Leroy Wright, pictured above with his two young sons before departing for Vietnam, had been a good friend of Roy Benavidez ever since they were classmates in Special Forces training at Ft. Bragg where  Roy Benavidez credited Leroy with helping him successfully complete their training program.  In 1968 they found themselves together again.  This time they were both assigned to Detachment B-56 of the Fifth Special Forces Group in Vietnam.  Leroy had taken great risks to save Roy during an emergency extraction by "strings" - ropes suspended from a hovering helicopter and Roy believed that Leroy had saved his life on that mission.  Roy thought of these things as he rushed to help him on May 2, 1968, but Leroy was dead by the time Roy reached his position.  During the action Leroy had absorbed the blast of a grenade to protect his men.  For his valor Wright was posthumously awarded America's second highest award for valor in combat, the Distinguished Service Cross.

REMEMBER LEROY WRIGHT JR.  Valor Remembered plans to preserve the legacy of valor of Leroy Wright by documenting his personal history.  A small sculpture  honoring him has already been created in association with the Roy P. Benavidez Memorial project and larger works are envisioned.  Although we  now have a number of photographs of Wright that have been provided by his sons, additional photographs are needed.   We particularly need photographs of him as he appeared during his tour of duty in Vietnam.

 
Pictures L to R:  Leroy Wright,  courtesy Darryl Wright.  Two Clay sculpture studies of Leroy Wright on battlefield,
throwing back one grenade just before rolling onto a second grenade to shield his men from its blast.
Sculptures by Jenelle Armstrong Byrd

This is a transcription of the clipping above,  published by the Washington Bureau
of the Newark Sunday News, June 23, 1957.

 WASHINGTON – A Newark soldier is near the end of a three year struggle with Army red tape to marry his Korean sweetheart and bring her home with him. Staff Sgt. Leroy Wright Jr., 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy N. Wright of 519 Hawthorne Ave., finally had to reenlist and request assignment to the Far East to be reunited with his fiancée Miss Seo He Ja, 24.

It took many letters from him and his family and repeated intercessions with the Army by their congressman, Rep. Kean (R-12^th Dist).  But now Wright finally has the Army’s permission to marry and a good chance to gain admission to the United States for his bride, perhaps when his Korean tour ends next December.

Although there were some delays which obviously were not the Army’s fault.  This brief chronology of the Newark soldier’s effort shows the troubles he faced and overcame, one by one.

Sept. 25, 1954 –Mrs. Wright first writes Kean asking to tell him about her son’s problem.

October, 1954—Kean, after interviewing the family at his home office, advises them that Leroy must make a formal marriage application to the Army through his current superiors at Ft. Niagara, N. Y.

May 5, 1955—Kean assures Leroy and his parents that he is in touch with the Army, and relays their report that such a delay is “not unusual.”

May 16, 1955—The Army informs Kean that their investigation in Korea indicates the girl does not wish to marry Leroy.

Jan. 2, 1956—Leroy writes Kean that Seo He Ja continues to write, is “still waiting” for him, that the Army report was a mistake, and that he has refilled his application to marry her.

Reenlists in Army

July 13, 1956—Leroy writes Kean again, after Army investigators had lost track of Seo He Ja, that he has given the Army his sweetheart’s new address, and is reenlisting and asking Far East duty so they can be reunited.

Sept, 26, 1956—Leroy returns to Korea and finds Seo He Ja.

Feb. 18, 1967—Leroy and Seo He Ja finally round up and file with Arm y officials addresses of necessary “character witnesses” who can testify to the girl’s fitness for entry into the United States.

June 19, 1957—Kean happily informs Leroy and his parents that the Army has granted permission for their marriage.

This is a transcription of the clipping at the left, clipped from an unidentified newspaper.....Editor

A 25-year search ends when a soldier finds the family of a man he says saved his life in Vietnam.

By Scott Mooneyham, Staff Writer

Twenty-six years ago, in the jungles of Cambodia, Staff Sgt. Roy Benavidez went to repay a debt.

Three days earlier, Sgt. 1^st Class Leroy Wright Jr. had saved his life by climbing out of a helicopter and untangling ropes that held Benavidez and another soldier 500 feet above the ground.

Wright and 11 other Special Forces soldiers were trapped, surrounded by 350 North Vietnamese and under heavy fire. Benavidez never was able to repay that debt.  Wright was dead by the time Benavidez arrived by helicopter.

But on Wednesday, after a 25-year search.  Benavidez met his buddy’s family – the same family he heard so much about all those years ago in Vietnam.

 “I remember seeing the pictures your boys did in kindergarten” Benavidez told Wright’s widow,  He Ja. “Little did I know I’m going to meet them and they are going to be over 30 years old.”

Benavidez met Mrs. Wright and her two sons, Darryl and Dorian, at Moon Hall on Fort Bragg after a speech he gave at the New Academy Facility on post.  The meeting left Mrs. Wright and Benavidez momentarily speechless.  “Finally, I met hem now.  I’m very speechless,” Mrs. Wright said.

Benavidez found Mrs. Wright in December.  A New Jersey newspaper published a story about the Medal of Honor winner and his search for the family of the man who saved his life. In the article, Benavidez credited Wright with inspiring him to go on the mission that led to his being awarded the Medal of Honor.  He was the last Vietnam veteran to be presented the medal.

Wright’s sister in Trenton, N. J., saw the story and contacted Benavidez at his home in El Campo, Texas.   Within days Benavidez telephoned Mrs. Wright at her home in Harnett County outside Spring.

We’ve talked many times, but now I finally meet him,” she said. 

“Everywhere I go I mention your husband.  He deserves the medal (Medal of Honor) also.” Benavidez said.

Wright was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for giving his life that May 2 in 1968.

A 17 year veteran of the Army, Wright had served two tours of duty in Korea and one tour in the Dominican Republic with the 82^nd Airborne Division.  It was in Korea that he met his wife.

In August 1967, he joined the Special Forces.  About that time, Wright promised his wife that he would retire after 20 years of service.

Then in January 1968, the Tet Offensive began in Vietnam.  In March 1968, Wright was sent to Vietnam.

On April 29, Benavidez and Wright, both members of the 3^rd Special Forces Group, were on a helicopter flown in to rescue a group of soldiers under fire.

Benavidez was able to get to one of the soldiers.  But as the helicopter pulled away with Benavidez and the other man hanging below on ropes, the ropes began to twist.  The North Vietnamese soldiers continued to fire.

“Those ropes were burning.  They were going to snap,” Benavidez said.

Wright lowered himself from the helicopter by a rope and was able to untangle the ropes and keep Benavidez and the other soldier from plunging to the ground.

In Trouble again

Three days later, Benavidez once again found himself on a helicopter headed toward soldiers in trouble.  This time one of the soldiers was Wright, who was leading a reconnaissance mission to determine the path of Vietnamese military equipment headed south.

When Benavidez got to Wright he was dead.  He had thrown himself between one of his soldiers and a grenade. 

Benavidez retrieved the classified documents from Wright’s body, then took six men to the helicopter.  When he went to retrieve more men, he turned and saw the helicopter on fire.

Over the next eight hours, Benavidez was shot three times, hit by shrapnel and nearly stabbed by a Vietnamese soldier with a bayonet before a helicopter was finally able to land and take the soldiers back into Vietnam.

Mrs. Wright said she is grateful that Benavidez gives so much credit to her husband as he speaks around the country.

“Somebody else recognized that he is wonderful,” she said.  “It brings back a lot of painful memories, but I’m very proud of it.  It feels very good to be Mrs. Wright.”

Two authors, John R. Craig and Kenneth Simon, are writing a book about Benavidez’s exploits in Vietnam. They, too, have given Wright credit and have talked to the family as they have researched the book.

On Wednesday, though, Benavidez wanted to talk about the simple times he remembered with Wright.

“We didn’t have time to do much of anything,” Benavidez recalled.  “I do remember those pictures done by your boys thought.”

He also remembered a famous Korean fold song sung by Wright. “But I never knew that his wife was Korean.”