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Casualty Info
Home Town Chamblee, GA
Last Address Chamblee, GA
Casualty Date Dec 31, 1970
Cause Non Hostile- Died of Illness, Other Injury
Reason Intentional Homicide
Location Khanh Hoa (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Washington Memorial Gardens - Decatur, Georgia
In what was considered a racially charged incident, CID agent SP4 Leroy E. Halbert Jr. was shot and killed in So Chin, near Cam Ranh Bay Airbase, Khanh Hoa Province, RVN, while attempting to question several black soldiers for desertion and assault after they had reportedly drawn their weapons on an MP several days earlier and had cut another MP. SP4 Halbert and another CID agent, WO Ralph R. Wiest, both white, had gone to a village brothel in search of the soldiers who were known to frequent there. They arrived at the establishment to find it closed, and as they talked to the proprietor's daughter, the soldiers drove up. As the soldiers exited their truck one of them confronted the Wiest, jamming the barrel of his M-16 rifle in the agent's stomach and yelling that he was going to blow his s--- way. During the ensuing struggle over the rifle, Wiest was able to pull out his sidearm and shoot the suspect.
During this time SP4 Halbert was engaged in a struggle with three other soldiers. SP4 Halbert was disarmed and two of the soldiers were pointing weapons at him. Wiest shot one of the soldiers just as the soldier shot SP4 Halbert in the head. A passing GI was flagged down and transported SP4 Halbert to a hospital, where he succumbed to his wound. The other agent also took one of the wounded suspects, PVT Larry J. Anderson, to the hospital, where he also died. [Taken from odmp.org and the book Fragging by George Lepre]
