VIETNAM - BREWSTER, OLLIS

Brewster, Ollis

VIETNAM - BREWSTER, OLLIS
BREWSTER, OLLIS

Rank: Staff Sergeant

Unit: B Troop, 1st 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: Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device

Enlisted by: Regular

Date of birth: 14-Jul-1941

Hometown: Wellington, Alabama

Marital status: Married to Carolyn S. Brewster

Campaign: Vietnam Conflict

Start of tour: 31-Oct-1967

Incident date: 13-May-1968

Date of casualty: 13-May-1968

Age at death: 26

Cause of death: Hostile, Died. Small Arms Fire. Gun or small arms fire.
Ollis Brerwster died from wound received while on combat operation when engaged hostile force in firefight.

Five Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
SSG Ollis Brewster
SGT Ralph Raymond Collins Jr
SGT Douglas George Factora
SGT Bobby James
CPL Frederick F. Walters

Location of fatality: Hua Nghia, South Vietnam

Place of interment: Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery, Alexandria, Alabama, USA

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

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 59E 017 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)

 

BRONZE STAR MEDAL

BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
POSTHUMOUS

STAFF SERGEANT OLLIS BREWSTER
13 MAY 1968
B TROOP, 1st SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT

Staff Sergeant Brewster distinguished himself by valorous actions on 13 May 1968, while serving as an Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle Commander with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, on a reconnaissance in force mission against a well armed North Vietnamese Arny force in the Republic of Vietnam. During the seven hour engagement, Sergeant Brewster repeatedly exposed himself to rocket, machine gun and small arms fire in order to press the attack against the enemy fortifications. Although wounded by shrapnel from an exploding rocket round, Sergeant Brewster refused to stop for medical aid and continued to assault the enemy. In the process, he was mortally wounded by small arms fire. Staff Sergeant Brewster’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. 4697 (14 June 1968)