VIETNAM - LEE, ALFRED

Lee, Alfred

VIETNAM - LEE, ALFRED
LEE, ALFRED

Rank: Sergeant

Unit: K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment

MOS: 11D – Armor Reconnaissance Specialist

Awards: Silver Star, Purple Heart Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Badges: Combat Infantryman Badge

Unit awards: Meritorious Unit Citation, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device

Note: M-113A1, ACAV, K-17

Enlisted by: Regular

Date of birth: 7-Sep-1944

Hometown: Rose Hill, Virginia

Marital status: Married to Barbara A. Lee

Campaign: Vietnam Conflict

Start of tour: 23-Aug-1966

Incident date: 21-May-1967

Date of casualty: 21-May-1967

Age at death: 22

Cause of death: Hostile, died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Alfred Lee was on a convoy escort mission when engaged in firefight with a hostile force.

Seventeen Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
SP5 William Phillip Centers Jr
SGT Eugene Harold Dickinson
PVT Jerry Lee Houser
SP4 Toler Lee Hutchins Jr
SP4 Phillip Earl Ireland
SSG James Albert Jackson
SGT Alfred Lee
PFC Patrick Michael Loisel
SP4 Henry David McInnis
SP4 James David McWhorter
SP4 Anthony Wilfred Roybal
PFC Rodolfo Andres Saenz
SSG Walter Stephen Simpson
PFC William Charles Stanley
SP4 James Thomas Steighner
SP4 Dwight Elmer Timberlake
SP4 Larry Allen Williamson

Location of fatality: Long Khanh, South Vietnam, YT 564 054

Place of interment: Barbourville Cemetery, Barbourville, Kentucky, USA

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

Vietnam Veterans Memorial panel and row: 20E 076 (view Vietnam Veterans Memorial link in a new window)

 

SILVER STAR

SILVER STAR
POSTHUMOUS

SERGEANT ALFRED LEE
21 MAY 1967
K TROOP, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT

Sergeant Lee distinguished himself by gallantry in actions involving conflict with an armed hostile force while serving with Troop K, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. Sergeant Lee distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 21 May 1967, while serving as vehicle commander aboard an Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle in convoy near the village of Soui Cat, Republic of Vietnam. As the convoy was proceeding through and unsecured area, an estimate reinforced battalion of Viet Cong attacked with anti –tank weapons, mortars, automatic and small arms. The insurgents were on both sides of the road, they directed an intense volley of fire upon the friendly troops. In the ensuing battle, Sergeant Lee was critically wounded but valiantly continued firing upon the fanatical enemy. Sergeant Lee’s indomitable courage and calmness under intense fire effectively repelled the initial wave of attackers, preventing the Viet Cong from swarming over his vehicle. Although I sever pain, Sergeant Lee continued to direct devastating fire on the Viet Cong positions. When his vehicle erupted in flames caused by a hostile round, Sergeant Lee courageously ordered his crew to evacuate the blazing track and provided covering fire so that they could move to safety. Despite the fact that he was the lone soldier upon the fiercely burning vehicle, Sergeant Lee continued to fire furiously at the enemy until overcome by the unbearable heat. Sergeant Lee’s heroic actions in close combat with a hostile force 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. 1947 (27 June 1967)