First SEAL Lost in Vietnam
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TRIBUTE
First SEAL Lost
in Vietnam
"On 19 August 1966, SEAL Team
One suffered its first combat fatality in Vietnam. While on a recon
mission, a patrol had discovered a series of bunkers and weapons
positions along the Dinh Ba River, thirteen miles south-east of
Nha Be. They were extracted and reinserted further up river to pinpoint
two reported camouflaged sampans that had been spotted by a helicopter.
Fresh tracks were discovered, and the sampans were then sighted
about five hundred meters from the SEAL's position. Petty Officer
Billy W. Machen was acting as point man. Coming to a clearing in
the jungle growth, he halted the unit and moved ahead into the opening
to reconnoiter. As he paused and searched the surrounding area,
he suddenly realized the VC were lying in ambush and he was in the
middle of the kill zone. Rather than make a futile attempt to seek
cover or retrace his steps and thereby pinpoint the patrol's exact
location, Machen initiated fire and attacked the enemy unit, forcing
them to trigger their ambush prematurely. Immediately after, automatic
weapons fire from both banks of the river erupted. The SEAL patrol
was alerted to the danger and was able to gain cover, return fire,
and engage to suppress the VC attack. Machen was killed in the initial
fusillade. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation's
third highest medal for valor."
Information obtained from T. L. Bosiljevac's Book "SEALs UDT/SEAL
Operations in Vietnam"