5th Cav Reg	1st CAV DIV	11th Air Assault Div

SGT PAUL L. LeMAY, 1964 1 Cav Div- Co A-5 CAV-1 BN-AM

Sgt. Paul Louis LeMay was born in Terre Haute, Indiana on August 21, 1941. He was the youngest of three boys born to Gus and Lucile LeMay, also of Terre Haute. Paul attended Wiley high school in Terre Haute, where he played basketball and later met the required achedemic standards with high marks. He took a job as a stock boy for a grocery store at the age of 18 and at the age of 20 made the life decision of joining the United States Army. Paul soon found his place in life as a soldier with the 38th infantry division, Co A, 1st Bn, where he excelled in weaponry , recieving decoration for marksmanship with an M-1. Paul displayed sound leadership, and was well liked by his comerades. Paul's files reflect he was commended for his excellent conduct and effeciency. He married just prior to his tour in Korea in 1962, where he served as a security agent stationed at Camp Red Cloud. While in Korea, his wife Meryle found the position of waiting to be too much to handle and divorced Paul. He came home from Korea in June of `63 where he met and dated Joy Rooney. They were very much in love and made plans for a future together.

Fall, 1964. Sgt LeMay (lower left) and friends relieve a little stress by clowning for the camera during down time on manuevers in the Carolinas. If you know anyone in this Photo, Please E-Mail: Sgt Fred Owens

Paul reinlisted in the Army in June of 1964 and was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Batallion of Co A, 5 Cav Reg. Where he was promoted to the permanent rank of E-5 and sent in to his place in history with the 11th Air Assault Division, which later became known as AIRMOBILE, the dawn of heilocopter warfare in Vietnam.

During his intensive training for the 11th AAD project., Sgt LeMay was again decorated with medals for Marksmanship (M-79) and Expert Markamanship (M-16). His conduct and effeciency were, again, excellent, as reflected on every report. He became a father on October, 3rd, 1964, but he was in training in the Carolinas, which prevented him from seeing his new daughter until months later when President Lyndon B. Johnson announced to the US that the 1st Cavalry would deploy the project to Vietnam, and Sgt LeMay was sent home for what would be his first, brief, hello to his little girl, and his last goodbye to his family . Sgt. LeMay was deployed with the 1st Cavalry to Vietnam on August, 16th, 1965 as a weapons squad leader for Co A, 5 Cav Reg. Sgt LeMay carried his rank well, and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for Heroism, along with his men. Eight weeks after the unit arrived in Vietnam , Sgt LeMay was accidentally shot by a fellow comerad, on October 18th, while on an ambush set-up leading into the PLEIKU campaign . His men tried without success, to save the life of their Sergeant and beloved brother, and at his passing the troop sat vigil over his body, through the night in the rain, feeling the horror of war weigh heavily upon them. Sgt LeMay was the first casualty of the war for the unit and the young men who served with him. However, his death became a catalist for re-organization of manuver tactics for the unit and the US Army.

Sadly, Sgt. LeMay's new daughter, Valerie Ann, would never be held by her father, she would never hear his laugh , recieve a piggy back ride, or feel the teenage

Valerie Ann, Oct, 1964 Her existance is proof he was here, Her continued freedom is proof he did his job.

embarrassment of having a date interrogated by her protective soldier daddy, ...she would not carry his name, and her mother would forever miss the strong, loving embrace of her only true love. And so began the secrecy...LeMay's daughter was raised not knowing who her father was. Never even so much as a photo until she was 17 years old when she was told a piece of the truth by a sister and given, by an aunt, the last family photo ever taken of her beautiful golden soldier daddy in uniform.... But the truth stopped there. Valerie spent the next 15 years agonizing over the secrecy and wrestling with a million questions in her head. She considered he may still be alive, and looked for him in every store, every car, and in every uniform she saw. At night she sat behind a locked bathroom door to look at, wonder about, and cry over a photo of a man who's face so remarkably resembled her own. ( Click blue letters to view family resemblance )

In January, 1997, an investigation was launched by Valerie's older sister, Sylvana, ( not Paul's child ) with the assistance of the office of Senator John MaCain, and the two sister's new found friend Tom McCanna, (Congressional Liazon). Together they delved into the files and into the life and death of the mysterious soldier and into what has become the truth that has set a family free and brought healing acceptance to a unit of men who were taken all the way back to that first casualty, in order to go forward into wellness. The case was finally solidified with the help of a book called "We were Soldiers once...and young" written by Lt.Gen. Harold G. Moore (Ret), and Vietnam Photo Journalist, Joseph Galloway. A 10 month long investigation not only revealed Sgt LeMay to be that historic first casualty,

Last Family Photo Sgt Paul L.LeMay, Aug,`65

but that he was never awarded a Purple Heart for the sacrifice. The surviving unit, and comerades of Sgt LeMay, were blessed with meeting their beloved friend's daughter at a banquet over the Veteran's Day weekend, in Washington DC, where the 5th Cavalry association and the 1st Cavalry arranged a ceremony in honor of her father. Where she met the men who knew him, men who laughed with him, served with him, and men who held him while he lay dying in the night in a battle zone those many years ago. Men who held the likeness of their friend, now alive, in their arms once again, and cried a lifetime of tears...and healing began. The men Sgt LeMay called friends and brothers, pinned his little girl with his medals and rank. His friend, Sgt Fred Owens, the man who held a bandage to Paul's fatal wounds, pinned Valerie with her father's wings so that she could fly as high as she dared to go in life, and as he did so, he felt as if he had finally gotten the bandage to hold. Another comrade, "Purp" Lavendar, pinned her with LeMay's earned medals, so that she will no longer wonder how great a soldier her father was. LeMay's company commander, Cpt George Forrest, pinned Valerie with the one thing she had waited 32 years to have, the one thing Paul never came home to give her...Cpt. Forrest pinned Valerie with her father's name. She had never been prouder or happier in her whole life. And as an added suprise, Cpt Forrest also pinned Valerie with the forgotten award...the symbol of a Purple Heart, for the sacrifice her father made in the name of freedom, and for the wounds and imprisonment her life suffered because of it all.

Sgt Paul Louis LeMay lives on in the celebration of his life, and commemoration of his sacrifice...in his daughter and three grand children, and in a surviving unit of soldiers who one time called him friend. Valerie now has an album of photos, answered questions, momentos, medals, and more fathers than she knows what to do with, ...but, most important, Sgt Paul L. LeMay's little girl finally has her father's name.

Healing Begins...

( click blue letters to view the" Healing Wall" page )

• Sgt. Fred Owens : meac1@aol.com
• Valerie LeMay Trueblood
• Robert Trueblood
• Sylvana J.Anderson, Director of the V.A.L*. TASK FORCE

  ( *Verification Allowing Legacy )

  5th Cav Association
• WE ARE LKING FOR SGT STANLEY FOX - AIRMOBILE- Ft Benning, GA, 1964-1965. He was the roomate of Sgt LeMay. If you know his whereabouts, PLEASE contact any of the above. Thank you

• THE WALL on the WEB
• PURPLE HEART ORGANIZATION
• KOREAN MEMORIAL
• SONS and DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH
• VIETNAM VETERAN'S MEMORIAL PAGE
• 1st Cav Assoc Master Internet Link
• Disabled American Veterans
• Offerings at the Wall

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