[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 8, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1460-E1461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING LT. COL. JAMES DABNEY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. GARY G. MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 8, 2013

  Mr. GARY G. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate 
a true American hero, Lt. Col. James Dabney, retired, for his induction 
into the Ranger Hall of Fame for his service to this great Nation 
during the Vietnam War.

[[Page E1461]]

  In the Spring of 1968, James Dabney was 25 and an Army captain; he 
was the officer in charge of the 123 men of Delta Company, 4th 
Battalion, 12th Infantry, 199th Infantry Brigade and medics, forward 
observers and soldiers with the 17th Armored Cavalry.
  His men were teenagers and had been drafted to serve. They were 
stationed about 15 miles outside of Saigon to block the enemy's entry 
into the city.
  Lt. Col. Dabney describes the conditions: It was hot and humid and 
there were torrential downpours. One night, he says, it rained so hard 
that the men were in foxholes sitting in water up to their chest. The 
soldiers were eating rations left over from Korea. They were spent. 
They were hungry. They were tired from being constantly on alert. Most 
of the guys had just been through the Tet Offensive.
  On May 5, 1968, the company of 123 men engaged 2,000 North Vietnamese 
soldiers. Over the next four days a fierce battle ensued. But the crew 
of young Americans held their ground and, in the end, the enemy 
retreated. For their bravery, the company would later be awarded the 
Presidential Unit Citation.
  Forty-five years later, Lt. Col. Dabney doesn't reflect on his own 
accomplishment; he remembers the six young men of his company that 
didn't return home.
  He says he got the recognition, but they were the real heroes.
  In addition to his induction into the Ranger Hall of Fame this 
summer, Lt. Col. Dabney has also been awarded the Presidential Unit 
Citation, Distinguished Service Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, 
three Purple Hearts and the Legion of Merit for his actions in Vietnam.
  But his greatest award, he says, is an eagle figurine with an 
inscription from the men in his company thanking him for his 
leadership.
  In 1984, Lt. Col. Dabney retired from the Army. He and his wife, 
Jeanne Marie, celebrated their 25th anniversary last year and have five 
children, Jill LeWallen, Lynn Raper, Jeannie Pilgrim, James Winch and 
Marrianne Mazurowski.

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