Brian M Thacker
Brian was born on the 25th of April 1945, in Columbus, Ohio, and since his father was recalled to serve in the Korean War and decided to make a career out of the Air Force, Brian moved around a lot as a child. He was living in Utah when he graduated high school and went on to attend Weber State University, where he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps program to prevent being drafted before graduation. Brian was commissioned after graduation and after spending a few months in Germany, he was deployed to the Republic of Vietnam. He wasn’t anti-war or anti-government or anti-military, but he would have preferred that the war in Vietnam would be over before having to go there. When he arrived in country in the fall of 1970, Brian was a First Lieutenant and it was his actions on the 31st of March 1971, that would later earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
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 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 a period of four 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 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.
It was assumed by those who had witnessed Brian’s actions that there was no way he could have survived. He had left the firebase but decided that it was better to sit still in a thick bamboo patch than it was to keep walking through enemy territory. He was far enough away from the base that the enemy probably wouldn’t sweep out to his position but close enough to return to the base if it was ever retaken by friendly forces. Brian stayed hidden for eight days and when the fire base was retaken, he was evacuated to a hospital. He had no food or water during that time and was only allowed to have half a canteen cap of water every fifteen minutes at first. Brian wasn’t allowed to return to his unit, and it took him months to recover, and he returned home, going to work for the Veterans Administration. Two years later, on the 15th of October 1973, Brian received the Medal of Honor from President Nixon in a ceremony at the White House, along with eight others. He went on to work for the VA for 32 years and he retired in 2004, going on to speak at schools and organizations and reminding them that he wears the Medal not for himself but for those that he lost that day. Brian Mile Thacker is 78 years old at the time of this recording.
