James E Fuller 1947-1966

James E. Fuller was born in Abbeville, SC on March 26,1947 the son of Fred Fuller and Daisy Miles Fuller. He was a member of the class of 1965 at Evanston Township High School. James enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 19, 1965 about three weeks after his eighteenth birthday. He completed basic, advanced and airborne training in the United States. His Military Occupational Specialties included 11B20 — Infantryman and 94B10 - Food Service Specialist. James arrived in Vietnam seven months later on November 15, 1965. He was subsequently assigned to C Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry in the 101st Airborne Division.

James died due to small arms fire on June 22, 1966 at age 19 in the area of an abandoned village called Trung Luong, in Phu Yen Province, South Vietnam approximately eight kilometers (five miles) west of the airfield at the Dong Tre Special Forces Camp. According to a remembrance left at his page on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website:

“Thirty-one soldiers died in that operation. Jimmy died a soldier’s death .. M16 on auto .. protecting his paratrooper brothers to the left and right of him.”

James is buried in Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, IL. He is next to his parents in a plot (Sect. B, Lot 492) that is adjacent to the White family. His grave is adjacent to that of Lee Owens White, Jr. who was also an Evanston resident and a US Army soldier killed in Vietnam. James was survived by his siblings; Harriet, Rose Marie, William, Carl, Fred, Frankie and Johnnie. At the time of his death his family lived at 1569 Dodge Ave. in Evanston.

The name James E Fuller appears on the Vietnam Wall memorial in Washington, DC on Panel 8E, Row 74 along with many in his unit who died that same day in Vietnam.

James military honors include:

Combat Infantryman Badge
Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Parachutist Badge

On October 18, 1968 President Lyndon Johnson awarded James’ unit, the 2nd Bn, 327th Inf., a Presidential Unit Citation for the operation named “Nathan Hale” that occurred from June 19th to the 22nd, 1966 in the vicinity of Truong Long.

On the website virtualwall.org a recounting of the events during that engagement were left on James’ memorial page.

“A Note From The Virtual Wall

QL-1, the main highway from Saigon to Hanoi, mostly runs along the coastal plain - but in some places mountains get in the way. Tuy An is one of those places; large hill masses crowd down to the sea, isolating the valleys to the west of the hills. The Special Forces base at Dong Tre (13°17'47.1"N 109°03'54.1"E) was only about 18 kilometers (12 miles) due west of Tuy An, but getting from Tuy An to Dong Tre requires going around one sprawling mountain and through a pass between two others. The SF camp had been subjected to intermittent attacks during the spring of 1966 and intelligence reports indicated there were perhaps two VC battalions holed up in the hills between Tuy An and Dong Tre. In the third week of June 1966 two companies of the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry were inserted mid-way along the Tuy An-Dong Tre road on a search-and-destroy mission.

Alpha 2/327 was given the eastern most insertion point, about 11 KM east-southeast of Dong Tre , while Charlie 2/327 was inserted in the pass about 8 KM east of Dong Tre. The plan was that Alpha 2/327 would move northwestward to the road, then west along it until the two companies were joined. While Alpha swept the area, Charlie was to move northwards up the slope of Hill 258, the southern peak of a large hill mass.

Both companies were inserted without opposition on 18 June. They established night defensive positions, with Alpha 2/327 planning to begin their movement toward Charlie on the 19th and Charlie planning their move up Hill 258.

As Alpha began their move northwest on the morning of the 19th they could hear sporadic gunfire from the pass area. As the day wore on, it became apparent the VC were going to oppose Charlie's move up Hill 258 (13°18'31.7"N 109°08'17.2"E). Towards nightfall both companies were ordered to establish NDPs (Night Defensive Positions). On the 20th, Charlie began an early move up Hill 258 - and found themselves in trouble with dug-in VC troops. Alpha was directed to speed up their movement toward Charlie and did so, arriving at an abandoned hamlet called Trung Luong at about noon - just about 2 kilometers east of Charlie's company base in the pass. As Alpha 2/327 was moving into the hamlet they were taken under attack by enemy troops. Radio traffic on the battalion net made it clear that Charlie 2/327 was taking a pounding on Hill 258 - and Alpha no longer was in a position to help them. Bravo Company 2/327 tried an insertion on the Hill 258 crest but heavy antiaircraft fire forced the helos to deposit the infantrymen further to the west than planned. Charlie Company was directed to reverse course and make for their company base in the pass. With both Bravo and Charlie off the VC-infested areas of Hill 258 supporting fires - air and artillery - could be brought to bear.

Seventeen US soldiers from A, B, and C Companies died in the fighting on 20 June,. At about 7:30 PM reinforcements arrived in the form of two companies from the 1st Bn, 8th Cavalry which were inserted - without opposition - on the crest of Hill 258 ... the VC had withdrawn from their positions. Although the cavalrymen were able to join up with the paratroopers, 2/327 wasn't out of trouble. VC attacks on 21 and 22 June against 2/327 positions in the pass resulted in 14 more dead, Private Fuller among them, - and it was no consolation to know that the VC losses were far greater.

The 31 men from 2nd Bn, 327th Infantry who died in the fighting around Trung Luong between 20 and 22 were:

• A Company:

  • SGT Reiner W. Bierowski, Milwaukee, WI

  • SGT Floyd C. Denson, Arkadelphia, AR

  • CPL Richard Hinton, New York, NY

  • PFC Benjamin F. Liddell, Columbus, MS

  • PFC Patrick T. Mooney, Brunswick, OH (Bronze Star "V")

  • PFC Alton B. Munn, Fayetteville, NC

• B Company:

  • PFC James L. Emmart, Gary, IN

  • PFC Larry F. Herrin, Glen Mills, PA

  • PFC Robert C. Johnson, Kankakee, IL

  • PFC Ronnie L. Jones, Pulaski, IL

  • PFC Donald R. Smith, Inglewood, CA

  • PFC Edwin H. Sornson, Dover, DE

  • PFC Gene B. Spencer, Walworth, WI

  • PFC Richard E. Whiting, Pico Rivera, CA

  • PFC Millard L. Williamson, Perry, GA

• C Company:

  • PFC Robert M. Cooke, Abingdon, VA

  • SGT Joseph H. Cooper, New York, NY

  • PFC Martin P. Eastham, Fox Lake, IL

  • PVT James E. Fuller, Evanston, IL

  • PFC James R. Mc Ilwee, Roanoke, VA

  • PFC Frederick L. Ryan, Steubenville, OH

  • PFC Billy E. Stevenson, Lebanon, TN

  • PFC Nathaniel Wilson, New York, NY

• HQ Company:

  • SP5 James G. Condon, Whitman, MA

  • SP4 Leland R. Cottin, Dallas, TX

  • PFC Michael R. Hall, Tampa, FL

  • SP5 Bruce M. Johnson, Duluth, MN

  • PFC William M. Kelly, Peekskill, NY

  • SP4 Wayne H. Nelson, West Hampton Beach, NY

  • PFC Robert A. Peach, Skokie, IL

  • SP4 Fredrick H. Vester, Rockport, ME

2nd Bn, 327th Infantry was withdrawn on 23 June, while 1st Bn, 8th Cavalry continued the mission in and around the Trung Luong pass. While 1/8 did considerable damage to the VC, they were unable to force the VC to stand and fight. Never the less, 14 more US soldiers were killed between 23 June and 01 July - 8 of them during a 24 June combat assault at LZ APPLE on the hill mass south of the pass.”