James BaileyJames A. Bailey of Grove City wasn’t satisfied with one military career. He actually served three.
He was just 17 when he joined the Navy, becoming the fifth of the Grove City Bailey brothers to serve in World War II. In Korea, he served in the Army as a paratrooper. After that, he went to helicopter flight school and served three tours as a pilot in Vietnam…. Read more >
Murphy, Ralph Oliver IIIDuring the Vietnam War, the United States military fought a limited war against an enemy who was fighting an all-out war. The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army could cross the international borders with impunity, attacking the U.S. forces in Vietnam from bases in Cambodia and Laos, while our military was prohibited from attacking those bases – at least technically, and at least at first.
From early on, however, Special Forces conducted “black op” raids into Laos and Cambodia with units from the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN – Army of the Republic of Vietnam). As the war progressed, larger units of the American forces themselves crossed the borders to attack enemy strongholds.
A guy named Mike explains why and wherefore on the web site www.armchairgeneral.com/forums:
“It was well known that this area in Cambodia was a NVA sanctuary with vast amounts of stores and bases. The routes they used were known by us as “Adams Trail” and “The Serges Jungle Highway.” One of our responsibilities was to interfere with these as much as possible. The idea was going in with boots on the ground to destroy as much of it as possible to help cover our withdrawal. The anti-war faction had a field day — turning it into a major invasion of another country. It was 99% wilderness as shown and a lot was accomplished. SOG [Studies and Observations Group] had spent a lot of time and effort scouting out that area. . . . My camp was just south and east of the border and we were on the receiving end of a lot of the stuff stored there. It was often safer to be out on recon than in camp.”
Ralph Oliver Murphy III was with them in Cambodia when he died from multiple fragmentation wounds.
Kevin Scanlon, a fellow soldier, wrote on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial web site: “I trained with Ralph @ Ft. Jackson, SC & went to Nam with him in ’70. I didn’t know Ralph real well but was sad to hear when I returned home from Nam & Cambodia that he did not. He was a quiet but very good soldier as I remember in AIT [Advanced Individual Training]. . . . I think about you guys all the time! God Bless you Ralph, you are a Hero.”
Ralph was a 1966 graduate of Grove City High School. He was the first person from Mercer County to be killed in Cambodia.
On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Panel W10 Line 13
Richard Bailey
Early in 1943, Dick Bailey enlisted in the Army Air Force.
“A whole carload of us went up to Erie to join,” he said, “but I was the only one that went in. The rest of them all backed out.”
He never got home again until he was released from the service slightly more than four years later.
Dick was assigned to the 344th Service Squadron, 13th Air Force. They had a rough trip to the South Pacific.
“After going through Panama Canal, we dropped off supplies at Bora Bora. Going out the next morning we hit a reef, knocked a hole in the bottom of the ship, and bent the screw and the shaft. We vibrated the whole way to Noumea, New Caledonia.”
The 344th Service Squadron followed the U.S. military advances to maintain and repair combat aircraft.
“Every time they drove the Japs off an island, we’d move up. We had a prop shop, metal shop, welding shop, and paint shop. One time they brought a B-24 in on its belly because the wheels wouldn’t go down. We put a new walkway in it and bomb bay doors and had it flying again in two weeks.”
Less than ideal conditions sometimes seriously increased their workload.
“On Leyte, there were two airstrips. One was right along the ocean. They had to close it down because of the crosswinds. Guys were crashing all the time. So they built another strip up on top of a mountain. If they came in too short, they ran into the side of the mountain. If they went too long, they’d land down over the other side of the mountain.”
Although they were hit with Japanese attacks from time to time, Dick’s worst injury was the result of a motorcycle accident.
“A big truck and trailer had just refueled a B-24. It pulled right out in front of me and I hit him broadside. I got a fractured pelvis and a concussion.”
Before the war was over, all four of his brothers also served in the military. Dick’s brother John had entered the army about a year before him; he served in North Africa and Europe. His brothers Fonnie and Frederick also served in Europe. Fonnie was wounded and became a prisoner of war. James joined the Navy in 1945. He later served as a paratrooper in the Korean War and as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, where he died in action.
Link to brother James Bailey
Spence, Richard
“I didn’t know the gun was loaded.”
That pathetic excuse takes on a whole new dimension when the “gun” is a recoilless rifle, a seven foot long anti-tank weapon that fires a high-explosive round that is nearly three inches in diameter.
On January 11, 1970, the D Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division were cleaning their weapons at their base in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. One of the crew members, not knowing his recoilless rifle was loaded, accidentally fired it. The ensuing explosion killed four soldiers, including PFC Richard Bruce Spence of Grove City. This happened just twelve days after PFC Spence had arrived in Vietnam.
After graduating from Grove City High School in 1968, Richard B. Spence completed an airline school course in Hartford, Connecticut. He worked at La Guardia Airport in New York until he joined the army in July, 1969.
He completed basic and advanced individual training as a crew member on a recoilless rifle, which is essentially a long tube that fires an explosive anti-tank round. Slated to go to Vietnam, he spent a 22-day furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Spence, during the 1969 Christmas Holiday. PFC Spence left Grove City on December 28 and arrived in Vietnam on December 30.
He was posthumously promoted to corporal and awarded the Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
On the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Panel 14W Line 028
Graham, Shawn
According to his mother, Shawn Graham was probably born to be a warrior.
When he was born in California where his father, Marine Sgt. Tom Graham, was stationed, Tom’s unit made Shawn an honorary Marine.
Shawn became a real Marine after graduating from Grove City High School in 1989. He could have chosen a number of career paths. He chose a warrior’s role: infantry. He served in the Marine Corps for ten years before leaving the Marine Corps to work in Texas, but the warrior in him couldn’t just quit. He joined the 124th Cavalry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard.
Like a true warrior, he was eager to serve in the War on Terror. His father, Tom, was in Afghanistan with the Indiana National Guard, and his brother, Nicholas, was in Iraq with the Marine Corps when Shawn’s chance came to serve in Iraq with the Texas National Guard. Tom and Nicholas returned; Shawn didn’t. He was killed on September 25, 2005.
Shawn Graham was a uniquely American brand of warrior – not the archetypical rough, violent man, but a compassionate, caring man. On the web site, fallenheroesmemorial.com, many tributes describe him a very good friend, even a best friend. Sgt. Michael Almon wrote that “Sgt. Graham was a loving family man, outstanding soldier, and faithful friend. . . .”
Shawn remains an inspiration to those who came after him. One soldier wrote this:
“I currently serve in Baghdad in the same position doing the same job Shawn served in when he was killed. In our offices we have a memorial with his picture and details of his life and his service. I pass the memorial every day and think of his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his family. He is not forgotten, and his life and example will always be a reminder to us of the terrible price he and so many others have paid.”
Shawn’s compassion – and its source – is obvious from this: he wanted to send money to his mom so she could buy clothes at the Salvation Army and send them to him so he could give them to the Iraqi people. She told him to keep his money, and sent him boxes of stuff for him to distribute among the Iraqis.
“That’s the kind of person he was,” his mom said.
Obviously because that’s the kind of person she was.
Vincient “Jim” MongielloVincient “Jim” Mongiello’s father Ben opened a harness and leather repair shop in Mercer after settling there from Italy.
“When the United States got involved in World War I,” Jim said, “Father closed his leather shop and volunteered for the army. He fought in four major battles with the Fourth Division in Europe. And he wasn’t even a citizen.”
That set a good example for Jim. He joined the Navy even before he graduated from Mercer High School.
“In the class of 1943, if you had passing grades, you could leave and go into the service and receive your diploma. In January I joined the Navy. My mother received my diploma in May.”
After training, he sailed on LST 177 across the Atlantic. Unfortunately, the flat-bottomed LST does not do well in the tumultuous waters of the open sea.
“I got seasick on the first day out of New Orleans. An officer caught me lying down. He shouted at me to get to work. I walked out on deck, and here’s the captain with a bucket to upchuck in – he was seasick, too. The rule was, if you were seasick, you worked anyhow.”
Barely 18, Jim was the ship’s “oil king,” responsible for taking on all fuel, dispensing it, and accounting for it.
“I had 57 tanks to take care of. At eight every night I had to have a report on the captain’s desk.”
LST 177 participated in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Anzio beachhead, and southern France. As the war was winding down, Jim came back to serve Shore Patrol duties in Philadelphia.
1967 and 1998, he organized 27 reunions of the LST 177. He collected LST memorabilia, including LST 177’s bell and helm (steering wheel). He sent most of it to LST 325, which is still afloat as a museum in Evansville, Indiana.
Throughout his life, Jim was very active in his community, serving 26 years on the Mercer borough council, and being involved in many organizations, including the Masons, United Methodist Men, VFW, American Legion, and Ducks Unlimited. As an alumnus of Mercer High School, he organized many reunions for his graduating class. In 2010, he was inducted into the Mercer High School Alumni Hall of Fame.