THE WALL OF FACES

The “Friends of Rocky Versace” remember one of Rocky’s fellow alumni from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point - a brother Paratrooper and CIB recipient - Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, USMA Class of 1946, on what would’ve been his 95th birthday - 24 May 2021.

We can never truly repay the great debt we owe our fallen heroes. May those who served never be forgotten. Rest in peace CAPT. Cramer, I salute your brave soul. My heart goes out to you and your family. "De Oppresso Liber"!

The name of Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr., USMA Class of 1946, U. S. Special Forces, is on the U.S. Army Special Operations Command's Memorial, Vietnam War Section, in front of the USASOC HQ building on Fort Bragg, NC.

https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/USASOC%20Fallen%20Heroes%20Home%20Page.html

https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/past_campaigns.html

The “Friends of Rocky Versace” remember one of Rocky’s fellow alumni from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point - a brother Paratrooper and CIB recipient - Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, USMA Class of 1946, on what would’ve been his 94th birthday - 24 May 2020.

HARRY GRIFFITH CRAMER, JR.,1943: After graduating from West Point, Cramer served in WWII and Korea. During his career, Cramer served with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 24th Regiment, 14th Infantry, and the 77th Special Forces Group. For his bravery in combat with the 24th Regiment, Harry was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. Cramer was killed at Nha Trang during a training accident on October 21, 1957. He is considered the first Special Forces casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. To honor him, the men of the 1st SFG wore black armbands for 30 days after his death.

And talk about getting screwed:

"First Casualty In Vietnam"
Cramer was replaced in 1999 as the first casualty of Vietnam by murdered Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. Fitzgibbon was shot after a dispute with a drunken fellow airman and died of his wounds on June 8, 1956.
Cramer is still considered the first Special Forces casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. A parachute drop zone on Okinawa, CRAMER DZ, was named in his honor. Later, when the 1st Special Forces Group moved into its new facilities at Fort Lewis in 1987, they named a street (Cramer Avenue) after him.