MICHAEL S HRUTKAY
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HONORED ON PANEL 16W, LINE 45 OF THE WALL

MICHAEL STEPHEN HRUTKAY

WALL NAME

MICHAEL S HRUTKAY

PANEL / LINE

16W/45

DATE OF BIRTH

05/08/1949

CASUALTY PROVINCE

LONG KHANH

DATE OF CASUALTY

11/08/1969

HOME OF RECORD

GREENSBURG

COUNTY OF RECORD

Westmoreland County

STATE

PA

BRANCH OF SERVICE

ARMY

RANK

PFC

Book a time
Contact Details

REMEMBRANCES

LEFT FOR MICHAEL STEPHEN HRUTKAY
POSTED ON 12.17.2022
POSTED BY: John Fabris

We Will Remember

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
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POSTED ON 5.31.2022
POSTED BY: Buffi

Lost Love

My mom was Michael’s wife. I see how her heart breaks, and I’d give up my existence to spare her that. From everything I know about him, he was a great, sensitive, caring, artistic man.

This is a war that never should have been fought. A war based on a lie (The Gulf of Tonkin) that sent men who were barely old enough to shave to their deaths.

I know he’s watching over us in some way. I will never let his death be for nothing.

I will call out every warmonger in our government that doesn’t care about any lives but their own. The “representatives” that don’t represent us, only represent the military industrial complex. I think that’s what he would want. I wish more people would listen.
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POSTED ON 9.25.2020

Final Mission of PFC Michael S. Hrutkay

PFC Michael S. Hrutkay was an infantryman serving with the “Redcatchers” of Third Platoon, D Company, 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade. During 1969, the 199th was responsible for the security of the region north and east of Saigon, RVN. D Company was generally deployed in the field for up to a month at a time, patrolling while being resupplied by helicopter every few days. The company’s four platoons operated independent of each other, usually within 1000 meters in case one of them got in trouble. On the afternoon of November 8, 1969, Third Platoon was moving through dense jungle near Xuan Loc. The platoon leader had the men arranged in a V-formation, an unorthodox maneuver considering the terrain. The vegetation suddenly gave way to a small open area. Realizing their exposed position, some of the men began noticing tree stumps, a tell-tale sign of bunker construction. Nearly the same instant, heavy machine gun and small arms fire exploded from a well-concealed enemy fortification directly to their front. As the enemy swept the field with fire, Third Platoon took heavy casualties. Hrutkay went down with a bullet in his throat. A medic bravely moved up and performed a field tracheotomy in an attempt to save his life. A medivac was called and came to a hover directly over the small battlefield, dropping a jungle penetrator. Miraculously, the helicopter took no groundfire, and Hrutkay was pulled up and flown to the 24th Evacuation Hospital at Long Binh where he was dead on arrival. The engagement continued for several hours until Second Platoon arrived. Using M60 machine guns, they laid down enough suppressive fire for the pinned down troopers to pull back with their wounded. Only six of the twenty-five-man platoon were unscathed, and the wounded were carried or walked to a makeshift landing zone where they were evacuated. The six were blended with Second Platoon, and with the later arrival of the rest of the company, they settled into a night defensive position. The next morning, they swept the battle area and recovered their abandoned packs. The enemy had withdrawn, and using C4 explosives they carried, D Company destroyed the bunkers. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by William A. Yadeska (September 2020)]
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POSTED ON 7.27.2019
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik

Thank You

Dear PFC Michael Hrutkay, Thank you for your service as an Infantryman. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 2.1.2019
POSTED BY: Ed Sorace

Never forgot

I grew up with Michael in Maple Height, Ohio. He was a good man.
Rest in peach
Semper FI
Doc Ed
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