William Charles Fitzgerald, USN-- Part 2: Mortally Wounded in Action Versus the Viet Cong

Following duty on the USS Roan, Fitzgerald attended  counterinsurgency training at the Naval Amphibious  Base in Coronado, California.  Upon completion, he was assigned duties as senior  U.S. advisor Coastal Defense  Group Sixteen in Vietnam.

Here, he advised the Vietnam Navy on defense measures and the capture of military supplies and contraband destined for the Viet Cong forces.

About 0300 on August 7, 1967, Coastal Defense Group Sixteen 's compound came under heavy attack by two battalions of the Viet Cong.  The assault began with an intense mortar bombardment followed immediately by the advance of troops.

Fitzgerald, the senior American commander, immediately ordered a retreat of civilians in the compound.  Because of the compound's location and proximity of the Viet Cong, the only escape route was by water.

Lieutenant Fitzgerald and three others delayed their withdrawal as long as they could to provide covering fire and to direct fire from surrounding friendly forces.  The Viet Cong attack was swift and well-planned and it soon became apparent that the South Vietnamese forces were decimated and that the American bunker was the sole place of refuge.  Fitzgerald ordered the other three to retreat while he provided  covering fire to cover their escape.

It was during this action that he was mortally wounded.

The USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) is named after him.

A Hero in the Truest Sense.

William Charles Fitzgerald, USN, Navy Cross Recipient, Vietnam War

From Wikipedia

I have been writing about the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) in the three previous posts and got to wondering about who the ship was named after.

William "Bill" C. Fitzgerald (January 28, 1938 to August 7, 1967) was a United States naval officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War, while serving as an advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Navy.  He received the Navy Cross posthumously for his rile in fighting  off a Viet Cong attack.

From Vermont, his father was a career Navy man who retired as a chief petty officer.  After high school graduation, he followed his father's footsteps and enlisted in the Navy.  Seaman Fitzgerald eventually earned selection for officer training by appointment to the  U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis with the Class of 1963.  He excelled there.

Midshipmen Fitzgerald graduated and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy on June 5, 1963 and then reported to the destroyer USS Charles H. Roan (DD-853), where he rose from "boot ensign" to weapons department head.