PFC Roy William Neal
A Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade

Killed In Action ~ 28 May 1968 ~ Vietnam

          On Tuesday, 28 May 1968,  SP/4 Dennis Rae Mason , age 20, of Argyle, Wisconsin, was driving an escort gun jeep involved in Operation Overtake on Highway 1A. PFC Roy William Neal , age 21, of Blountville, Tennessee, was the M-60 machine gunner and his passenger was  SSG John Herman Wilkens , age 26, the escort NCOIC.

        The escort was proceeding towards Saigon on Highway 1-A when at 2250 hours (10:50 PM) it was ambushed in an area nicknamed “Rocket Alley”, located between the Thu Duc Water Plant and the Newport Bridge.

        The Viet Cong fired two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s) and small arms fire at the MP gun jeep. One RPG round struck PFC Neal, the other the jeep, causing it to flip over and burst into flame.

        All three men died in the attack. It was later determined that SSG Wilkens had managed to empty one magazine from his M-16 rifle at the attackers before succumbing to his wounds.

Photo G1067 Above:

On Memorial Day, 30 May 1968, at 0800 hours memorial services were held at the 89th MP Group Chapel for SSG Wilkens, SP/4 Mason, PFC Neal and PFC Flynn, C Company, who was killed in action 25 May. < Click on the Memorial Services Program Icon to view the program pamphlet pages. PVT Roy W. Neal at the MP School, Ft. Gordon, GA in 1967>

--- General / Personal --- Last name: NEAL First name: ROY WILLIAM Home of Record (official): BLOUNTVILLE State (official): TN Date of Birth: Friday, November 8, 1946 Sex: Male Race: Caucasian Marital Status: Single --- Military --- Branch: Army Rank: PFC Serial Number: 53756297 Component: Selective Service Pay grade: E3 MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 95B10 -- Action --- Start of Tour: Wednesday, November 1, 1967 Date of Casualty: Tuesday, May 28, 1968 Age at time of loss: 21 Casualty type: (A1) Hostile, died Reason: Burns (Ground casualty) Country: South VietNam Province: Gia Dinh The Wall: Panel 64W - Row 013

During a lighter moment, PFC Neal (in headlock) is horsing around in A Company with PFC Lawrence Whitlock. Courtesy of SP/4 Arthur Diaz, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, October 1967 to October 1968.

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     As a result of the Tennessee State Senate Bill No. 2855 and House Bill No. 2548.

     This past Saturday, 28 August 2010, a group of veterans, friends, family and government officials, all met at a bridge between the Tri-Cities Airport and the town of Blountville, TN. About Two Hundred people endured the heat of this summer day to show respect for the memory of one man. PFC Roy William Neal was a local hero who served in Vietnam. Vietnam had many brave heroes who endured the horrors of war, some still live with these memories to this day. Honor was shown this day, honor for a fallen Soldier, a local hero, and honor for those who served in Vietnam.

     The dedication ceremony was conducted with the following: Vietnam Veterans of American chapter 979, Rolling Thunder Chapter 4, American Legion post 3, Citizen Soldiers, Inc. Chapter 1. The Reverend, Dr. Sammy Pucket, Blountville United Methodist Church and Pastor Johnny Mink of Riverview Baptist Church both did prayers.