in an enemy mortar attack. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Jimmy and Trudy had been high school sweethearts back in Rigby, Idaho. When I saw "We Were Soldiers," I felt really bad for the soldiers fighting for our country, but at the same time, I thought to myself that no one should die like this. The friend To have this information Your Scrapbook is currently empty. For Jimmy Nakayama, life began in Rexburg. When the attack began, Moore ordered Capt. One of our class members volunteered that someone had called him a "dirty Jap", reflecting prejudices still strong from World War II. So moving. locate anyone someone who was with him. Plumley's warning was directed at the medical aide personnel in a (relatively) rear area. Jimmy D. Nakayama was the second son of Frank and Satoko Nakayama. from her native Idaho began calling about a recently released months of their marriage, Jim was in Vietnam. I'm glad to know he was a hero, and I'm glad As night drew near, they gave up the chase and caught a chopper back to Pleiku. She plans to call them, as In the church where the wives are having mass as their husbands are flying into combat, Second Lt. John L. Geoghegan's wife, played by. So she went to the West End theater where the movie was playing, From a big fan, Galloway gave her the names and telephone numbers of two others Watch where you step theres a lot of bodies around here, and theyre all ours.. He had been "Tell my wife and baby I love them," he gasped to United Press He knew he had a baby girl but never got to see her.Jimmy's name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC on wall panel 03E 088.Private First Class/Second Lieutenant Jimmy D. Nakayama, Sn# , earned the following badges/decorations for his service in the US Army during the Vietnam War:- Purple Heart Medal- Army Good Conduct Medal- National Defense Service Medal- Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze campaign star- Vietnam Campaign Medal with '60 device- Vietnam Cross of Gallantry Ribbon Unit Citation Ribbon with Palm- Vietnam Civil Actions Ribbon First Class Unit Citation Ribbon with Palm**NOTE - The photo accompanying this bio shows Jimmy as an officer and not a PFC and this causes visitors and researchers some confusion. His commission came through a. E-mail address is not available. The movie adheres to the description in the book, although Ten months was all they had together, and for the last few read more POSTED ON 8.30.2009 POSTED BY: Robert H. Dear Jimmy If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. His active duty commission to Second Lieutenant had been approved but he never knew it.Jimmy had married his high school sweetheart, Trudie Olsen. Spencer Gray "We claim Jimmy Nakayama from Rigby, Idaho. had such a compelling need to know what he was faced with.. Try again later. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Brian Tee was born Jae-Beom Takata on March 15, 1977, in Okinawa, Japan (via Apple TV ). If they don't have access to the armory they can call in someone who does, especially if it is for the CO. Sadly, Jimmie was in the drop zone and was horribly burned. The Battle of Ia Drang took place in November 1965. book. Private First Class Jimmy D. Nakayama, Served with Company C, 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. For two or three This was a device on the right side of the rifle to ram the round up the chamber. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. One of our very best. Colonel Moore calls in an air strike when his men have been overrun by NVA. Robert Carrara, and the medical platoon Sgt. pmac925@aol.com. Hastings was screaming into his mike: Pull Up! As he was on the edge of the blast, this took him out of the burned area. was evacuated from a Vietnam battlefield where he had been mortally He ordered the troops to push out from the clearing toward the mountain and hold the enemy off the landing zone. This would allow for the hammer to be down in a safe position, though the weapon may have already been used. napalm to know it would be pretty terrible. Inserting a fresh magazine to replace a partially empty magazine during a lull is good practice. VC tunnels were usually of the smaller variety but the NVA tunnels were often built for machines, artillery and huge amounts of supplies. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13661435/jimmy-d-nakayama. On November 14, 1965, Jimmy was in the Ia Drang Valley with the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Division at a place called "LZ X-Ray". Nikki, then 37, had two young sons of her own. Things were a lot worse for Charlie Company. "But I'm glad I went," she said. kbodine@houston.rr.com. And sure enough, a few scenes later, he's turned into a fried eggroll. "His eyes were so real. GREAT NEWS! Actually, Nikki, their daughter, had been born Nov. 7, but her You can always change this later in your Account settings. Even worse that Jimmy himself died two days later at an army hospital in real life at the same week when his first child was born. Tell my wife and baby I love them, 22-year-old Jim Nakayama I rolled away from my little tree and went flat on my belly. Jimmy Nakayama, Army, Private, First Class of Rigby, Idaho was a casualty of a napalm air strike delivered by "friendly fire." Poss says coming home from Vietnam was difficult when people. On Nov 15 1965, during the battle for the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam, Jimmy Nakayama and another man were accidentally hit with napalm during a misplaced air strike. Maj. Plumley as he bent at the waist and, grinning, hollered at me over the din of battle: You cant take no pictures laying down there on the ground, Sonny! He was right, of course, and I got up and followed that grizzled veteran as he ignored all the lead in the air and made his rounds collecting a small reserve force to defend the command post, if necessary. She was seven months pregnant. We had just been welcomed to the battle by Sgt. american fallen soldiers Army SPC Jimmy Nakayama Failed to remove flower. Most of the heavy air attacks and artillery was not in the immediate area around the soldiers dug in so you dont see all the effects of it. Had it been born yet? Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Jimmy Nakayama Thank you for your services in the Vietnam War. The next day Olson wrote to Galloway on the Internet through the The Nakayamas moved to Fort Benning, Ga., after he joined the Private First Class When the flames died down we all ran out into the But until she saw the new movie We Were Soldiers she didnt As a former US ARMY helicopter pilot - I noticed from the opening frame that the helicopters they were using in the movie were late model HUEYs that were not available in 1965. Hal Moore wanted them back, and shortly after dawn of Day Two, he alerted his company commanders to come to his makeshift command post behind a big termite mound to receive orders for a three-company assault to rescue the trapped platoon. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again. God Bless You, Jimmy Nakayama. "Best Supporting Actor" Nominee at the 2009 Maverick Movie Awards (for "Deadland"). I just wanted to say to his family and friends that that I am sorry this had to happen to him. ". The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was activated on 01 Feb 1943. Learn more about merges. army. The students rallied to Jimmy's defense, offering increased friendship and support, trying to make him feel as "American" as any of us. Remembering Jim Nakayama - YouTube 0:00 / 0:38 Remembering Jim Nakayama 3,087 views Nov 9, 2015 Lt. Col. Jim Harper of the Idaho Army National Guard speaks about Rigby resident who was killed. The HU-1A (which was the original designation of the Bell Iroquois "jury's) and UH-1B had been in service in Vietnam since 1961. I was plunged into the past as if all He was killed in a friendly fire incident at the Battle of Ia Drang in 1965. A system error has occurred. Dozens of Americans were killed; more were wounded. Nakayamas part is told in a few minutes near the climax, and But the jungle around the clearing was too quiet, and that alone made Moore suspicious. We had no foxholes. For the first few years after Jim's death, she Then it was clear that these little lights were being used by enemy reinforcements coming down the mountain to join the fight. Broken Arrow! That call translated to: American unit in danger of being overrun! A day after viewing "We Were Soldiers," Olson got on the told a reporter who was helping carry him to a helicopter. He was outgoing, even charismatic. A company had been called in to protect against any repeat, although it seemed unlikely given the bloody beating the enemy had taken in that attempt. other people will know now, too. Olson knew very little about what happened in the Ia Drang You can cancel at any time. Jimmy Nakayma died in flight,3rd degree burns no other injuries. ). Two canisters drop from the There, she hopes to meet Galloway and They hit the American position in a ball of Just as the second lift of about 100 of Moores troops were landing, the battle had begun. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. The earlier (1965) model did NOT have the forward assist on it. A public support rally is pl. It was completely devastating.". movie. well as a helicopter pilot identified in the movie as Too Tall. In that first hour, eight men were killed and 13 others wounded out of the 29 who belonged to the platoon or were attached. This earlier model also had a 3 prong flash suppressor on the front end of the barrel. that didn't want to go on. The 442nd's motto was "Go for Broke" - as noted above. If this was true, it is a travesty that he was not afforded the Second Lieutenant rank on his gravestone. He was popular in school and excelled in sports, especially baseball. Lately she's started to feel that the hole in her life is at They would not even have worn combat fatigues, let alone the other gear during the flight over the ocean. "When he died I felt like everything I knew and believed about When the 1st Cavalry Division initially deployed, they did travel with fatigues and weapons and went by ship, the USS Geiger. battlefield contained uneasy references to the uncomfortable Our lives revolved around the future, what we would few weeks ago. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. A North Vietnamese battalion shot its way into the positions of two of Capt. It is not necessarily a mistake, certainly not by the filmmaker, but there are several writers mentioning serious casualties amongst fighting troops specifically because of jamming M16 rifles. He transferred to the Regular Army, accepting a position as an enlisted man until such time his commission would be approved for active duty Army. We are two students who have seen "We Were Soldiers" in our Vietnam class and would like to post a remembrance. He was well liked, even though his Japanese ancestry set him apart. The gunners cranked the cannons down, loaded up with beehive rounds crammed with thousands of tiny triangular pieces of metal sharp as razor blades, and let fly. Boyd.Norris@cox.net. How could they arrive so quickly? But he arrives with an M16. It became known as the "Purple Heart Battalion" during campaigns in North Africa and Italy. He had five brothers and one sister. Resend Activation Email. (edited by) Casting By Production Design by Thomas E. Sanders . the movie, I was a wreck. "There aren't any words to If you read Moore's book, you will realize that the telegrams *were* arriving during the conflict in the Ia Drang. Two months later, at 22, Nakayama died after being severely burned during a napalm attack that was. film and could tell her when to turn away. God bless those men who fought in Vietnam. After Olson's father prodded an Idaho From Torrey and Paul. We circled overhead at 1,500 feet as Brown told Moore he intended to land to see the situation firsthand. Received a B.A. They were evacuated, but Nakayama died two days later, on Nov. 17. Adam J. Hoffman "It was sort of He was killed by an air attack. I saw the film 'We Were Soldiers' the other night and providing events were portrayed accurately, the story of Jimmy Nakayama and how he died touched me quite deeply. According to Hal Moore's book, the two aircraft on the run to drop the napalm (including the one that did drop the errant cannister) were indeed F-100 Super Sabres. We flew the 17 miles to the battleground. When the 442nd RCT arrived in Italy in June 1944 the 100th Infantry Battalion became one of the 442nd's three maneuver battalions. His 450 men would be airlifted into a clearing Moore had personally chosen in a fly-by earlier that morning. What I saw was a large combat boot on the foot of Sgt. years, and was more than willing to share with her his experiences Try again later. Had the battalion kept going, it would have burst through into the clearing aimed directly at Moores command post where the wounded were gathered and the ammunition stocks were stacked in crates. To keep up to date with us, subscribe to our email list. was a horrible death. What most people call the NVA was actually the People's Army of North Vietnam (PAVN) The Viet Cong was actually the National Liberation Front (NLF). Singed around the edges, the letter was The three of us sat for over three hours talking, laughing and crying.. Travis Poss also 0f the 7th Cav 1st BN was killed on November 15, 1965. Most helicopters are piloted on the right side, unlike fixed wing aircraft. The E-mail address is not available. This is incorrect, as weapons would have been issued on arrival in 'Nam. In one foxhole, Sp.4 Will Parish, 24, had one of those M60s, and when the enemy rose out of the grass and came at him in waves, Parish used all his machine gun ammo and then stood with a .45 pistol in each hand and fought on until what was left of the attackers fell back. There is no definitive information on this topic, and although factually accurate, a technical problem with a weapon was probably not enough to build an entire sub-plot, and would not hold the interest of the moviegoer. I had one advantage over Arnett: I had marched with Moores battalion four days earlier on a real hot walk in the sun in the mountains east of Plei Me Special Forces Camp, and spent the night with them as well. Has one daughter, Madelyn Skyler (born August 10, 2015). In order to serve in the Vietnam War, Nakayama took a reduction in rank to private which was required of him to join the Regular Army. commanding officer at Ia Drang, retired Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. There were enough casualties without having to take into consideration weapon malfunction. His daughter Nikki was born only days earlier on Nov. 7th. He's a hero to most of us in our area. That first night passed slowly in LZ Xray, punctuated with small North Vietnamese probes around the perimeter in attempts to force American machine guns to open up and thus reveal their positions. William A. Findlay III, MD (as Tom Sanders) Learn more about managing a memorial . He sent her an e-mail three days An Army annual shows Jimmy D. Nakayama. The red dirt near the termite hill was hard as concrete. read more read less. This can only be seen in the deleted scenes on the DVD version. Only last year I visited the Wall in Washington D.C. and sought out your name carved therein. Sergeant Nye (at the battle) confirms this. They had charged across an open field straight into the guns of a battery of 105mm howitzers. Savage and the 22-year-old medic, Sp5 Randy (Doc) Lose of Mobile kept the survivors alive through a long afternoon and night of enemy human wave attacks. other people will know now, too.. The rifles used in this movie, the Armalite AR15 / Colt M16. Greg (Matt) Dillon, Moores S-3, or operations officer, walking toward a tent on the edge of the clearing. If you have to view it in slow motion, it's not a mistake. "I am. would have been unconscious after he was hit. Drag images here or select from your computer for PFC Jimmy D. Nakayama memorial. Aug 26, 2014 0 Current National Guard members are shown with members of the Nakayama family during the ceremony honoring the fallen soldier. That side of the clearing literally exploded. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. You can cancel at any time. One day, however, he was despondent. The M16's used in this battle were second generation M16A1's easily distinguished by the forward bolt assist on the right hand side of the rifle. The black and white checked bandanas that the viet cong (not NVA) soldiers were wearing, were part of the uniform of the people's army of Viet Nam (Viet Cong). letters were full of the baby.

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