HONORED ON PANEL 22W, LINE 12 OF THE WALL
JAMES RUEL GOOLSBY
WALL NAME
JAMES R GOOLSBY
PANEL / LINE
22W/12
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR JAMES RUEL GOOLSBY
POSTED ON 6.21.1999
POSTED BY: Bill Hunt
Reflections of a Platoon Leader
Jim, It is Memorial Day in 1999, as I write this tribute and remembrance; almost thirty years since you made the ultimate sacrifice while serving your country. I was your 2-6 or Lt, your platoon leader, and I am sure that all the living members of our platoon remember you with great affection and respect. You were the best fighting soldier in our platoon, and everyone called you Water Buffalo as a symbol of that inner toughness and resolve that you had. We spent the night of June 9, 1969, in a platoon sized perimeter, with the Company Headquarters and other platoons fairly close to our position. We were operating off LZ Rock, near Bien Hoa, in Long Khanh Province.
On the morning of June 10, we were waiting for the rest of the company to move to our position before moving out. We rotated the point patrols among the squads and that day was your squad's turn. We needed to send out a short cloverleaf patrol to check the area around our position. You were not supposed to be walking point that day, but you volunteered anyway since you felt that the soldier whose turn it was to be too inexperienced.
Shortly after you moved out we heard the shots and it was reported to me over the radio that you had been shot in an ambush. Three of our men crawled out under fire and pulled you back to a defensive position. We sent more men out to the ambush site and were able to carry you back to our perimeter where the platoon medic was able to treat you where you had been shot through the neck. We were also able to get a LOH chopper into a small clearing and do a quick medevac. They even told us that there was a chance that you might survive. Unfortunately, we received word that next day that you did not make it.
We were all devastated by the news, but there was no time to really grieve when we were still fighting a war. Your parents wrote and asked for any information about your service in our platoon. One of our men, Peter Maar, wrote back and established a friendship with your parents, that lasted many years and consisted of numerous visits, until their death.
You would be glad to know that we did not lose any other men while I was platoon leader even though there were lots of close calls. Jack Crussard and I have paid tribute to you at the Vietnam Wall and will always do so any time we are in Washington. I'm sure that other members of our platoon will do the same. Your life was much too brief. Those of us who survived will continue to honor your memory and your service to your country.
(Lt) Bill Hunt
On the morning of June 10, we were waiting for the rest of the company to move to our position before moving out. We rotated the point patrols among the squads and that day was your squad's turn. We needed to send out a short cloverleaf patrol to check the area around our position. You were not supposed to be walking point that day, but you volunteered anyway since you felt that the soldier whose turn it was to be too inexperienced.
Shortly after you moved out we heard the shots and it was reported to me over the radio that you had been shot in an ambush. Three of our men crawled out under fire and pulled you back to a defensive position. We sent more men out to the ambush site and were able to carry you back to our perimeter where the platoon medic was able to treat you where you had been shot through the neck. We were also able to get a LOH chopper into a small clearing and do a quick medevac. They even told us that there was a chance that you might survive. Unfortunately, we received word that next day that you did not make it.
We were all devastated by the news, but there was no time to really grieve when we were still fighting a war. Your parents wrote and asked for any information about your service in our platoon. One of our men, Peter Maar, wrote back and established a friendship with your parents, that lasted many years and consisted of numerous visits, until their death.
You would be glad to know that we did not lose any other men while I was platoon leader even though there were lots of close calls. Jack Crussard and I have paid tribute to you at the Vietnam Wall and will always do so any time we are in Washington. I'm sure that other members of our platoon will do the same. Your life was much too brief. Those of us who survived will continue to honor your memory and your service to your country.
(Lt) Bill Hunt
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