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Contact Info
Home Town Cape Girardeau
Date of Passing Feb 02, 2007
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Colonel Beckmann, a native of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and a West Point graduate, served in the Army from 1944 to 1970, with posts in the Philippines, Korea, Alaska, Texas, Italy, Alabama, Vietnam and Southeast Asia, and Fort Meade.
He was a military policeman, public information officer, military historian and intelligence officer. He published military histories of Alaska, Italy and Vietnam. In 1960, he received a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Among his military honors were two awards of the Bronze Star Medal.
After leaving the Army in 1970, Colonel Beckmann worked for the next 12 years on the sheriff's force in Fairfax County, retiring in 1982.
He enjoyed history, collected stamps and coins, and was an outdoorsman. He was also a member of the Lions Club.
His marriage to Elizabeth Bodmer Beckmann ended in divorce.
His wife of 44 years, Suzanna Wilson Beckmann, died in 2000.
Survivors include two children from his first marriage, Lynn H. Lutjen of Blue Springs, Missouri, and Timothy Hoare of Overland, Kansas; three children from his second marriage, Eleanor B. Coppola of McLean, Natalie M. Beckmann of Seattle and Catherine B. Serbanica of Chatham, New Jersey; and three grandchildren.
FRANCIS RIDLEY BECKMANN 1926-2007
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) FRANCIS RIDLEY BECKMANN, a career United States Army Military Officer, died February 2, 2007, after a brief but intense battle with cancer. He was born on December 22, 1926 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He attended Castle Heights and West Point Military Academies and pursued post-graduate journalism studies at the Sullivan School of New York and Southeast Missouri State University.
His career as a United States Army Military Officer spanned three decades from 1944 until his retirement in 1970. Tours of active duty included: the Philippines 1945-46, Korea 1950-53, Alaska 1956-59, Texas 1960-62, Italy 1963-65, Alabama 1965-68, Vietnam and Southeast Asia 1968-70 (two tours of duty), and finally Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.
During his military career he was a Military Policeman, a Public Information Officer, a Military Historian with published military histories of Alaska, Italy, and Vietnam, and finally an Intelligence Officer. After his retirement from the United States Army in 1970 at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, he entered civilian law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff for Fairfax County from 1970-1982.
During his tenure as a United State Army Military Officer, Colonel Beckmann was awarded the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, American Campaign Medal, Army of Occupation Medal, National Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Korean Service Medal and Commendation, Vietnam Service and Campaign Medals, United Nations Service Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, among others.
In 1956 he met and married Suzanna Wilson of Washington, D.C. in Anchorage, Alaska; Suzanna Wilson Beckmann preceded him in death suddenly on November 4, 2000. He is survived by five adult children: Eleanor B. Coppola of McLean, Virginia, Natalie M. Beckmann of Seattle, Washington, Catherine B. Serbanica of Chatham, New Jersey, Lynn H. Lutjen of Blue Springs, Missouri and Timothy Hoare of Overland, Kansas; and three grandchildren: Stan Serbanica, III and Meredith Serbanica of Chatham, NJ and Christopher Coppola of McLean, Virginia.
Vietnam War/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
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.
