Unheralded Valor: On the Battlefield and on the “Wall” – Terry Williamson Guest Speaker
Event Date
08/15/2016
Event Time6:00 pm;
Location
Philadelphia Union League
140 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA
August 15 – Unheralded Valor: On the Battlefield and on the ‘Wall’
Former Marine infantry officer, Terry Williamson, who served as a platoon commander and company commander in Vietnam during 1968-69 will be the guest speaker.
His talk, “Unheralded Valor: On the Battlefield and on the ‘Wall’,” will provide an up close look at the strategy and personal stories of Marines during one fierce clash in 1969 and how the courage of ordinary service members like those Marines, is captured by the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Terry was awarded the Bronze Star with combat “V” and left the service as a captain.
A public relations consultant, Terry is president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the newly named president of the Philadelphia Veterans Parade Inc. In the former role, he led a capital campaign to improve the Memorial at Penns Landing to deter vandalism and create greater awareness of the site, which honors the memory of 648 Philadelphians lost in the war.
He has worked as a journalist and was a speechwriter and administrative assistant to Gov. Dick Thornburgh, followed by a stint as press secretary to then-District Attorney Ronald D. Castille.
“Vietnam was a war of footnotes for many who fought there, devoid of famous battles or well-known campaigns. But the combat that was the everyday lot of the Marine infantryman could be just as deadly and intense. After five days of close-quarters fighting with rifle butts, CS tear gas and “mostly rocks and fists,” as one zealous Marine described it, the 141st Regiment of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) was decimated. Terry’s story of those few days in late February and early March 1969 when two regiments—one American and one North Vietnamese—clashed with an intensity that resulted in numerous awards for bravery, including a Medal of Honor.
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