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On May 15, 2010, a memorial
was
dedicated to LTC Joe Kiernan
and LTC Rod Smith at Milford Lake’s Army recreation area, west of Fort
Riley.
Under cloudy skies and
intermittent rain, the Rear
detachment of the First Engineer Battalion gathered to hear COL Eric
Wesley ,
CO of the First Heavy Brigade Combat Team praise the memory of LTC
Kiernan, the First Engineer Battalion
Commander, and LTC Smith, the Battalion XO [who was about to take
command of
the battalion], and who were both killed in a tragic helicopter crash
on June
3, 1967, in Vietnam. COL Wesley spoke about the legacy
of leadership and achievement of both officers, and
exhorted
soldiers to honor that legacy by striving for excellence.
LTC [Ret] Larry Blair, who
served
as Charlie Company Commander under Kiernan
and
Smith, spoke of the lives and careers of both, and related tales of
their
innovative and dynamic leadership in Vietnam. Not only did the
“DIEHARD”
engineers conduct the usual missions of road, bridge, airfield , and
vertical
construction, mine and boobytrap clearing, and demolitions, but the
First
Engineers were the first to take bulldozers into the jungle with the
infantry;
float its own “Kiernan’s Navy”—pontoon rafts with searchlights and quad
50-caliber machine guns; and send engineer teams down 100-foot ladders
under
hovering CH-47 helicopters to cut landing zones in the jungle. Blair
praised
the leadership and example of LTC Kiernan and Smith, and recalled the
stunning
effect on morale when they were killed.
A monument and bronze plaque
were
unveiled at the entrance
to the marina area, as a permanent tribute.
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