1st Recon Battalion Association

1st Recon Battalion Association

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Bravo 1968

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1st Reconnaissance Battalion
Missions / Patrol Reports

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Recon...their name is
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need be said...Recon

Floyd Ruggles

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2014

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Echo Company

Flaky Snow 1968

RECON TEAM FLAKY SNOW ENGAGED IN HILLS 9 KM NW OF AN HOA AFLD 19680801
UTM grid reference is AT797528

RECON TEAM "FLAKY SNOW" HIT BY NVA COMPANY

Hill 200 - 27 miles SW of Da Nang

August began with a significant enemy contact for Stingray patrol "Flaky Snow" in the Arizona Territory. At 0405 on 1 August, a company of North Vietnamese and Viet Cong rushed Flaky Snow's position from the north, using grenades, satchel charges, bangalore torpedoes, and RPG fire to overwhelm the Marines.
The enemy withdrew immediately, having killed 5 Marines and wounded 11.
To complicate matters further for Flaky Snow, the attack temporarily knocked its radio out of action, which prevented it from calling for help. The team got the radio working again at 0600, and called for the reaction force.
Within 20 minutes, help arrived. The reaction force landed by helicopter, under fire from the west, to find all of the observation post's bunkers destroyed and a North Vietnamese flag flying over the position.
The Flaky Snow Marines claimed to have killed seven of their attackers, but a search of the area revealed only three bodies.

The five members of Team Flaky Snow who were KIA
Sgt Glen Ray Hicks, Oklahoma City, Ok.
Sgt Gerald Leland Poppa,Salinas, CA.
LCpl James Howard Jones, Beltsville, Maryland (Silver Star).
PFC Scott Gary Smith, Berkeley, Mo.
PFC Theodore Jay Whitlock, North Las Vegas, Nv.

Last Known Activity

Obituary

Service for Sgt.Glen Hicks, 20, of 2105 S.W. 66, will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Vondel Smith Mortuary, with burial in Resthaven Cemetery. The native city resident was killed Aug. 1 in Vietnam, while on patrol near Guang Nam.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home each evening from 6 to 9.

A native of Oklahoma City, Sgt Hicks had lived here all his life. Hicks was a 1966 graduate of Capitol Hill High School. He entered the Marines in June 1966, and went to Vietnam in September, 1967. He was scheduled to return home in September. He was a member of South Memorial Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife, Viki of the home: his parents, Mr and Mrs Earnest Hicks of the home: two sisters, Barbara of the home and Mrs Hal Owens of 2836 S.W. 42: A parternal grandmother, Mrs Bill Bass of Oklahoma City; and a maternal grandmother, Mrs Sarah Odom of 1115 S.W

Glen Ray Hicks

The father of Gerald served in the US Navy in Argentina,Newfoundland and during WW II and Korea.He returned to New York 9 November 1951 and was discharged and went home to Cranston,where he began working at prison as a correctional officer.In 1961 the Poppa Family moved to CA and settled in the Salinas area where he was employed as a correctional officer for the Soledad Prison. Gerald enlisted in the Marines during 1966 andtook his boot camp training at the San Diego MCRD and graduated with Platoon 372 13 May 1966.After serving at stateside he went to Vietnam 17 October 1967 and was assigned to H&S Company,1st Recon Battalion,1st Marine Division. During Operation Mameluke Thrust his Recon Team Flakey Snow was in a night defensive position,about 9 kilometers northwest of the An Hoa Airfield.At approximately 0405H the recon team's northern position was assaulted by an estimated company of NVA/VC hostile forces that used grenades,RPG rockets,satchel charges and small arms fire.

The NVA/VC company swept through the recon team's position and then withdrew to the
north.In the perimeter there were 5 Marines Killed In Action,11 Marines Wounded In Action and 7 Viet Congs killed during the assault. Gerald was single and served his country for 2 years and had been in Vietnam for 9 months and 15 days.KIA#31,163.
Gerald was 23 years and 11 days old. Survived by his parents;Clyde Willis & Evelyn
M(Whalen)Poppa,his sister and brother;Evelyn and Kenneth Poppa of 73 Marigold Way,CA.

Sgt Gerald L Poppa was buried 16 August 1968
with military honors.
Him and his father share the same burial plot.

LCpl James Howard Jones

LCpl James Howard Jones

Web page!

PFC Scott Gary Smith

PFC THEODORE JAY WHITLOCK

Hill 200

Hill 200

Hill 200

Hill 200

Hill 200

Hill 200

Echo Company

1970

Hill 200

Hill 200

Hill 200

Sgt Gerald Leland Poppa

Pages 36-38

Echo Company

Flaky Snow 1968

Patrol Report 0690-68

Nolan Byron Warren