The Last Combat Casualty In Vietnam
Bill Nolde, a farm boy from Michigan, is the last to die.
January 27, 1973
Colonel William Benedict Nolde became the last official American combat casualty of the Vietnam War on this date, the 45,914th confirmed combat death and the 57,597th in the total list of Americans killed during the conflict. In what today almost seems senseless, Nolde was killed by artillery fire eleven hours before the cessation of all hostilities in accordance with the Paris Peace Accords.
Born on Aug. 8, 1929, in the town of Menominee on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Bill Nolde grew up on a small farm, the sixth of eight children. After graduating from high school in 1947, he earned a two-year teaching certificate at Central Michigan University, which he attended on scholarship. In 1951, Bill married Joyce Fusee, a fellow schoolteacher. Earlier that year he was drafted into the Army, then volunteered for Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla., graduating as a second lieutenant. After serving in the Korean War, Nolde chose to make the military a career, and was posted to various locations around the world over the next two decades.
Nolde served in South Vietnam from 1963 to 1965 and following that tour of duty was sent to Italy. Returning to Washington in June 1972, he was asked by William Westmoreland, the Army Chief of Staff, to return to South Vietnam as a senior military adviser in the Binh Long Province. Eleven hours before the Paris Peace Accords ceasefire was to come into effect, Nolde was killed by North Vietnamese artillery fire.
While other Americans lost their lives after the truce was enacted, these were not recorded as combat casualties. During his time in the armed forces, he accumulated four medals, including the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit.
Colonel William B. Nolde was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. May his memory never die, as he was a true citizen soldier and patriot.
In retrospect, the public was duped by another "bogus narrative." This one was that the communists were trying to take over the world and we had to stop them in the nation of Vietnam. I guess the thought was that if we didn't wage a war (that ended up lasting more than a decade), the communists would invade and conquer America?
The sad irony is that much of the totalitarian socialist/communist dogma has been largely implemented via other means.
The real threat to freedom and liberties was, of course, our own government. I know, even today, It's not popular to make such an observation, but I think it's true.
We also fought a war against "terrorism" in Iraq and Afghanistan even though the terrorists had no possibility of conquering America and, certainly, Iraq and Afghanistan were never going to invade America.
All this said, the troops were doing what they were ordered to do (by civilians who would never risk their lives) and we should always remember their sacrifices and service.
I keep thinking we need a greater "watchdog" press that is skeptical enough to challenge some of these dubious narratives before they become iron-clad "truths."
All these narratives have the same goal - to control the masses by producing irrational or non-sensical fears.