Lone Pat Hill

Devil
Devil
39
0
Published 2023-06-06
All Comments (4)
  • @_Devil
    Patrick "Little Patton" Star was a Corporal in the United States Army, who served in the early stages of the Vietnam War from 1961 until his death in 1965. He originally enlisted in the Virginia Commonwealth Air National Guard in February (1961), but soon transferred to the United States Army six months later in August due to his fear of flights. He earned his nickname "Little Patton" in 1963 as he was often considered to have been "made to be a General" by William Westmoreland, mainly due to Star's rapid climb through the Army ranks and the perceived notion that George S. Patton IV (son of WWII General George S. Patton Jr.) was an incompetent leader, insinuating that Star was more worthy of being called a "Patton". Shortly before his assassination, then-President John F. Kennedy was quoted as to saying "We're going to need natural leaders like [Patrick] if this Cold War ever goes Hot". Star was killed in action 2 years later in the Battle of la Drang, what is considered the first major clash between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), lasting from November 14-18, 1965. In fact, Star was unofficially counted as the true first American casualty of the battle, and thus the greater Vietnam War. An unidentified Marine Corpsman who was with Patrick at the time of his death exclaimed "It was so quick, so fast, [We] didn't even have time to react to the swarm of gunfire. I reached out to my left to touch Pat's shoulder and ask him what to do, but [he] wasn't there. I looked left, then down, and I saw him. On the ground, bloodied-up helmet in the dirt, with one clean bullet hole in [his] forehead. [We] [were] mortified. We didn't know what to do next, except shoot everything that was in front of us in retaliation. [We] [were] so lost without him." The death of Star lead to widespread incoordination between the men, and it lead to the casualties of 495 troops (237 dead, 258 injured), about 50% of the committed U.S forces for the battle. Correspondent Joseph L. Galloway later described the events at the Battle of la Drang as "the battle that convinced Ho Chi Minh he could win". Despite the immense losses and the fact that the U.S Armed Forces retreated, both Vietnam and the United States claim this battle was a victory for their respective armies. President Lyndon B. Johnson was briefed on the battle on November 19th, and when he was informed of Corporal Star being M.I.A, Johnson responded with "So, Mr. Star is dead, huh? That's a shame, but we must move on and win this war." Johnson was not a fan of Star as much as his predecessor Kennedy was, because Star was an openly staunch anti-Segregationist who voted for Barry Goldwater, Johnson's opponent, in the 1964 Presidential election. To this day, Patrick Star is listed as M.I.A by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, despite numerous claims from the men who served alongside him that they "...know exactly where the [Hell] his remains are, but [the government] made no attempt to exhume him from the site". The site in question has been deemed off limits since November 14th of 1975, the 10 year anniversary of the original Battle, by the National Assembly of Vietnam, and both American excavation volunteers and anybody associated with the United States government or military is banned from entering the site without a pre-determined guide. The Vietnamese federal government has made no efforts since 1967 to exhume the site of any remains, except for the lost PAVN soldiers. Currently living American soldiers who were in the Battle suspect that the Vietnam government has since tampered with the site and destroyed the remains of everyone who died there, including Patrick Star, but there is no evidence to support that claim. Current satellite imagery shows that the trenches that were dug for the war have all been grown over, but the make-shift shack built inside the foxhole that Star was in is still in tact, so it is believed that Star's remains are still there to this day.