Quick thinking saved many soldiers' lives

Boise, Idaho, resident Milo Plank Jr. recently received the  Silver Star for his quick actions, saving the lives of fellow tankers Aug. 18, 1965., being honored nearly 59 years after his service in Vietnam. 

Plank was serving as the driver of a tank as part of A Company, 3rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine Division which was supporting Operation Starlite on the Van Tuong peninsula about 50 miles south of Da Nang. He was part of a three-tank formation that became the target of heavy enemy fire in adverse terrain and limited visibility.

During the attack, Plank noticed three enemy soldiers attempting to flank the tank's position and fire on them with anti-tank rockets. They were close, Plank then opened the hatch and used his sidearm to kill two of them and wound the third. 

His aggressive action with blunting the attack on the tanks, saving his vehicle and saving lives. Then after this, he saw enemy soldiers rushing down a trench toward his fellow Marines for a surprise attack. Plank shouted a warning to a fellow Marine, Cpl. Robert O'Malley. O'Malley then jumped into the trench with his M14 rifle, killed all the attackers and emerged with a handful of enemy weapons. In doing so, O'Malley had saved a lot of lives.

O'Malley would earn the Medal of Honor for his actions. The eight-day operation saw 45 U.S. soldiers killed in action and upward of 600 enemy soldiers killed, according to estimates. (However, from history, a lot of these estimates were inflated to make the commanders look good). This action took place about the time I arrived in Vietnam.

Roger Gregory is a Vietnam veteran and business owner in Priest River.