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Contact Info
Last Address Hollywood
Date of Passing Jan 14, 2009
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
This is to Certify that
The President of the United States of America
Takes Pride in Presenting
THE
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
to MENETREY, LOUIS C.
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Louis C. Menetrey (0-71395), Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion, 28th Infantry, 3d Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel Menetrey distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 1 April 1968 as a battalion commander during a reconnaissance-in-force mission northwest of Ben Cat. Learning that one man had become separated from the rest of the unit during an encounter between a small security element and the Viet Cong, Colonel Menetrey personally led a platoon into the hazardous area. He and his men located an enemy base camp and received intense fire. Once he had successfully rescued the missing soldier, he brought two additional companies into the battle. Repeatedly exposing himself to the communists' barrage, Colonel Menetrey directed artillery, air strikes and maneuvers of his troops keeping the enemy entrapped and under constant pressure. With complete disregard for his own welfare, he moved to the forefront of the action and led repeated assaults on the enemy strongholds. On one occasion he assisted in moving a wounded tank commander to safety and then directed tank fire from an exposed position, killing several Viet Cong. After being knocked down by a claymore mine, he led a charge which eliminated the enemy troops who had detonated the device. His aggressive and skillful leadership resulted in the severe defeat of the Viet Cong force. Lieutenant Colonel Menetrey's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
HQ USARV GO 237 23 JAN 69
Other Comments:
General "Lou" Menetrey was born in Hollywood, California on August 19, 1929. In 1953, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the regular Army and awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. He held a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Georgetown University and an honorary Doctorate in Political Science from Kyung Hee University, South Korea. His military education includes completion of the Infantry School, United States Army Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College and the National War College.
General Menetrey served in a variety of important and progressive command and staff positions during his military career. He began his military career as a member of first the Naval Reserves (1947) and then the Army Reserves (1952). Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he was commissioned through the Reserve Officers Training program as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the United States Army. He entered active service at Fort Benning Georgia in June of 1953 where he completed the basic Infantry course, the Airborne school and the Ranger school. His first duty assignment was in Germany as a platoon leader in the 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division.
In 1967-1969 he was assigned to the Republic of Viet Nam where he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, 1st Cavalry Division; Commander, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry; and G-3,1st Infantry Division.
After service in Washington, D.C. where he served as Coordinator of Army Studies, in 1972 General Menetrey began a three year tour with the 101st Airborne Division at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, where he served as Division G-3; Brigade Commander; Commander, Headquarters Command; and Assistant Division Commander.
General Menetrey was next assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea as Assistant Division Commander. In 1976, he was assigned to Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas as Deputy Commander, Combined Arms Combat Development Activity.
In 1978, he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Ft. Carson, Colorado. In 1980, he went to Ft. Hood, Texas where he was Commanding General, TRADOC Combined ArmsTest Agency and in 1981, to Washington D.C. where he was Director of Requirements for the Department of the Army.
Menetrey is promoted to lieutenant general in 1982.
In 1983, after promotion to Lt. General, it was back to Korea as Commanding General, Combined Field Army (ROK/US). Then, in 1985, he assumed command of the 5th United States Army at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas.
From 1987 through 1990, in his last active duty assignment, General Menetrey was the Commander in Chief of all forces in Korea, a Joint, Unified and Combined Command, which included United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, Commander U.S. Forces and Commander, Eighth United States Army, Korea. His duties as Commanding General, Eighth U.S. Army, made him only the second man in history to have commanded three different U.S. Armies. Eighth Army included the Trans-Korean pipeline and all the military oil shipping terminals and storage areas in Korea.
Among the awards and decorations received by General Menetrey are the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Distinguished Flying Cross (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal with V Device (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), 17 Air Medals, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Combat Infantryman Badge, Senior Parachute Badge, Air Assault Badge, Army General Staff Identification Badge and numerous state and foreign awards and decorations.
General Menetrey retired from active military duty in July of 1990 after 43 years of distinguished service to his country. He became a consultant and speaker on military and strategic matters to several large organizations, government and private. In 1991, he became President of Environmental Marketing Options, Inc., a Colorado firm that designed remedial solutions to mandated environmental laws and regulations. In 2000, he moved to Bluewater Bay in Niceville, Florida and resided there until his death on January 14,2009.
General Menetrey is survived by his wife, A. Jane Menetrey; his children: Linda Hammond, Susan (Jon) Riedel, Kathleen (Rick) Bifulco; and Louis R. (Lisa) Menetrey; his brother, Walter Menetrey, ten grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack.
The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base.
At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000.
Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned.
Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese.
The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.
