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Name: |
William Michael Copley |
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Rank/Branch: |
Staff Sergeant/US Army |
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Unit: |
Command and Control North Military Assistance
Command-Vietnam
Studies and Observation Group
5th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces |
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Date of Birth: |
22 May 1949 (Columbus, OH) |
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Home of Record: |
Northridge, CA |
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Date of Loss: |
16 November 1968 |
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Country of Loss: |
Laos |
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Loss Coordinates: |
144000N 1071754E (YB475226)
Click coordinates to view maps
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Status in 1973: |
Missing in Action |
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Category: |
2 |
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Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: |
Ground |
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Other Personnel In Incident: |
(none missing) |
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REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS:
Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group (MACV-SOG),
was a joint service high command unconventional warfare task force engaged
in highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special
Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (though it was not a Special
Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided
their "cover" while under secret orders to MACV-SOG. These teams performed
deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction
which were called, depending on the time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie
Fire" missions.,
On 13 November
1968, SSgt. Roger T. Loe, team leader; then SP4 William M. Copley, assistant
team leader; and an unspecified number of indigenous team members, comprised
Recon Team (RT) Vermont, a reconnaissance patrol that was operating deep
in enemy held territory. This area of extreme southeastern Laos was considered
a major artery of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail feeding communist troops
and material into the hotly contested tri-border area where Laos, South
Vietnam and Cambodia meet.
When North
Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA
and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as
the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before.
This border road was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle
covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop
this flow of men and supplies from moving south into the war zone.
Before RT
Vermont could establish its overnight position in rolling, forested mountains
west of Ben Het, approximately 29 miles west of Dak To, South Vietnam;
34 miles southeast of the city of Attopeu, 7 miles west of Ban Pakha and
3 miles north of the Lao/Cambodian border, Attopeu Province, Laos, it was
ambushed by an enemy force of unknown size. SP4 Copley was seriously wounded
in the initial burst of enemy automatic weapons fire. As he was hit, he
cried out to SSgt. Loe, "Help me, I'm hit!" Roger Loe immediately moved
to William Copley's position to check his condition. He noted that the bullet
entered his upper left shoulder and exited through the middle of his back.
After applying
a pressure bandage, SSgt. Loe carried William Copley on his back for
a short distance toward the patrol's hastily established perimeter. While
struggling to carry him over uneven ground, SSgt. Loe tripped and fell.
He immediately began administering first aid to William Copley and continued
it until he believed his assistant team leader's face showed signs of death.
Under intense pressure from hostile forces, the team leader was forced
to withdraw to protective cover leaving William Copley behind. The remainder
of the team, including the team leader, was able to escape the ambush site
and evade to safety.
Later on
13 November, another recon team, RT New Hampshire, was inserted into the
area of the ambush to conduct a search and rescue (SAR) in an effort to rescue/recover
SP4 Copley. 1st Lt. James D. Birchim, team leader; SP4 Frank L Belletire,
assistant team leader and 10 indigenous personnel; comprised RT New Hampshire.
Over the next two days an extensive search in and around the ambush site
was conducted. During the search no sign of the missing assistant team
leader or his remains were found.
On 15 November,
RT New Hampshire was also ambushed by communist troops in the same general
area as RT Vermont. At dusk, and after engaging in a running gun battle
with NVA forces, emergency extraction helicopters recovered 8 of the 12-man
SAR team, including 1st Lt. Birchim and SP4 Belletire who were extracted
by use of McGuire rigs. Of the four indigenous team members not recovered,
three were listed Missing in Action and the fourth was listed Killed in
Action/Body Not Recovered. On return flight to base, the recon team members
remained in the McGuire rigs dangling below the helicopter. During the flight,
Jim Birchim fell from the McGuire rig that he and Frank Belletire shared
and was also listed Missing in Action.
In spite
of the initial firefight in which SP4 Copley was wounded commencing on 13
November, his date of loss was officially established as being at the time
formal search efforts were terminated on 16 November 1968. At that time William
Copley was officially declared Missing in Action.
For every
insertion like this one that was detected and stopped, dozens of others
safely slipped past NVA lines to strike a wide range of targets and collect
vital information. The number of MACV-SOG missions conducted with Special
Forces reconnaissance teams into Laos and Cambodia was 452 in 1969. It
was the most sustained American campaign of raiding, sabotage and intelligence-gathering
waged on foreign soil in US military history. MACV-SOG's teams earned
a global reputation as one of the most combat effective deep-penetration
forces ever raised.
William Copley
is among nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Many of these
men were known to be alive on the ground. The Laotians admitted holding
"tens of tens" of American Prisoners of War, but these men were never
negotiated for either by direct negotiation between our countries or through
the Paris Peace Accords which ended the War in Vietnam since Laos was
not a party to that agreement.
There is
some doubt as to whether or not SP4 Copley died of his wounds or could have
survived them. If he died of those wounds, he has the right to have his remains
returned to his family, friends and country. On the other hand, if he managed
to survive, his fate, like that of other Americans who remain unaccounted
for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different.
Since the
end of the Vietnam War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners,
missing and otherwise unaccounted for have been received by our government.
Many of these reports document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining
captive throughout Southeast Asia TODAY.
American
servicemen in Vietnam were called upon to operate in many dangerous circumstances
both on and off duty, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured.
It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the
country they so proudly served.
Again Thanks
go to Jennifer Martinez for pointing me in the right direction and to Craig
Willbanks of http://www.taskforceomegainc.org
for the above bio.
In Memory of Specialist Fourth Class William Michael Copley
Killed In Action
16 November 1968
[Although SP4 Copley was killed on November 13, 1968 he was
officially listed as "missing in action" on November 16th
after the search for his remains was unsuccessful]
This memorial was written by Bill’s family, who continue to share a
deep sense of emotional pride and love of Special Forces, SOG and the
men of the Assault Helicopter Companies (AHC). To the families of our fallen
comrades in arms and brothers, who share the deeper losses of this war,
we, the soldiers of SOG and AHC, hope this in some small way helps to fill
the emptiness imposed on those left behind. We extend to these families
the knowledge we did our best and only as a last resort were we forced to
abandon our friends and wish to share with these families who have produced
some of America’s best, the knowledge we have not forgotten! Cpt Robert
L. Noe, Ret.
If you knew Bill and would like to get in touch with his sister Cathy,
you are inivited to do so by contacting Robert Noe at
SOG1RLNOE@AOL.Com
. He will pass your message directly on to Cathy.
Specialist Fourth Class (SP/4) William Michael Copley, was known as
"Mike" to his family and "Bill" to the rest of the world. Bill was only
19 years old when he gave up his life for his country. To some, that is
too young to understand honor and dedication, but he did understand, and
he loved freedom. Some would call that idealism, perhaps so, but he was
willing to go to war to defend it. He had great honor, intelligence, humor,
and pride. He knew what he was doing when he chose to join the group that
was to him, "the best of the best," the Green Beret, and he knew the odds
against ever coming home again.
Bill was born in Ohio, but spent his life in Southern California. In
1967, after graduating from Chatsworth High School in the San Fernando Valley,
he enlisted. His training took him to Fort Ord, Ca., and Fort Benning,
Ga., where he specialized in intelligence and communications. He finished
in the top 5% of his class.
In Vietnam, he was with MACV-SOG, assigned to what is known as SLAM
missions. They were one, or a combination of "Search-Locate-Annihilate-Monitor"
missions operating deep behind enemy lines. Their missions entailed "unconventional
methods" for the purpose to delay, frustrate, demoralize and eliminate
the enemy and supplies before reaching South Vietnam as well as to force
the enemy to commit large numbers of troops to defend against SOG operations,
thus, preventing these soldiers from being used against American Forces.
They gathered reports of troop movements, supplies, and communication
systems on the enemy, forwarding them back to Saigon.
Bill was on a CCC recon mission out of Kontum having being inserted
into an area 15 to 20 miles deep behind enemy lines in Laos. He was with
SSG Robert Loe and six Montagnards. They were ambushed just before setting
up for the night (RON). Bill was shot in the upper left shoulder, it exited
his back. Loe carried Bill for some distance and delivered 1st aid. The
enemy was in hot pursuit of the team, Loe disregarded his own safety and
continued administrating 1st aid until "Bill’s face showed signs
of death. The situation became extremely dangerous, and there being nothing
more that could be done for Bill, Loe and the team were forced to abandon
their comrade in arms, reluctantly, fighting their way backwards, away from
their advancing opponents.
An extraction team was inserted late in the evening to extract survivors.
The extraction team worked their way back to where the team was ambushed
and where Bill had been left; however, no remains were found. The search
was continued through the 15th of November with the extraction
team coming into constant contact with the enemy during their search efforts
and were finally forced to withdraw. Since Bill was still alive when last
seen, he was listed as Missing in Action.
Because of the efficiency and bravery of SOG soldiers, the North Vietnamese
placed a high price on the heads of any SOG members. In 1968, there was
more than just the reward that made survival more difficult for the men.
SOG Teams had made a crushing blow against the post Tet NAV movement in
their "sanctuaries" in Cambodia and Laos. The damage inflicted by SOG was
effective, to the point the enemy created "Special Counter-Recon Hunter
Teams," which were trained by the Chinese in Martial Arts and covert operations
to seek out SOG - they even used dogs for tracking. SOG members were considered
as criminals of the highest order---Not Soldiers. No SOG member who was
lost over the fence has ever been recovered, nor has any information ever
been released by the North Vietnamese as to their fate, even to this date.
My family and I cannot express the extent of our gratitude to Robert
Loe. He endangered his own life to help my brother and gave up only when
hope was gone and the alternative would have been to forfeit his own life
as well. We have nothing but the greatest respect and appreciation for SSG
Loe. I can not imagine anything more difficult for any man than to have
to make such a painful decision. The men of MACV-SOG, are without a doubt,
some of the most courageous and heroic men ever to wear a uniform.
We have only just learned this information about Bill and SOG. The bravery
of these men made such a difference in bringing the war to an early end.
We, like most Americans, had no concept of the terrifying magnitude of
their focus. We have also recently learned that it if weren’t for the incredible
men of the 57th, 361st, 170th Assault
Helicopter Companies as well as the 219th Vietnamese CH-34 pilots,
many more SOG men of CCC would have been lost. Any memorial to SOG must
also include a very special salute to those men that regularly risked and
gave their lives to bring the recon teams home.
We miss "Mike" very much. When we think of him, we are filled with overwhelming
pride. Like so many enthusiastic, passionate young men, he chose to go
to war
Thanks goes to Robert Noe for the above bio, you can view other MIA bios
at this address http://www/macvsog.org
to make this world a better place. He chose to be one
of the "BEST" because he had the unselfish heart of a hero. But then, to
us, he has always been a hero!
