Statement
Of
Warrant officer Ronald L. REDEKER, USA
[Ronald L. Redeker, was apparently
flying an Army UH1 helicopter, probably a slick. He and his crew were
eyewitnesses to the action for which Captain Stephen W. Pless, USMC was
awarded the Medal of Honor. This is a verbatim transcription of his
official statement with some bold type used for readability. His service
number has been withheld to protect his privacy…Editor]
On 19 August 1967, we took off from Ky
Ha enroute to the 196th Brigade VIP pad for a 1630 pick-up. On
our way, we heard a distress call come over the "Guard” channel. We
proceeded directly to the area of the distress call. When we arrived, we
saw twenty to thirty people on the beach. We did not know the difference or
position of Americans or V.C. We started circling the area.
Approximately thirty seconds later a
Marine gunship made a pass and started the attack. We proceeded to cover
the gunship with our two door guns. After four or five passes the gunship
landed on the beach, where we saw four bodies laying. As soon as the ship
hit the beach, the crew jumped to help the wounded. We gave them as much
cover as our couple of door gunners could give. We emptied both guns before
the ship left the beach. He was on the beach helping the wounded for at
least five to ten minutes. We never had communications with Captain PLESS
while he was on the beach. We understood that all the Americans were dead.
Without communications and without protection that
he knew of, Captain PLESS took a gunship down twenty-five meters from
hostile fire and performed the most outstanding Med-Evac I have ever
witnessed. During his few gun runs, I would estimate
five to ten enemy kills.
R. L. REDEKER
