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==Childhood==
==Childhood==
Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a First Sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School, and young Harry played on the football squad.
Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a First Sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School, and young Harry played on the football squad.The family lived in a large brick home at 321 Luzerne Street in the Westmont suburb of Johnstown.


==West Point==
==West Point==
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He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it due to academic problems – despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets.
He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it due to academic problems – despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets.
Harry graduated in June of 1946 at the age of 20, the youngest of over 800 cadets in his class.


==Post-war==
==Post-war==
After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> or [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".
After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> or [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".


He then served as a heavy mortar unit commander with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry Regiment]], [[25th Infantry Division (United States)|25th Infantry Division]] at [[Camp Majestic]], [[Gifu, Gifu|Gifu]], during the Occupation of Japan. He was later transferred stateside to the [[XVIII Airborne Corps]], headquartered at [[Fort Dix]], [[New Jersey]], where he served as a Recruiting and Induction Officer from June 1950 to February 1951.
His first service was as a platoon leader with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry Regiment]], [[25th Infantry Division (United States)|25th Infantry Division]] at [[Camp Majestic]], [[Gifu, Gifu|Gifu]], during the Occupation of Japan. He returned stateside to serve at [[Fort Dix]], [[New Jersey]], as an airborne recruiting officer from June 1950 to February 1951.


==Korean War==
==Korean War==
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, he requested a combat command. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as the mortar platoon commander in Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machinegun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action<ref>http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star</ref> by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. [[Joseph Sladen Bradley]], and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Harry requested a combat assignment. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as platoon leader and then company commander of Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action<ref>http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star</ref> by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. [[Joseph Sladen Bradley]], and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.


From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, [[14th Infantry Regiment (United States)|14th Infantry Regiment]], 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.
From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, [[14th Infantry Regiment (United States)|14th Infantry Regiment]], 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.
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Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), [[Military Assistance and Advisory Group#MAAG, Indochina; MAAG, Vietnam|MAAGV]]. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to [[Fort Shafter]], Hawaii, in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed [[1st Special Forces Group]] at [[Fort Buckner]], [[Okinawa, Japan]], on June 24, 1957.
Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), [[Military Assistance and Advisory Group#MAAG, Indochina; MAAG, Vietnam|MAAGV]]. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to [[Fort Shafter]], Hawaii, in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed [[1st Special Forces Group]] at [[Fort Buckner]], [[Okinawa, Japan]], on June 24, 1957.


The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Operations & Intelligence), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC [[Chalmers Archer]] (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Ssgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).<ref>[http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10942/HARRY-G-CRAMER#sthash.4sjWz66s.dpuf Harry G. Cramer]</ref> The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.
The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Operations & Intelligence), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC [[Chalmers Archer]] (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Msgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).<ref>[http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10942/HARRY-G-CRAMER#sthash.4sjWz66s.dpuf Harry G. Cramer]</ref> The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.


In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.
In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.
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*[[Combat Infantryman's Badge]]
*[[Combat Infantryman's Badge]]
*[[Silver Star]]
*[[Silver Star]]
*[[Bronze Star]]
*[[Purple Heart]] with Bronze Oakleaf Cluster
*[[Purple Heart]] with Bronze Oakleaf Cluster
*[[American Campaign Medal]] (World War II 1943-1945)
*[[American Campaign Medal]] (World War II 1943-1945)
Line 121: Line 121:
*[[Republic of Korea War Service Medal]]
*[[Republic of Korea War Service Medal]]
*Royal Thai Army Parachutist Badge
*Royal Thai Army Parachutist Badge
*Republic Of Vietnam Parachute Badge


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 22:06, 12 April 2020

Harry Griffith Cramer Jr.
Born(1926-05-24)May 24, 1926
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 21, 1957(1957-10-21) (aged 31)
Nha Trang, South Vietnam
Buried
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchU.S. Army
RankCaptain
Unit14th Special Forces Operational Detachment
Battles/warsVietnam War
AwardsCombat Infantryman's Badge
Alma materJohnstown High School
Spouse(s)Anne Supple
Children3
RelationsWilson Cramer

Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. (May 24, 1926, Johnstown, Pennsylvania – October 21, 1957, near Nha Trang, South Vietnam) was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first U.S. Army soldier to be killed in the Vietnam War. A street at Fort Lewis, Washington, is named in his honor. He is buried at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

Childhood

Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a First Sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School, and young Harry played on the football squad.The family lived in a large brick home at 321 Luzerne Street in the Westmont suburb of Johnstown.

West Point

Cramer graduated from Johnstown High School in 1942 at the age of 16. He applied for West Point, but was underage, so he went to the Carson Long Military Institute in Harrisburg for a year. He entered West Point in 1943 at the age of 17, joining the Class of 1946.

He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it due to academic problems – despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets. Harry graduated in June of 1946 at the age of 20, the youngest of over 800 cadets in his class.

Post-war

After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to New Orleans[1] or Savannah[2] on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".

His first service was as a platoon leader with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division at Camp Majestic, Gifu, during the Occupation of Japan. He returned stateside to serve at Fort Dix, New Jersey, as an airborne recruiting officer from June 1950 to February 1951.

Korean War

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Harry requested a combat assignment. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as platoon leader and then company commander of Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action[3] by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. Joseph Sladen Bradley, and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.

From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.

In 1952, he was rotated stateside. He was reassigned to the G-2 staff of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 82nd Airborne Division. After completing the Infantry Advanced Course at Fort Benning, he attended and passed the Special Forces selection course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - the first West Point graduate to do so.[4] After graduating, he was assigned to the 77th Special Forces Group. From 1955 to 1956 he was assigned as an Operational Detachment commander.

Vietnam service

Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), MAAGV. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to Fort Shafter, Hawaii, in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Buckner, Okinawa, Japan, on June 24, 1957.

The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Operations & Intelligence), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC Chalmers Archer (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Msgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).[5] The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.

In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.

From June to November 1957, they began training Vietnamese Special Forces in raiding operations and related skills. The realistic exercises involved small-scale ambushes and raids. The ARVN 15th Light Division in the field near Nha Trang was used as the "opposing force".

The class was undergoing a series of confidence-building exercises before their graduation in late October, when Cramer was involved in a training accident on October 21, 1957. During an ambush drill, a Vietnamese soldier near Cramer was readying to throw a lit block of melinite (a French military high explosive) when it prematurely detonated. The melinite was later determined to have deteriorated in storage and was unstable. Cramer died instantly and other members of the team and their students were wounded.[6][7]

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Cramer's name was added to "The Wall" in November, 1983. This was after successful efforts by Captain Cramer's son, Lt. Col. Harry G. Cramer III USAR, then an active duty Army officer, to get the Department of Defense to acknowledge his father's death. Capt. Cramer's son asked that his father's name simply be added to the center (1E) stone, out of sequence, but it is still clearly listed in the chronological book at "The Wall" as 1957, not 1959.) In October 2007, The Army conducted an official ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which Capt. Cramer had graduated, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the first Vietnam casualty.[8]

"First casualty in Vietnam"

He had been earlier reckoned the first casualty in Vietnam when his name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in 1983. Previously it had been declared as Spec/4 James T. Davis, who died (along with nine South Vietnamese soldiers) in a Viet Cong ambush on 22 December 1961. Cramer was replaced in 1999 as the first casualty by murdered Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. Fitzgibbon, who was shot after a dispute with a drunken fellow airman and died of his wounds on June 8, 1956.[9]

He is still considered the first Special Forces casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. To honor him, the men of the 1st SFG wore black armbands for 30 days after his death. A parachute drop zone on Okinawa, CRAMER DZ, was named in his honor. Later, when the 1st Special Forces Group moved into its new facilities at Fort Lewis in 1987, they named a street (Cramer Avenue) after him.[10]

Family

Harry married Anne Supple at the Catholic Chapel at West Point on June 25, 1947. They had three children (two daughters and one son):

  • Kainan Kelly "Kai" Cramer - president of Cramer & Sirras, a legal recruiting firm.[11]
  • Anne Quinn Cramer
  • Harry Griffith Cramer III (born 1953) – Served in the US Army with the 1st Special Forces Group, US Special Forces, later rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Decorations

Cramer received the following decorations:[12][13]

American awards and badges

Unit citations

Foreign awards and badges

References

  1. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946
  2. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946
  3. ^ http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star
  4. ^ Army Marks 50 Years Since First Vietnam Casualty
  5. ^ Harry G. Cramer
  6. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2014-09-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. / Captain / United States Army Cause of Death: Non-Hostile, Died Of Illness / Injury, Ground Casualty / Other (Explosive Device)
  8. ^ http://www.army.mil/article/5692/army-marks-50-years-since-first-vietnam-casualty/
  9. ^ Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.
  10. ^ [1]
  11. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/style/kai-cramer-and-mark-bergman-marry.html New York Times (January 7th, 1990)
  12. ^ My Hero: Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr.
  13. ^ Virtual Wall: Cramer, H.G.
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