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Anastacio was born in Leon Valley, Texas. He was raised in the Valley of deep South Texas. The family moved with the migrate farm work and the father went to work on a ranch near Presidio. Anastacio attended Presidio schools, dropped out at age 16 and joined the Army when he turned 17 in the months before the Korean War.
He completed basic training and infantry training as well as parachute training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He joined the 101st Airborne and saw action in Korea, where he excelled as a soldier. After the war and a tour in Germany and married a German national. Stateside, he attended Ranger training and was among the first soldiers selected for the famous Green Berets in 1960. His primary specialty was indirect fire (mortars).
He had completed two previous tours as a part of the 5th Special Forces acting as advisors and teachers to the Montayards in the Central Highlands. He thought his place was in Vietnam as long as there was a need.
Loss Coordinates: 143302N 1074119E (YB897102)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
SFC Anastacio Montez commanded a company of civilian irregulars in a strike force (MSFC) and was assigned to Detachment B-20, 5th Special Forces Group. The 2nd Mobile Strike Force Command, assigned to Detachment B-20 at Pleiku had during 1968 contained 3 battalions and also satellited separate battalions under Detachment B-22 at Qui Nhon, B-23 at Ban Me Thuot, and B-24 at Kontum. On April 1, 1969, the mobile strike force companies in II CTZ (Montez' area of operations) were reconsolidated at Pleiku and trimmed down to a total of six companies.
On May 24, 1969, Montez's company encountered a numerically superior group in a fire fight in Kontum Province, South Vietnam. The American members of the team tried to defend a small hill. During this time, Montez was badly wounded and, according to survivors, later died.
As the enemy pressed the attack, surviving members of the team had to abandon the position, leaving Montez behind. Because of heavy enemy concentration in the area, it was never possible to reenter the area of loss to recover Montez.
SFC Montez was posthumously award the Silver Star. His MIA status was changed to Killed in Action/Body Not Returned on 12 July 1969 when his status was determined to be correct based upon witness testimony.
Description This campaign was from 9 June to 31 October 1969. During the summer and fall of 1969, conduct of operations was increasingly turned over to Vietnamese, US troops withdrew in greater numbers amid reaffirmations of support for the Republic of South Vietnam government. President Nixon announced the reduction of the U.S. military presence in South Vietnam which would be demonstrated initially by the withdrawal of 25,000 troops by 31 August 1969.
American troop strength had peaked at 543,400 in April 1969 but dropped to 505,500 by mid October. More scattered than before, enemy attacks were concentrated on South Vietnamese positions. U.S. combat deaths were down in the early fall as American units switched to small unit actions. The trend was not constant, however, because U.S. troops deaths which had fallen well below l00 a week in the fall, rose above 100 later in the year.
