VIETNAM - BLANKENSHIP, EDGAR WILLIAM

Blankenship, Edgar William

VIETNAM - BLANKENSHIP, EDGAR WILLIAM
BLANKENSHIP, EDGAR WILLIAM

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

View this soldier‘s Find a Grave page (opens in a new window)

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 44E 032 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)

 

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

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)