Photo Gallery
Military Service of Jerry R. Fry
Clifford A. Gehrt
First Lieutenant, Infantry, 1967
Albert Leon (Gator) Stricklen
First Lieutenant, Infantry, 1967
Daniel J. Peck,
First Lieutenant, Infantry, 1967
Memorial Service for Maj. Gen. Maurice W. Kendall
L to R: Michael Kendall, Albert (Leon) Stricklen, Daniel Peck, Jerry Fry
101st Airborne Division Snowbird Reunion Feb. 2025. Jerry is with Kenny and Sonya Simonian.
Kenny and Jerry were members of the 17th Assault Helicopter Company (Kingsmen/Lancers) when they arrived in Vietnam in September 1967. Kenny was an aircraft armament repairman and a Lancer Gun Platoon door gunner.
Kenneth Simonian, Vietnam, 1967
Jerry (Lancer 3) stands next to his 17th Assault
Helicopter Company gunship
Images from Part 1: The Battle
A memorial service for the C/1/505 Airborne Infantry paratroopers KIA on April 4, 1968, and others. Courtesy Ron Yoriovich, 82nd Abn. Div. Assoc., Golden Brigade Chapter.
Photo of 2nd Lt. Paul H. Davin (Charlie 6), taken in August 1966, during his first tour of duty in Vietnam. At that time, he was a platoon leader in Company A, 1st Battalion, 327th Airborne Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. After returning to the States, he quickly volunteered to return to Vietnam, where he was eventually assigned to the newly arrived 82nd Airborne Division.
Cpt. Paul H. Davin during his second tour in Vietnam.
2nd Platoon Leader
Lt. Richard Underwood (Charlie 26)
Images from Part 2: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty
Front and back covers of Roger Lockshier's book
Cpt. Jerry R. Fry (Black Angel 6)
Sp/4 Charles D. Barlett
(Black Angel Crew Chief)
Combat Damaged Medevac (Dust-off) Aircraft from the 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance)
L to R: Aircraft Commander: Warrant Officer Jim Siverd (Dustoff 30); Pilot: Warrant Officer Gene Manning (Dustoff 31); Medic: Specialist Jerry Pask; Crew Chief: unknown.
Photo from the cover of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) Aviator Magazine, Issue 37-06, November/December, 2018
W/O Tom Wood (Black Angel 22), left
W/O Jim Wittman, (Black Angel 15), right
Sp/4 Charles R. Copeland
(Black Angel Door Gunner)
Vietnam 1967: 1/Lt. Fry (Lancer 3) stands next to his UH-1C Gunship. This picture shows the size of the UH-1C cargo compartment, a mini-gun and the rocket pods. The box in the doorway holds the door gunner ammunition After the takeoff with the first load of wounded, there were eight people in the cargo compartment for a time: the crew chief, gunner, five wounded, and the co-pilot.
Vietnam, 1968; Cpt. Fry (Black Angel 6), B Company, 101st Aviation Battalion, outside a helicopter gunship (UH-1C), arm resting on the door gun mount.
Sp/4 Charles D. Barlett
(Black Angel Crew Chief)
Eight-Klick Ville, Vietnam, March 1969
Command Group A/1/501st Airborne Infantry, 101st Airborne Division
For details on A/1/501’s experience with booby traps and concealed bunkers, click here: [Deathtrap Village]
Black Angels Insignia
Designed by Black Angle Crew Chief Sp/5 Clifford Gaston.
Later, helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Clifford Gaston.
Lieutenant Colonel (Promotable)
Jerry R. Fry, 1988
Burlington (IA) Hawkeye, circa 1969
Images from Part 3: The Runaround
Cpt. Quentin "Pete" R. Cowman (left)
Lt. Col. Peter M. Conaty (left)
Lt. Col. Jerry R. Fry (right)
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tom Wood
Military Service Plaque for Clifford A. Gehrt
First Lieutenant Clifford A. Gehrt
Deathtrap Village
(Eight Klick Ville)
Images From Deathtrap Village
(Eight Klick Ville)
Air Assault Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB)
Lt. Gen. Ngo Quan Truong, commander of the 1st ARVN Division, was quoted as saying he could have lost 150 men trying to clear the village without the Bangalore Torpedo system developed by A/1/501.
South Vietnam Flag
Cpt. Fry and Lt. Judkins are in the 8-Klick Ville company headquarters area. Cpt. Fry is monitoring the company and battalion radio nets while cleaning his M-16. As this is a position Alpha Company will be operating out of for a week, there are dug-in sleeping positions covered with ponchos. The covers are necessary to keep both the users and their equipment dry during nighttime inclement weather. Behind Lt. Judkins are four cases of C-rations with 12 individual meals in each. In the upper left corner of the picture is the frame for a covered headquarters area being constructed; its canvas cover was lying under the frame when the picture was taken. The structure will be used to keep future radio monitors out of the rain day and night. The air mattress seen between Fry and Judkins is one of the most important items carried by most infantrymen. In places where it can be used, it increases the probability one can get some restful sleep at night
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1. A brave infantryman disarms a booby-trapped mortar round that was exposed by an exploding bangalore. This was one of 176 booby traps eliminated by the company during the operation.
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2. An unexploded American 105 howitzer round was the most feared booby trap found around Hue. It was not uncommon for one to take both legs of the man who tripped it and then kill or injure anyone within its "bursting radius," around 50 yards. Such unexploded artillery rounds were not uncommon in sandy areas near fire support bases, which was the situation in the Eight-Klick Ville. When a 105-round is fired using minimum propellant, it is possible for the round to either not arm or to enter the sand at such an angle that it does not explode. The Vietcong then recover these unexploded rounds, remove the fuse from the front, and convert them into booby traps.
3. A picture of a small punji pit. By looking carefully, one can see the sharpened spikes sticking up from the ground inside the pit. In this picture, the ground litter has been scraped away. Before the bangalore exposed it, there would have been a thin weaved mat over the pit with ground litter spread over it so it could not be seen.
4. The wooden box/frames in the pictures above were referred to as “flower pots” by the troops. The flower pots were filled with soil and camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding ground. The only things visible from above were two wire loops at ground level. One wire loop can be seen in the flower pot on the left. When the flower pot was filled with dirt and made to resemble the surrounding ground, it required someone who knew exactly where it was to grasp the two wires and lift the flower pot out of the tunnel entrance.
Alpha Company first discovered the bunkers when a Bangalore explosion popped a flower pot out of a tunnel entranceway. Once they saw the first flower pot lying next to a bunker entrance, they knew what to look for and found 111 more over the next week. The pictures also show the bunker entrance that the flower pots were hiding.
In sandy areas, some bunkers needed bamboo roofs and walls to hold the sand back. More than likely, a large bamboo container was constructed and then buried. In the picture on the left, bamboo supports can be seen supporting the sides of the entrance way.
The entranceways of the bunkers were also used as firing positions. The VC could stand in the entranceway and fire on his enemy, then drop into the bunker and pull the flower pot over the entranceway to hide himself and the bunker. He could also drop down into the bunker to protect himself from artillery fire and air strikes.
5. Brave infantrymen exit formerly hidden bunkers. Both carry a .45 caliber pistol and a flashlight. These bunkers were two of 112 found, searched, and destroyed.
Marines of the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion Undergo Training with the Bangalore Torpedo.
6. Each Bangalore torpedo, which the troops referred to as just bangalores, measured 5 feet in length, had a diameter of 2.125 inches, and weighed 13 pounds. Both ends of the individual bangalore contained 4 inches of TNT booster, while the middle section contained 9 pounds of explosive material. One end of a single bangalore was attached to another, forming a chain of multiple bangalores. After a number of bangalores were attached together and pushed forward, a detonation cord was used to trigger the entire chain of bangalores. Alpha Company placed a wooden extension in front of the first bangalore to prevent an unseen booby trap from prematurely setting off the chain of bangalores. Other uses of the Bangalore torpedoes are: blowing up barriers, clearing large bunkers, and opening lanes through barbed wire entanglements.
7. The written descriptions of the Eight-Click Ville operation suggest that Alpha Company operated within the village. This photo demonstrates that they were not operating in a village; instead, they were operating in the overgrown, brushy, scrub-wooded area between the village and the rice paddy fields to the west of the village, an area about 100 yards wide. The white cord hanging from the trees marks the trails that have been cleared and are safe to walk along.
Eight-Klick Ville, Vietnam, March 1969
Command Group, A/1/501 Airborne Infantry, 101st Airmobile Division
8. Company Command Group: Back row, left to right: the radio operator (RTO) monitoring the battalion radio network; the company commander; the RTO on the company radio net; and the company senior medic, Roy "Doc" Gargus, who was later killed during the Battle of Tam Ky.* Kneeling in the front (L to R): the artillery forward observer's RTO on the artillery radio net; the artillery forward observer. The three individuals not in combat gear are the field first sergeant (wearing glasses) and his two RTOs. They are preparing to receive a helicopter-delivered hot meal and will soon set up a chow line for the company, so they are not wearing their combat gear. The field first sergeant and his RTOs serve as backups for the company commander and his two RTOs in case any of them or their radios become disabled. They handle field logistics, including resupply and medevacs, which frees the company commander to concentrate on tactical operations without being distracted by logistical and administrative matters.
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*The Battle of Tam Ky was fought during the same time frame as the Battle of Hamburger Hill. However, the casualties from Tam Ky were hidden from the American public due to the negative publicity the Nixon administration received over the Battle of Hamburger Hill. The Battle of Tam Ky resulted in 121 Americans killed and 404 wounded, whereas the Battle of Hamburger Hill resulted in 72 killed and 372 wounded. (See: Courage Under Fire: The 101st Airborne’s Hidden Battle at Tam Ky, by LTC Ed Sherwood.)
Lieutenant Colonel James C. Judkins, Jr.
9. Two of the finest platoon leaders to have served in Vietnam: Kneeling left is Lieutenant Larry G. Gottschalk, holding several captured rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and he has captured linked machine gun ammunition over his shoulders. Larry later commanded Alpha Company. On the right is Lieutenant James C. Judkins Jr., holding an RPG and a captured carbine. Jim was later wounded during the Battle of Tam Ky and evacuated to the United States. He eventually retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel. Standing, Cpt. Fry holds a mortar round in his right hand and a Chinese Chicom grenade in his left.​
10. The man in the picture was found inside the battalion cordon, where no civilians should have been. After reporting his capture, a Military Intelligence (MI) captain was sent to interrogate him. However, when the MI officer began attempting a form of “waterboarding” on the man, Cpt. Fry made him stop, resulting in a heated argument between the two captains. Ultimately, the MI captain returned to Camp Eagle with the man instead of interrogating him in the Alpha Company area.
After Alpha Company's sweep of the 8-Klick Ville, the members of the chain of command came in to learn firsthand the details of the company’s success. In the picture below, on the left is the back side of Col. John Hoefling, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Next to him is Lt. Col. John E. Rogers, commander of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry, talking to Lt. Gen. Richard G. Stilwell, the commander of XXIV Corps. Cpt. Fry is standing between the two of them. Maj. Gen. Melvin Zais, commander of the 101st Air Mobile Division, also visited, as did Maj. Gen. Ngo Quan Truong, commander of the 1st ARVN Division, who was quoted as having said he could have lost 150 men trying to clear the village without the system developed by A/1/501.