Honoring Our Veterans – Richard Paul Bartle

[Guest Nicole]

By James B. Bartle

If you ever visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, panel 10E and Row 131, you will see the name of Army SP4 Richard P. Bartle, born on October 19, 1943 to Paul and Mary Jo Bartle and brother of William, Charles, Michael and Stephen Bartle.

Richard P. Bartle was fatally wounded on September 22, 1966, he was my Fathers brother and my Uncle Dick, that I often heard stories about him and my father when I was younger from my Grandmother Mary Jo Bartle. These stories were often about young boys growing up and the things they did on the farm but very seldom did we discuss my Uncles military service. It was a subject that brought so many tearful emotions to my Grandmother and my Father I didn’t seek to push the issue. But as a young man, I became more curious and wanted to know what happened to my uncle, was there anyone there with him the day he lost his life, did the other soldiers know my uncle? Uncle Dick was a conscientious objector, a member of Jehovah’s Witnesses but went into the military to serve and spread the word of God.

So while I did not push the issue on his military career or the circumstances surrounding his death, I was told by my father and mother that Uncle Dick was killed by a land mine while trying to help his fellow soldiers. Really, that was all I knew about his duty in the Vietnam War.

I’d often view documents on line seeking the answers about my Uncle that deep down inside I wanted to know. I didn’t want to bring sadness to my father or grandmother, but, as most of you know, there was a drive in me to get the answers, find out what happened that day?

So I turned to the Virtual Vietnam Veterans Wall of Faces where I found some brief information on Richard P. Bartle and I saw a remembrance area for posting.

I read some posts such as, “Thank you Spec 4 Bartle for your leadership and courage under fire,” posted by “A Grateful Vietnam Vet.”

So I posted a message, with my email, that stated, “Uncle Dick was my fathers brother…I know very little on his active duty and death in the war. I would like to obtain or hear stories about my uncle, a true American Hero! He was killed in the war before I was born.” That post was made on January 1, 2016.

On February 8, 2016 I was informed by the Virtual Vietnam Veterans Wall of Faces of a reply to my post! I can’t tell you how eager I was to read it. Could it answer my questions, could it be everything I was looking for, someone else who knew my Uncle Dick?

The post read, “Ground Casualty By wkillian@smjuhsd.org,” and it read, “On September 22, 1966, four medics and three infantrymen from HHC, 28th Infantry, were killed in a friendly mine accident. The personnel lost in this incident included SP4 Richard P. Bartle, SP5 Hugh C. Clausen, PFC Joseph N. Davi, PFC Samuel E. Murph, PFC Larry L. Reynolds, SP4 Walter L. Wells and PFC George Wycinsky. The following is a personal account by James Austin of the tragedy that took place: “Part of our battalion’s minefield had been cleared in order to expand our base camp’s perimeter. When it was believed that all of the mines had been removed, as a precaution, a tank retriever (it is like a tank without the gun turret) ran back and forth over the cleared area in the belief that its weight would set off any undetected mines. There were no explosions, so this area was deemed cleared and safe. The following morning, three men were assigned to dig a foxhole in the cleared area for a future bunker site. Around 11:30 a.m. one of the men struck an undetected mine and it went off. All three were seriously wounded and would die without immediate medical attention. A guard on duty in one of our perimeter bunkers called the aid station. Roughly twelve medics, with their aid bags, came running out of the aid station and headed up the dirt road to the small trail that led back to the perimeter. SP4 Bartle was one of these medics. Along the way, eight men from our company joined them. When this group of about twenty men arrived on the scene, they immediately started to render aid to the injured. A few minutes later, there was another explosion. Another call went out to the aid station. There were only a handful of medics there. These men had just arrived at the aid station and were the only ones available to go to the accident scene. Like the medics before them, they picked up their aid bags and headed for the perimeter. This second group also picked up volunteers along the way. When this second group of rescuers arrived on the scene, they found themselves looking upon a horrible sight. Their closest friends were scattered about on the ground, most of them with hellacious wounds. The three men originally injured were now dead. Three medics were near death. SP4 Bartle had shrapnel in his head, above his left eye. Five medics has limbs missing. One of the volunteers, who had joined the medics, lost an eye. There were several other men with, what could be considered, minor injuries. It must have been very difficult emotionally for the rescuers to comprehend what they were seeing and what they were going to have to do to save their friends from death. All of the rescuers in this second group were well aware that there was the possibility of more mines. Still they entered the minefield, one by one, following in the footsteps of the man in front of him. Once inside, they started working on the injured. A helicopter arrived on the scene, but would not land for fear of its weight setting off another mine. The medics and their helpers started loading the wounded on the sometimes swaying chopper/the helicopter flew the loaded injured to our small surgical hospital located about a quarter mile away. The helicopter then returned to the accident scene for more wounded. This was repeated again and again until all of the injured were removed. Bartle was the only injured man not taken to the hospital by the chopper. He was transported on a stretcher by Jeep. I and another man kept the stretcher in place as the Jeep driver took a short cut across some slightly rough ground. As we were moving, I asked Bartle how he was doing. He had been quiet and not really looking at us. He said he was fine, but he would like to have his wallet. I unbuttoned his shirt pocket and removed the item. He pointed to a picture of a girl. I removed the photo and handed it to him. I put his wallet back into his shirt pocket. He spent the rest of the trip quietly gazing at the picture. When we arrived at the hospital, we placed Bartle on a gurney. A nurse came within seconds. She quickly looked at his wound then left. I squeezed one of Bartle’s hands and assured him that he would be alright now that he was at the hospital. I fully believed he would recover from his wound. I and the other two men returned to our perimeter. It didn’t seem long after our return that we received word Bartle had passed away. He died from being wounded while trying to save three men. The way Bartle and his fellow medics bravely and without regard for their own personal safety reacted to this accident is an example of their commitment to those of us who served with them. We never doubted them in a crises.”

After receiving this information I reposted on the site, “My Uncle Richard P. Bartle, was truly an American Hero! Thank you for telling me exactly what happened to my Uncle that day, I’ve always wondered and now I know.”

I want to express my appreciation to my father William Bartle, my mother Shiela Bartle for giving me permission to share this with everyone in our Veteran Spotlight.

While I’m not attempting, in any way, to proclaim that my Uncle Richard P. Bartle was the greatest war veteran, what I do hope to show is that he was my Uncle, My Father’s Brother, My Grandparent’s son and he did what our family has always strived to do and that is to help others and value the life we have.

Thank You Uncle Richard P. Bartle.

Source: http://www.mysullivannews.com/2016/04/honoring-our-veterans-richard-paul-bartle/

[John Houston]

Thank you for sharing this with us.