Rank: Specialist 4
Unit: F Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 11D – Armor Reconnaissance Specialist
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge
Unit awards: Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Selected Service
Date of birth: 5-Sep-1947
Hometown: Lewisburg, Ohio
Marital status: Never Married
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 8-Dec-1966
Start of tour: 13-Aug-1967
Incident date: 13-Mar-1968
Date of casualty: 13-Mar-1968
Age at death: 20
Cause of death: Hostile, Died. Artillery/Mortar/Rocket. Artillery, rocket, or mortar.
Edgar William Blankenship died from wounds received while on a command post which came under hostile mortar attack.
Location of fatality: Long Khanh, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Parish Cemetery, Arlington, Ohio, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS
SPECIALIST EDGAR WILLIAM BLANKENSHIP
13 MARCH 1968
F TROOP, 2nd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Specialist Four Blankenship distinguished himself by valorous actions on the early morning of 13 March 1968, while serving as a Machine Gunner with Troop F, 2d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, during a combined mortar and ground attack on his troop’s night defensive perimeter approximately 15 kilometers west of Xuan Loc, Vietnam. Specialist Blankenship immediately manned his M60 machine gun and placed intense, accurate fire upon the enemy forces, which were armed with antitank rockets and automatic weapons. By effectively engaging the insurgents within his zone of fire, Specialist Blankenship insured that the full complement of friendly fire was being directed against the onrushing Viet Cong. Later in the battle, Specialist Blankenship was mortally wounded by fragments from an exploding enemy rocket. Specialist Four Blankenship’s personal bravery and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Headquarters, 9th Infantry Division General Orders No. 2743 (25 April 1968)