A SILVER STAR AFFIRM'S BILL CARPENTER'S VALOR
By United Press International (now defunct)
Tau Morong, South Viet Nam, June 12, 1966 (UPI) -Freshly-shaved
and wearing a clean uniform, Capt. William Carpenter received the Silver
Star today for his daring in calling down a U.S. napalm attack on his
own position when it was being overrun by Communist troops.
He mumbled a shy word of thanks to Gen. William C. Westmoreland,
chief of U. S. forces in Viet Nam, who had flown to one of the war's
bloodiest battlefields to decorate the young hero.
Carpenter, 28, West Point football's first and most famous "lonesome
end " has been recommended also for the Congressional Medal of Honor.
The War-Goes On
Artillery fire boomed throughout the brief ceremony. U.S. big guns
were still trying to soften up an estimated two North Viet Namese
regiments in the jungle from which Carpenter and his surviving men had
emerged.
Westmoreland grinned when Lt. Col. Henry (The Gunfighter) Emerson, of
Carpenter's 101st Airborne, called out, "We're not through yet."
"You're damned right, you're not," Westmoreland replied.
Expects Big Offensive
"So far this has been a very successful operation," Westmoreland
said. The tall general, his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and the
familiar olive drab fatigue cap shading his eyes from
the sun, told newsmen he and his staff had known for some time that the
Communists had at least, a regiment in this jungle 300 miles north of
Saigon.
The general said he expected major Communist offensive action
throughout the country and in the central highlands as the monsoon rains pick
up.
Too Old? Not This Sarge
During the ceremony Westmoreland spotted Carpenter's first sergeant,
Master Sgt. Walter J. Sabalauski, 55, of Palm Bay, Fla., still nursing an
arm seared by the napalm. The big, gruff sergeant won loud praise from
his company for ignoring Communist ire and standing upright in the
battlefield to direct his men.
"Sergeant," said the general, you're too old for this."
"No sir" replied Sabalauski.
Westmoreland grinned. "Every time I see you, You look tougher and
meaner."