RUSS, RICHARD A. – PRIVATE FIRST CLASS – U.S ARMY
Class of 1965Service: U.S. Army
Service Dates: 1966-1968
Rank: PFC
MOS: PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
Notable: KIA
Final Mission of PFC Richard A. Russ - Operation Coronado was a series of eleven operations conducted by the American Mobile Riverine Force in conjunction with various units of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in the waterways of the Mekong Delta in the south of the country in an attempt to dismantle guerrilla forces and the infrastructure of the Viet Cong there which had been a communist stronghold. Phased Operation Coronado IX was conducted in western Dinh Tuong and eastern Kien Phong Provinces during the period December 4-6, 1967. During the operation, River Assault Divisions 111 (RAD-111) escorted armored troops carriers transporting Vietnamese Marine personnel to the operations area to provide them with close fire support and to perform blocking operations to prevent the enemy's escape. They were immediately ambushed with automatic weapons and rockets shortly after they entered the Rach Ruong Canal near the Mekong River. Meanwhile, RAD 111 with the U. S. 3/47th Infantry Battalion embarked was also taken under fire from the same ambush position. The Americans fought their way through the ambush site, proceeding up stream where the boats turned into the western bank just north of the Viet Cong positions. The U. S. Army troops then conducted a successful counter-attack against the fiercely-resisting insurgents. Throughout the day-long battle, RADs 111 and 112 supported the ground maneuvers from the waterways by providing gunfire support and waterborne blocking stations to prevent the Viet Cong from exfiltrating from the objective area. As a result of the first day of operations, the enemy casualties amounted to 234 killed with eight Viet Cong prisoners and 42 weapons captured. The Vietnamese Marines accounted for the majority of the enemy casualties and also suffered the heaviest losses with 40 killed and 103 wounded in action. Two U. S, Navy sailors were killed and 68 Navymen were wounded in the battle, while U, S. Army casualties consisted of nine soldiers killed and 89 wounded. The 9 lost soldiers included PFC Donald R. Cote, SGT John Juarez, SGT Donald W. Miller, PFC William F. Moseley, MSG William I. Pollard, PFC Richard A. Russ, PFC Charles G. Schnegg, SP4 Alvester L. Winston, and Bryant H. Young Jr. Cote, Schnegg, and Young were posthumously promoted to Corporal, and Winston was posthumously promoted to Sergeant. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and U. S. Naval Forces, Vietnam Monthly Historical Supplement, December 1967] https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/44951/RICHARD-A-RUSS/page/2/
Accolades: KIA
Accolades: KIA