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Contact Info
Home Town Sikeston
Last Address Fort Huachuca, AZ
Date of Passing Jan 17, 1986
Location of Interment Fort Huachuca Post Cemetery (VLM) - Sierra Vista, Arizona
"Lam Nut Bau troi, Rung chuyen Trai Dat" (Crack the Sky, Shake the Earth)
~ Signal to communist forces telling them to commence the greatest battle in the history of Vietnam. The Tet '68 offensive was countrywide and well coordinated, with more than 80,000 communist troops striking more than 100 towns and cities. The Saigon region was among those areas hit.
During Tet '68, the 25th Infantry Division was engaged in fierce battles around Saigon and Ton Son Nhut airfield just outside the Capital. Moving quickly into the path of the Viet Cong Units poised for the attack, the 25th Infantry Division absorbed the full force of the enemy blows and then counter-attacked viciously to smash the enemy offensive. The Division Commander, Gen Mearns and his Chief of Staff, Col Wilson were in the thick of it. Both officers were in constant heliborne control over the the action as it unfolded.
Col Wilson was scheduled to DEROS on TET '68. He extended his tour for another two months to help with the battle. Many soldiers give thanks to the 25th Infantry Division for their actions those days.
Col Wilson was one of the chief architects for the "Rings of Steel" strategy (Hop Tac) used in Vietnam. As an Aide for Gen Harold K. Johnson and Professor at the CGSC, he helped shape and formalize the doctrine used in this approach. Col Wilson worked closely with Bernard Fall regarding the defensive and offensive strategy to be used in South Vietnam (see photo).
Other Comments:
Awards & Decorations:
He was also awarded the Russian Medal for Valor, Knight's Cross Medal 1st OLC, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Fourragere. There is currently no provision for this profile to display these awards.
Most profile information taken from: Parameters, Spring 1998, pp. 93-109 "To Change a War: General Harold K. Johnson and the PROVN Study", by Lewis Sorley. ...and Col Wilson's Official Personnel Records on file at the National Personnel Records Center, St Louis, MO. Including my direct knowledge of him - I was custodian of his OMPF and had the opportunity to see him fairly often while we were assigned to the 25th Infantry Division at Cu Chi, Vietnam.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase V Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
July / 1968
To Month/Year
November / 1968
Description This campaign was from 1 July to 1 November 1968. During this period a country-wide effort was begun to restore government control of territory lost to the enemy since the Tet offensive. The enemy attempted another such offensive on 17-18 August but his efforts were comparatively feeble and were quickly overwhelmed by Allied forces.
In the fall of 1968 the South Vietnamese government, with major U.S. support, launched an accelerated pacification campaign. All friendly forces were coordinated and brought to bear on the enemy in every tactical area of operation. In these intensified operations, friendly units first secured a target area, then Vietnamese government units, regional forces/popular forces, police and civil authorities screened the inhabitants, seeking members of the Viet Cong infrastructure. This technique was so successful against the political apparatus that it became the basis for subsequent friendly operations. Government influence expanded into areas of the countryside previously dominated by the Viet Cong to such an extent that two years later at least some measure of government control was evident in all but a few remote regions.
