Quincy Hightower Truett

The database page for Quincy Hightower Truett

08 Nov 2002 Cotton, I'll never forget who taught me to drive small craft and be a good NCO and Craftmaster. Thank you for saving so many lives by your example and bravery. BM1 Daniel J. Thone quatr0@gte.net The President of United States takes pride in presenting the NAVY CROSS posthumously to Quincy Hightower Truett Chief Boatswains Mate United States Navy for service as set forth in the following CITATION: For extraordinary heroism on the night of 20 January 1969 while serving with River Division 551, engaged in armed conflict against North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communist forces on the Kinh Dong Tien Canal in the Republic of Vietnam. As a patrol officer of two PBRs in company with an ATC and two other PBRs, BMC Truett was aboard the fourth boat in the column when the entire unit came under intense enemy fire. PBR 8137, the boat ahead of BMC Truett, was taken under extremely heavy fire and began to burn, forcing the five occupants aboard into the water. Observing the men struggling to reach the safety of a ditch, BMC Truett ordered his PBR into the area of the burning craft to recover the men in the water. Without regard for his own personal safety, he deliberately exposed himself to the blistering enemy fire, positioning himself on the bow of his boat to provide covering fire and to assist the men from the water. Because of several bright fires from grass huts burning along the canal bank, BMC Truett was completely visible to the enemy during the entire rescue. Mortally wounded after he had helped rescue the last man from the water, BMC Truett, by his outstanding valor, concern for his shipmates' safety, and inspiring devotion to duty, contributed directly to the safe recovery of the crew of PBR 8137. His selfless efforts were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

05 Jan 2003 A dedication to God, Man, and Duty describes this Sailor's life. Bravery beyond the call of duty took him from us but his actions saved many of us. God Speed, clear skies and fair seas, Sailor. Thank you. Your memory lives on. John Barrett President, the Vietnam Veterans of Central Florida 3400 N Tanner Rd, Orlando, Fl ,32826 johnshootch@webtv.net

08 Dec 2005 I did not know BMC Truett, however I did get to know about him as I was one of the very lucky sailors who got to serve on a ship named in honor of him, USS TRUETT (DE-1095), later re-classified an FF. I was a plank-owner and damn proud of it. Her keel was laid 27 April 1972 and she was launched on 3 Feb 1973, then commissioned on 1 Jun 1974 in Portsmouth, Virginia. During the week of commissioning I got the privilege of driving Mrs. Truett and her family to whereever they wanted to go and to the Ship itself. They were the very best of people to know and she told me about her husband, Quincy. In closing I would like to say that I am more than disappointed that the US Goverment leased the TRUETT to the very same county that cost BMC Truett his life... William D. Crader SH2, USN Plank-owner, USS TRUETT St. Louis, Missouri homerdean2@yahoo.com

28 Dec 2006 BM1 Daniel J. Thone, Cotton Truett was my great-uncle and his sister Eunice my grandmother. As a family we are glad to see he is gone but not forgotten and still holds a special place in the hearts of the men and women he served with. Thank you very much. Cotton's greatnephew, John E-mail address is not available.

A Note from The Virtual Wall From the US Naval Forces Vietnam History for Jan 1969: "TU 116.5.4 (four PBRs, one ATC) on a BARRIER REEF WEST patrol, about 8 miles west of Dinh Dien Phuoc Xuyen, received heavy rocket, small arms, and automatic weapons fire from both banks of the canal at 2200, 20 January. One of the PBRs was sunk but its crew was rescued by the cover boat. Seawolves [armed UH-1s from HA(l)-3] were scrambled and on arrival one of them was shot down. The remaining Seawolf rescued the crew of the downed aircraft. One hundred to two hundred Viet Cong were observed to be advancing in the area of the downed helo. "Spooky" aircraft [AC-47 gunships] and additional LHFT [light helo fire teams] arrived on the scene to cover the sunk boat and downed helo. ASPBs [armored river boats] arrived and after effecting emergency repairs took the sunken PBR under tow. The ASPBs also coordinated al MEDEVACs. US casualties were one killed and 11 wounded (four on helo). Enemy losses unknown." Fortunately, Mr. Crader's concern about the present where-abouts of USS TRUETT is unnecessary. USS TRUETT was the 44th KNOX-class frigate built. Shown above operating with other ships of NATO's Standing Naval Force Atlantic (1977), she served until decommissioned on July 30, 1994. TRUETT was then leased to Thailand where she was recommissioned as HTMS PHUTTHAYOTFA CHULALOK (FF-461). She was stricken from the Navy list on January 11, 1995, and purchased by Thailand on December 9, 1999. The ship was named in honor of Phutthayotfa Chulalok the Great, who ruled Thailand from 1782 to 1809 as King Rama I. HTMS PHUTTHAYOTFA CHULALOK is shown above during an exercise with US naval forces in 2004. The Republic of Vietnam was a member of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO), which was similar to the better-known North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Five SEATO nations provided forces to assist the Republic of Vietnam: Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States. The Philippines provided civil affairs units, while the other four all provided combat forces. All five SEATO nations lost troops in Vietnam, as did the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Vietnam itself.

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 5 Jan 2003
Last updated 08/10/2009