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Casualty Info
Home Town St Petersburg, FL
Last Address St Petersburg, FL
Casualty Date Nov 06, 1965
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Gun, Small Arms Fire
Location Vietnam, South (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Royal Palm South Cemetery - St. Petersburg, Florida
Wall/Plot Coordinates 03E 023
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Casualty Occurrence: This Soldier was killed by hostile small arms fire on the WEST BANK OF MEUR RIVER, 12 KM WEST OF THE PLEI ME AIR FIELD 19651106 in Pleiku Province during Operation Long Reach.
POSTED ON 7.18.2019. POSTED BY: LORETTA BARKSDALE. FROM A LOVING DAUGHTER. Thank you for your sacrifice. I will always love you and know you did what you knew was right.
29 May 2006. My father, also known as Billy, was killed in Vietnam when I was only four. He also had two other daughters ages 3 and 2. My brother, the oldest child, was about 10. He is only one who remembers our father. But in my heart he is my father, the only one we had. My children also regard him as their grandfather even though they never got to know him. He had three daughters and we all gave him granddaughters. I have three daughters myself. I cannot tell you much about him, because I don't know him myself. After his death his family and ours were not that close. I have an aunt who tried to keep in touch, but she is also gone now. If anyone has any info to share about my dad I would greatly appreciate it. Loretta Barksdale Lacourse,1080 22nd Avenue North, Saint Petersburg, Fl 33704.
Comments/Citation:
Americans have come to know something about the fighting at Landing Zone X-Ray (Ia Drang Valley, 15 Nov 1965) since the book and movie We Were Soldiers Once - and Young came out. The earlier engagements between the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division and the firmly emplaced North Vietnamese Army remain almost unknown. One such engagement took place on the west bank of the Ia Meur River on 06 Nov 1965, when two companies of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, took on the NVA. Twenty-six Americans were killed in the action, which formed a prelude to the engagements at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany. One of those men killed was. SGT James W. Barksdale, St Petersburg, FL.
Ray Gonzales. Fellow Soldier & War Veteran. In Memory, of Those, Who Fell & Never, Came Home. Sorry, for the loss, of your loved-one. I'm sure the family, of this soldier, greatly miss him, even, after all, these years. His memory is not erased, nor his sacrifice & valor. I served, in the war, with the illustrious, 1st, Cav., Division. (Oct., 66-Oct., 67) I came home, from the war, feeling empty & hurting, for those who, would never return. I began, soul-searching & in 1973, I had, a genuine encounter with God, that changed, my life. I found, Jesus Christ, as my Savior! He healed, my heart & gave me, His peace. Jesus died on the Cross, for each one of us, to give us, life. His life! Please read Psalm, 34, in the Bible & seek, the Lord, while He may, be found. We all, need Him! May God bless & comfort you. Thursday, January 30, 2003.
Description This campaign was 8 March to 24 December 1965. During this campaign the U.S. objective was to hold off the enemy while gaining time needed to build base camps and logistical facilities. The U.S. also attempted to consolidate its ground operations more efficiently. For this purpose, it organized the U.S. Army Vietnam (USARV). U.S. support in the I Corps tactical zone, composed of five northernmost provinces, was to be primarily a Marine Corps responsibility; the U.S. Army was to operate mainly in the II and III Corps tactical zones which comprised the Central highlands, adjacent coastal regions, and the area around Saigon; and ARVN troops were to retain primary responsibility for the Delta region of the IV Corps.
On 19 October 1965. three VC regiments totaling 6,000 men attacked a Civil Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) - U.S. Special Forces at Plei Me, near the entrance to the Ia Drang Valley, in what purported to be the start of a thrust to cut the country in half.
With the assistance of massive air strikes, elements of the newly arrived 1st Cavalry Division thwarted the enemy in a battle that lasted nearly a month and included several engagements. The Ia Drang Valley action was the costliest in terms of casualties to date. The successful defense of the region improved security in and around the Central Highlands and raised the morale of the soldiers involved.
