Terry Frye
1947-01-01 1967-04-25
REDLANDS – Spc. 4th Class Terrance “Terry” Donald Frye died a hero when he was killed in action in Vietnam in 1967.
He had twice been wounded in battle during his seven months of service in the Army, according to comments by his father Donald H. Frye, an employee with the county Building and Safety Department, which were published in a San Bernardino Sun death notice in April 1967.
Frye was killed while trying to save the life of a fellow soldier, according to his Silver Star citation.
According to the citation, awarded April 25, 1967, “Specialist Frye was serving in the scout team during a company search and destroy operation near Lai Khe. While crossing a trail, his team was suddenly subjected to a volley of insurgent fire and one of Specialist Frye’s comrades was severely wounded. Specialist Frye immediately took the Viet Cong under fire as he moved into the Viet Cong kill zone to assist his fellow soldier.
“As he dressed his wounds, Specialist Frye was hit by hostile fire. Undaunted, he continued to administer first aid to the soldier, and then, positioning his body between the insurgent fire and the casualty, Specialist Frye was mortally wounded by a hostile command-detonated claymore mine. As his last effort, he placed his body over his comrade to protect him from the Viet Cong fire.”
“He was very much a team player. If one of his buddies was injured, he would’ve gone to get him,” said Harry Carson Frye, Terry’s younger brother by three years. “We learned that the man he saved did live, and did recover from his wounds.”
Harry was only 16 and a junior at Redlands High School when his older brother was killed. According to Harry, Terry dropped out of high school and took classes at San Bernardino Valley College before enlisting in the Army.
“He originally was supposed to be a file clerk in Germany, but that was too boring, so he got reassigned to be a paratrooper – the Screaming Eagles, they called themselves – and was assigned to guard POWs,” Harry recalled. “He was bored with that and got reassigned to the first cavalry as a machine gunner on helicopters, but he didn’t like that because they could only fire if fired upon. He didn’t like the fact that they were sitting ducks, so he was reassigned.”
According to Harry, Terry “enjoyed sports and cars. He had less than a year left before he was to come home, and I think he was looking forward to buying himself a Ford Mustang – the muscle cars were popular those days.”
Terry had a mischievous streak, Harry said. “We lived out on San Bernardino Avenue, which was busier than it is now. I remember once when I helped him dress up a dummy and hung it from a tree in front of our house. A lot of cars screeched to a stop in front of our house.”
Another time, Harry overheard, “I wasn’t with him, but he and some of his buddies – while they were back from the Army before heading back out – filled up a dummy full of baking powder and put flashlights on it and tossed it into the Mentone river. It looked like some alien thing bobbing up and down, and people called the cops, who came out to investigate.”
Terrance Donald Frye, Spc. 4th Class, light weapons infantry, 1st Infantry Division, B Company, Second Battalion of the 18th Infantry, died April 25, 1967, a couple months after his 20th birthday. He was buried in Del Mort, Colo. His name appears on panel 18E, line 84 of the Vietnam Wall.
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2007/05/30/terry-frye-was-awarded-the-silver-star-for-heroism/
He had twice been wounded in battle during his seven months of service in the Army, according to comments by his father Donald H. Frye, an employee with the county Building and Safety Department, which were published in a San Bernardino Sun death notice in April 1967.
Frye was killed while trying to save the life of a fellow soldier, according to his Silver Star citation.
According to the citation, awarded April 25, 1967, “Specialist Frye was serving in the scout team during a company search and destroy operation near Lai Khe. While crossing a trail, his team was suddenly subjected to a volley of insurgent fire and one of Specialist Frye’s comrades was severely wounded. Specialist Frye immediately took the Viet Cong under fire as he moved into the Viet Cong kill zone to assist his fellow soldier.
“As he dressed his wounds, Specialist Frye was hit by hostile fire. Undaunted, he continued to administer first aid to the soldier, and then, positioning his body between the insurgent fire and the casualty, Specialist Frye was mortally wounded by a hostile command-detonated claymore mine. As his last effort, he placed his body over his comrade to protect him from the Viet Cong fire.”
“He was very much a team player. If one of his buddies was injured, he would’ve gone to get him,” said Harry Carson Frye, Terry’s younger brother by three years. “We learned that the man he saved did live, and did recover from his wounds.”
Harry was only 16 and a junior at Redlands High School when his older brother was killed. According to Harry, Terry dropped out of high school and took classes at San Bernardino Valley College before enlisting in the Army.
“He originally was supposed to be a file clerk in Germany, but that was too boring, so he got reassigned to be a paratrooper – the Screaming Eagles, they called themselves – and was assigned to guard POWs,” Harry recalled. “He was bored with that and got reassigned to the first cavalry as a machine gunner on helicopters, but he didn’t like that because they could only fire if fired upon. He didn’t like the fact that they were sitting ducks, so he was reassigned.”
According to Harry, Terry “enjoyed sports and cars. He had less than a year left before he was to come home, and I think he was looking forward to buying himself a Ford Mustang – the muscle cars were popular those days.”
Terry had a mischievous streak, Harry said. “We lived out on San Bernardino Avenue, which was busier than it is now. I remember once when I helped him dress up a dummy and hung it from a tree in front of our house. A lot of cars screeched to a stop in front of our house.”
Another time, Harry overheard, “I wasn’t with him, but he and some of his buddies – while they were back from the Army before heading back out – filled up a dummy full of baking powder and put flashlights on it and tossed it into the Mentone river. It looked like some alien thing bobbing up and down, and people called the cops, who came out to investigate.”
Terrance Donald Frye, Spc. 4th Class, light weapons infantry, 1st Infantry Division, B Company, Second Battalion of the 18th Infantry, died April 25, 1967, a couple months after his 20th birthday. He was buried in Del Mort, Colo. His name appears on panel 18E, line 84 of the Vietnam Wall.
https://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/2007/05/30/terry-frye-was-awarded-the-silver-star-for-heroism/