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Vietnam War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Brian Miles Thacker
First Lieutenant, US Army
Born: Apr 25, 1945 at Columbus, OH
Entered Service: Salt Lake City, UT
Date/Place of Action: Mar 31, 1971 - Fire Base 6, Kontum Province, Vietnam
Unit: Battery A, 1st Battalion, 92nd Artillery
Presentation: At the White House
By President Richard M. Nixon - Oct 15, 1973
Currently Living In Maryland
1LT Brian M. Thacker : Battery A, 1st Battalion, 92d Artillery. Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 31 March 1971. He directed fire from an exposed position in the defense of a small hilltop fire base, ultimately on his position and though wounded, evaded capture for eight days.
THACKER, BRIAN MILES
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Battery A, 1st Battalion, 92d Artillery . Place and date: Kontum Province, Republic of Vietnam, 31 March 1971. Entered service at: Salt Lake City, Utah. Born: 25 April 1945, Columbus, Ohio. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Thacker, Field Artillery, Battery A, distinguished himself while serving as the team leader of an Integrated Observation System collocated with elements of 2 Army of the Republic of Vietnam units at Fire Base 6. A numerically superior North Vietnamese Army force launched a well-planned, dawn attack on the small, isolated, hilltop fire base. Employing rockets, grenades, flame-throwers, and automatic weapons, the enemy forces penetrated the perimeter defenses and engaged the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, 1st Lt. Thacker rallied and encouraged the U.S. and Republic of Vietnam soldiers in heroic efforts to repulse the enemy. He occupied a dangerously exposed observation position for a period of 4 hours while directing friendly air strikes and artillery fire against the assaulting enemy forces. His personal bravery and inspired leadership enabled the outnumbered friendly forces to inflict a maximum of casualties on the attacking enemy forces and prevented the base from being overrun. By late afternoon, the situation had become untenable. 1st Lt. Thacker organized and directed the withdrawal of the remaining friendly forces. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he remained inside the perimeter alone to provide covering fire with his M-16 rifle until all other friendly forces had escaped from the besieged fire base. Then, in an act of supreme courage, he called for friendly artillery fire on his own position to allow his comrades more time to withdraw safely from the area and, at the same time, inflict even greater casualties on the enemy forces. Although wounded and unable to escape from the area himself, he successfully eluded the enemy forces for 8 days until friendly forces regained control of the fire base. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by 1st Lt. Thacker were an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the military service.
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Thacker, Field Artillery, Battery A, distinguished himself while serving as the team leader of an Integrated Observation System co-located with elements of two Army of the Republic of Vietnam units at Fire Base 6.
A numerically superior North Vietnamese Army force launched a well planned, dawn attack on the small, isolated, hilltop fire base. Employing rockets, grenades, flamethrowers, and automatic weapons, the enemy forces penetrated the perimeter defenses and engaged the defenders in hand to hand combat. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, 1st Lt. Thacker rallied and encouraged the U.S. and Republic of Vietnam soldiers in heroic efforts to repulse the enemy. He occupied a dangerously exposed observation position for four hours while directing forces. His personal bravery and inspired leadership enabled the outnumbered friendly forces to inflict a maximum of casualties on the attacking enemy forces and prevented the base from being over run.
By late afternoon, the situation had become untenable. 1st Lt. Thacker organized and directed the withdrawal of the remaining friendly forces. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he remained inside the perimeter alone to provide covering fire with his M16 rifle until all other friendly forces had escaped from the besieged fire base.
Then, in an act of supreme courage, he called for friendly artillery fire on his own position to allow his comrades more time to withdraw safely from the area and, at the same time, inflict even greater casualties on the enemy forces. Although wounded and unable to escape from the area himself, he successfully eluded the enemy forces for eight days until friendly forces regained control of the fire base.
The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by 1st Lt. Thacker were an inspiration to his comrades and are in the highest traditions of the military service.
War memories remain for Medal of Honor winner
Vietnam vet says fear helped him do what he needed to Way Back When: Frederick N. Rasmussen Originally published Nov 8, 2003
At some point during the day, Brian M. Thacker's mind travels back to a remote hilltop in Kontum Province, in South Vietnam's Central Highlands. He vividly recalls the faces and names of the brave men who occupied Fire Base 6. It is forever 1971.
"I came to realize that it was inevitable and that I would think about it every day," Thacker said in an interview this week. "I tried to put it behind me and I think that's the way it is with all of my colleagues."
A Vietnam-era Army first lieutenant, Thacker, 58, is retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and lives in Wheaton.
What makes Thacker distinctive is that he is one of Maryland's five living Medal of Honor recipients. He is also one of 83 Marylanders decorated with the Medal of Honor - the nation's highest military award for valor in combat - since the medal was created in 1861.
The Medal of Honor has been presented to only 3,340 men and women, and today fewer than 135 recipients are alive. A new book, Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty, profiles 116 of them, including Thacker.
He will attend a book signing and discuss his war experiences at 2 p.m. today at the Hamilton Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, 5910 Harford Road.
Thacker was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of a career Air Force officer.
While studying at Utah's Weber State University, he was a member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. After graduation in 1969, he was commissioned a second lieutenant.
In the fall of 1970 he went to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 92nd Artillery, which provided support for Army combat engineers.
The following spring, he took command of a six-man observation team assigned to Fire Base 6. Its job was to support South Vietnamese forces firing on enemy units in the valley below.
At dawn on March 31, a superior North Vietnamese force attacked along a 60-mile front that also engulfed Fire Base 6.
Thacker was awakened by the sound of heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and rifle fire. Three of his men were killed in the attack. Those still alive resorted to hand-to-hand combat as they made their way from bunker to bunker attempting to fight off the enemy.
As the morning wore on, Thacker called in air support while attempting to keep his men's spirits up. The first helicopter was shot down, and so was the second. Surviving crew members joined Thacker's men.
For four hours the men desperately tried to defend their position. By late afternoon, Thacker organized the removal of his forces while he remained behind to provide covering fire with his M-16.
Risking his own life, Thacker called for artillery fire on his own position in order to allow his forces more time to escape. Unable to leave the area, he spent eight harrowing days in a bamboo thicket while eluding the enemy.
He hadn't had time to put on his uniform when the base was attacked, so he was still wearing a white wool nightshirt. It kept him warm at night when the bamboo jungle cooled off from the heat of the day.
At times, Thacker was so close to the enemy that he could hear them talking, even smell them. "I thought, 'Thank God I'm alone.' If there were two of us, we would've talked. We would've made noise. We would have been discovered," he said.
"However, I think they knew I was there but didn't want a prisoner. Plus, they were tired and beat up and probably didn't want to take a chance," he said.
His only source of water was what he was able to lick from leaves picked up from the forest floor. Food consisted of a few ants that he trapped.
"I was growing weaker every day and I kept saying to myself that I had to move tomorrow. So, I'd start up the hill, go a few meters and rest. When you're in that condition, 10 meters is an eternity. However, I never completely gave up hope. I always knew I had a chance," he said.
"While not overly religious, I prayed to every god that I could think of including those from mythology and even those who were native."
As he approached Fire Base 6, which had been retaken by a South Vietnamese ranger unit, Thacker used his white wool shirt as a signal flag.
Thacker was treated for severe dehydration by a doctor who slowly gave him controlled amounts of water. He figures he lost 25 pounds to 30 pounds during his ordeal.
A day after his return, Thacker was airlifted to Pleiku, then sent to Japan for further treatment.
"At that point, I didn't know what had happened to everyone else. The 'copter crew was busy and couldn't talk to me. I didn't know if anyone else had survived," he said.
He later learned that three of his men had been killed during the attack on Fire Base 6.
"We were close. And because we were a small team we got closer than the book says we should have. But you can't help it. You're in close quarters. They were a good team," Thacker said with a catch in his voice.
It was the crew of the first helicopter that recommended Thacker for the Medal of Honor, and he admits to being stunned when he learned of their action.
To be recommended for the medal, a soldier or sailor must "distinguish himself or herself conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of one's life," writes Peter Collier in Medal of Honor. There must be at least two eyewitnesses.
Thacker said he doubted the recommendation would go anywhere. He returned home in May 1971, and was discharged. He was in graduate school at the University of Hawaii when his father called to say the Army was looking for him. "I didn't know what to think," Thacker recalled. "My first thoughts were, 'I don't want this,' but you can't say no. And then I asked myself, why me?"
On Oct. 15, 1973, Thacker, his parents and three sisters were sitting in the East Room of the White House. He was one of eight men receiving the Medal of Honor from President Richard M. Nixon.
The medal "I'm sure at times ... has opened doors, but I've been blessed in my life," Thacker said. "I've had an opportunity to move about the country and see the spirit and fiber that has always been there."
He is philosophical about courage.
"When your time comes and you use the right stuff, the edge of the envelope comes to you. I was afraid. Yet fear is a wonderful motivator. It sharpens your brain and then your only objective is to survive."
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