weeks he left for Vietnam. She never saw him again."
Murphy, who has also visited the permanent site of the original wall in Washington D.C. which was erected 20 years ago, said the recent memorial service "pulled at your heart strings."
"I thought about my grandmother the whole time and what she went through," Murphy said about his experience Sunday. He explained, his grandmother Juliet Mulleavey had to provide DNA samples to help the government identify her that her son was dead or alive.
Murphy explained that this particular wall (there are three replicas that travel the states) was funded by three veterans, and his run by a fur-man crew with the help of several volunteers. It is 80 percent of the size of the original Wall and made from steel. It ways 8,000 pounds and is 360-feet long. The wall has traveled to 50 states (all but Hawaii) and appears about 40 times a year.
Murphy recommends that others attend such events.
"It's just part of being an American," he said. 'Memorials are held to make sure you don't forget what people fought for. I've never been in the Army, but at every funeral I've been to they play Taps. Almost all of my ancestors have fought for our country."
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Vietnam
Families still feel war's sting Six from N.H. have never been found
By Joelle Farrell Monitor staff
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 11. 2006 8:21AM http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061111/REPOSITORY/611110308/1043/48HOURS Courtesy photo Army Spc. Quinten Mulleavey went missing in Vietnam.
he soldiers had already begun slogging up a mountain in Bong Son, Vietnam, when they realized Spc. Quinten Mulleavey wasn't with them. Walking back, they found his pack, his rifle and helmet, an empty package of cigarettes and a packet of Kool-Aid near a stream. But Mulleavey, 19, of North Woodstock, was never found.
Mulleavey is one of six New Hampshire service members missing since the Vietnam War. They're presumed dead, but without remains to bury or knowledge of what happened, some family members find it hard to move on.
"My whole life, I thought he was coming home," said Daisy Badolati, whose father, Staff Sgt. Frank Badolati of Goffstown is believed to have died from wounds suffered during a firefight in South Vietnam in 1966.
The situation was especially difficult for Mulleavey's mother, Juliette Mulleavey. The Army classified Mulleavey as absent without leave, not allowing him an honorable discharge or a military funeral until they reclassified him 13 years after his disappearance in 1968.
"I said, 'Where would he go?' " she said. "My son is not a moron. Why would he want to leave his company and go in the jungle?"
The military hasn't stopped looking for Mulleavey or others who went missing during war. The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command identifies remains of about 100 veterans each year, including some from World War II. The agency works in partnership with officials from Vietnam and other countries where American troops have been lost.
Through interviews with former Vietcong soldiers, the agency has found gravesites and other information about missing troops. Last year, the remains of Col. Sheldon Burnett, a Pelham soldier missing since 1971, were found in Laos and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. In 2004, the remains of Airman 1st Class Phillip Joseph Stickney of Manchester were found in North Vietnam. He was buried in Arkansas.
On the first Wednesday of every month, members of a group called Rolling Thunder gather at Veterans Park in Manchester. They read the names of all 50 New Hampshire troops missing from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. They also read the names of about 30 missing American troops who fought in the Gulf War in 1991, and Matt Maupin, an Ohio soldier captured in Iraq in April 2004, said Pat McGhie, director of the New England branch of Rolling Thunder.
"Many people think the war's over and everybody's come home," McGhie said. Some never did, he added.
He enlisted at 18
Spc. Quinten Mulleavey was the fifth of seven children. His mother called him "a devil"; he was sent home from school several times for laughing in class. Coming from a big family, "fooling around just came natural," Juliette Mulleavey said.
As a teenager, Mulleavey worked at Clark's Trading Post, a tourist attraction in Lincoln. One summer, he went to New York to help dismantle a covered bridge and bring it back to Clark's. A plaque near the bridge honors him.
Mulleavey's father and an older brother, Raymond, served in the Navy. But Mulleavey wanted to be a paratrooper in the Army, and he asked his mother to sign his paperwork when he was 17. She refused. He enlisted at 18, joining the 173rd Airborne Division.
Before Mulleavey left for Vietnam in January 1968, Juliette Mulleavey asked him if he was afraid to go to war.
"No, . . . I don't know," he told her. "Mom, I wish I knew more what this war was about."
When he arrived in Vietnam, Mulleavey told his mother that he believed they were in Vietnam to help the people there. "You should see how these people live," he told her.
Mulleavey wrote home often. In a letter to his brother, he said that the enemy always seemed to leave before he and his fellow soldiers arrived, so they just burned villages. Once, they burned a hooch filled with marijuana, he told them in a letter.
"The odor really screwed us up," he wrote, adding, "Don't worry. I don't smoke pot."
The day before he went missing, Mulleavey wrote to his mother, telling her that his crew had watched a film about the sights in New Hampshire.
"Whoo! Mom, they showed everything," Mulleavey wrote. "Clarks, Mount. Wash., the Cog, Flume, Lost River, Polar - just everything. Boy, talk about getting homesick.
"The Old Man in the Mountain, the guys never believed me when I told them about the Old Man," he wrote. "When they saw it on film, they were real impressed. Boy I thought I'd go crazy before the flick ended."
On April 3, 1968, an Army corporal knocked on Juliette Mulleavey's door and told her that her son was missing.
"I felt it so deep, I knew he was gone," she said.
Mulleavey's younger brother John joined the Army, hoping he'd get sent to Vietnam and he could look for his brother. But the war ended before his training did.
Thirteen years after Mulleavey's disappearance, the Army reclassified Mulleavey as presumed dead while missing and granted him an honorable service discharge, Juliette Mulleavey said. His family held a memorial service.
Several years ago, a Vietcong soldier told U.S. military officials that he recognized Mulleavey in a picture, Juliette Mulleavey said. The man said Mulleavey had been captured and taken to a nearby camp. There, Mulleavey heard American tanks and ran toward the sound. The Vietnamese soldiers shot him in the back, the man told officials.
He led them to the spot where he believed Mulleavey had been buried. They found only a uniform button.
The war had been over for more than 30 years, and farmers have plowed the fields where Mulleavey may have been. His remains could be spread over a greater distance, military officials told Juliette Mulleavey. Her blood sample is on file in case his remains are found.
Mulleavey's grave is empty, but Juliette Mulleavey, 87, feels some finality to her son's death now that his name is on a headstone at Riverside Cemetery in Lincoln.
"People will know this boy existed," she said.
Learning about her father
Army Staff Sgt. Frank Badolati grew up in Goffstown but lived at Fort Bragg, N.C., before shipping out to Vietnam, said his daughter, Daisy. She was 2 « when he left.
Badolati, 33, was a rifleman in a Special Forces reconnaissance team. On Jan. 28, 1966, he and five other soldiers were sent to the An Lao Valley of Binh Dinh Province, according to information gathered by the POW/MIA Network, a nonprofit organization.
That morning, Vietcong soldiers attacked Badolati's team. Badolati was badly wounded by a bullet that hit his upper left arm, according to family members and information gathered by POW/MIA groups.
The team split into two groups and continued to move away from the site where they had been ambushed. The two soldiers with Badolati said he died the next morning. They left his body, hoping they could come back for it once they escaped from the valley and had outside support. When soldiers returned, they could not find his body.
Badolati's wife, Jonny, who is from Denmark, never remarried, Daisy Badolati said. The family never spoke about Frank Badolati, she said.
In 1999, Daisy Badolati, who teaches at a bilingual school in Oregon, decided to explore her father's life and death. She met one of the soldiers who served with him that day, Master Sgt. Wiley Gray. She met people who wore bracelets with her father's name and the date he went missing.
That year, she saw a picture of her father for the first time. She keeps it in her wallet.
"I brought him home as best I could," she said.
Two explanations
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Joseph Sullivan was a father of four and a Special Forces soldier. He left for his second tour in Vietnam in May 1967, said one of his daughters, Eileen Moody of North Carolina. Moody was 5 when Sullivan left.
Sullivan, whose hometown is listed as East Alstead, was reported missing on July 12, 1967, in southeast Laos. Moody said the military had reports detailing two possible explanations for what happened to her father.
A team of three Americans and eight Vietnamese soldiers were on a reconnaissance mission in southeastern Laos when they came under attack. Only one American was rescued, and he said the other Americans had been mortally wounded. The bodies of Sullivan and the other soldier, Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Almendariz, were never found.
Moody said she has also seen a report that said Vietcong soldiers ambushed the soldiers, wrestled Sullivan's gun from him and shot him.
Moody, 44, a retired cable technician, said her father's death was hardest on her older brother and sister, then 9 and 7, and her mother.
As she grew older, Moody sought out soldiers who served with her father to help her understand who he was. Moody said she isn't in denial about her father's death, but it helps to hear others talk about him.
The others
Family members of the remaining four soldiers missing from the Vietnam War could not be contacted for comment or did not return calls for comment. The following is the last known information about them, according to information from the POW/MIA Network:
- Air Force Staff Sgt. Clyde Douglas Alloway, 33, of Portsmouth is believed to have been killed in a plane crash offshore in South Vietnam on June 7, 1970.
- Air Force Maj. Gerald Robert Helmich, 38, of Manchester is believed to have been killed during an operation to rescue a downed Army helicopter just south Ban Senphan near the Laos/Vietnam border. Helmich's plane crashed after the planes came under enemy fire on Nov. 12, 1969.
- Air Force Capt. Albert L. Page Jr., 32, of Derry is believed to have been killed when his plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed during a strike mission in North Vietnam on Aug. 8, 1967. The plane crashed offshore, and witnesses did not see parachutes leave the aircraft. Page's body was not recovered.