TERRY, RONALD TERRANCE
Name: Ronald Terrance Terry Rank/Branch: E6/US Army Special Forces Unit: HQ & HQ Company, 5th Special Forces Group Date of Birth: 30 April 1937 Home City of Record: Niagara Falls NY Date of Loss: 29 January 1966 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 143704N 1085242E (BS719172) Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered Category: 3 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Refno: 0242
Other Personnel In Incident: Cecil J. Hodgson; Frank N. Badolati (both missing); Wiley W. Grey (survived); (other survivors)
On 30 March 66 the U.S. Army issued General Orders Number 73, award of the Distinguihsed Service Cross, to Ronald Terry for action 9-14 December 1964 while serviong as one of two Specioal Forces advisors to an eight man recon team. Several actions occured that resulted in the DSC for extraordinary heroism in helping the wounded after multiple contacts with the enemy in this timeframe.
It is believed, according to DSC researcher Bruce Swander, that Terry was one of the few POW/MIAs to earn the DSC before capture. Two others, Bott and Calhourn, were also SF.
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 30 June 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 1998.
REMARKS: SED HIT - RECOV 1 HERD SHOTS - J
SYNOPSIS: Frank N. Badaloti and Ronald T. Terry were riflemen on a Special Forces reconnaissance team operating in An Lao Valley of Binh Dinh Province 12 miles west of Tam Quan in South Vietnam when his team was split during a firefight. The patrol came under enemy fire on the afternoon of 28 January 1966 during which time Badolati was hit. Cecil Hodgson, the patrol leader, from Detachment B52 Delta, was apparently treating Badolati's wounds as the patrol traveled in small groups from the location where Badolati was hit. Badolati was with two other individuals who survived, and as he was too badly wounded to continue, the three remained for about two hours in their position.
Badolati's condition worsened, and when the two survivors left the area, they reported that Badolati was dead. They had no choice but to leave his body behind.
Hodgson and Terry evaded for the rest of the day. On January 29, they moved at first light into a defensive position, whereupon they encountered enemy forces and another firefight ensued. Terry indicated that he had been hit, and others thought he had been killed. When they looked for Hodgson, he was gone. Survivors heard additional shots, which they believed were shots fired at Hodgson, and they believed he also had been killed.
The team could not search for Hodgson because of the heavy enemy activity, and were forced to move to a rallying point. They evaded capture for the remainder of the day, and were ultimately picked up by helicopter.
Searches for all three missing were conducted for the next 4 days with no results. Hodgson was classified Missing In Action. Badolati and Terry were classified Killed/Body Not Recovered.
Since the end of the war, over 10,000 reports relating to Americans prisoner, missing or unaccounted for in Southeast Asia have been received by the U.S Government. Many authorities who have reviewed this intelligence material, including a former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, believe that hundreds of Americans are still alive, held captive. Hodgson could be among them. If alive, what must he be thinking of us?
Cecil J. Hodgson was promoted to the rank of Master Sergeant during the period he was maintained missing.
--------------------------------------------------------- [071832Z.OH 05/04/96]
RCV18008 06:57 06/08/93
VZCZCBTO093 RR RUEHBTPW DE RUHQSGG #7481 1581832 ZNR UUUUU R 071832Z JUN 93 ZYB FM CDR JTF-FA HONOLULU HI//J2// TO RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC//PW-MIA// RUEAHOF/CDRPERSCOMALEXANDRIA VA//TAPC-PED-P// RUEHBT/CJTFFA DET ONE BANGKOK TH INFO RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASH DC RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHINGTON DC//CA/OCS/CCS/EAP/VLC// RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC//OASD-ISA/PW-MIA// RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC//OCJCS/J5/PW-MIA/J3-JOD// RUEKJCS/USCINCPAC LO WASHINGTON DC RUHQHQB/USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI//J3/J30-M// RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC//DEA/SEA/IB/DDO/EA/ICOG// RUEHBT/USDAO BANGKOK TH//PW-MIA// BT UNCLAS //N03460// DIA PASS TO DOD POW-MIA CENTRAL DOCUMENTATION OFFICE// MSGID/SYS.RRM/CDR JTF-FA// AMPN/SUBJ: SRV ORAL HISTORY - REPORT OF WARTIME INCIDENT IN BINH DINH PROVINCE// REF/A/RMG/CJTF-FA DET ONE/270508ZAPR93//
PAGE O2 RUHQSGG7481 UNCLAS RMKS/1. REF A PROVIDED HEARSAY INFORMATION RELATED BY TWO RESIDENTS OF HO CHI MINH CITY, WHICH PROBABLY CORRELATES WITH REFNO 024O.
2. THE SOURCE REPORTED THAT A MAN CALLED "NGOAN," A RESIDENT OF THUONG HOA VILLAGE, NINH BINH PROVINCE TOLD THEM OF A FIRE FIGHT INVOLVING U. S. FORCES WHICH OCCURRED NEAR THE "CAU SAP" BRIDGE, IN THE AN LAO VALLEY OF BINH DINH PROVINCE IN SEPTEMBER 1967. ACCORDING TO "NGOAN," THREE AMERICANS WERE KILLED IN THE FIRE FIGHT. THE BODIES OF TWO OF THE AMERICANS WERE ALLEGEDLY PUT INTO A HOLE WHICH SERVED AS "NGOAN'S," FIGHTING POSITION. "NGOAN" REPORTEDLY SAID PAVN FORCES WERE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE BODY OF THE THIRD AMERICAN.
3. REFNO 0242: ON 28 JANUARY 1966, SERGEANT FIRST CLASS CECIL J. HODGSON, STAFF SERGEANT FRANK N. BADOLATI AND STAFF SERGEANT RONALD T. TERRY AND THREE OTHER SOLDIERS WERE ON A RECONNAISSANCE PATROL IN THE AN LAO VALLEY OF SOUTHERN VIETNAM. THE PATROL, ENCOUNTERED A HOSTILE FORCE IN THE VICINITY OF GRID COORDINATES BS71517O, APPROXIMATELY EIGHT KILOMETERS NORTHWEST OF AN LAO, BINH DINH PROVINCE, VIETNAM. THREE OF THE PATROL MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY EVADED AND WERE RESCUED. ONE OF THE SURVIVORS REPORTED THAT SERGEANT
PAGE 03 RUHQSGG7481 UNCLAS BADOLATI WAS SERIOUSLY WOUNDED DURING THE INITIAL EXCHANGE OF FIRE AND WAS LATER LEFT BEHIND BY OTHER PATROL MEMBERS AS THEY WERE EVADING. ANOTHER SURVIVOR REPORTED THAT SERGEANT TERRY WAS WOUNDED DURING A SUBSEQUENT FIRE FIGHT. DURING THE SECOND ENGAGEMENT, SERGEANT HODGSON DISAPPEARED AND WAS NOT SEEN AGAIN. SERGEANT HODGSON AND SERGEANT TERRY WERE LAST SEEN IN THE VICINITY OF GRID COORDINATES BS719172. SERGEANT FIRST CLASS HODGSON, SERGEANT BADOLATI AND SERGEANT TERRY ARE UNACCOUNTED FOR.
4. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE REPORTED DATE OF OCCURRENCE, THE HEARSAY INFORMATION CORRELATES WELL WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH REFNO O242. JTF-FA FILES INDICATE REFNO O242 IS THE ONLY GROUND LOSS INCIDENT, INVOLVING UNACCOUNTED FOR INDIVIDUALS, WHICH OCCURRED WITHIN TEN KILOMETERS OF HUNG NHON VILLAGE (BS7115).
5. FOR CDRPERSCOM: FORWARDED FOR APPROPRIATE ACTION SANITIZED COPIES OF REF A WILL BE FORWARDED SEPARATELY.
6. EVAL-KLE//