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.
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[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//