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|battles = [[Vietnam War]]
|battles = [[Vietnam War]]
|battles_label =
|battles_label =
|awards = [[Combat Infantryman's Badge]]
|awards = [[Silver Star]]
|memorials =
|memorials =
|alma_mater = [[Johnstown High School]]
|alma_mater = [[Westmont Hilltop High School|Westmont-Upper Yoder High School]]
|spouse = Anne Supple
|spouse = Anne Supple
|children = 3
|children = 3
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}}
}}


Captain '''Harry Griffith Cramer Jr.''' (May 24, 1926, [[Johnstown, Pennsylvania]] – October 21, 1957, near [[Nha Trang]], [[South Vietnam]]) was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first [[U.S. Army]] soldier to be killed in the [[Vietnam War]]. A street at [[Fort Lewis]], Washington, is named in his honor. He is buried at the [[United States Military Academy]], [[West Point, New York]].
Captain '''Harry Griffith Cramer Jr.''' (May 24, 1926 – October 21, 1957) was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first [[U.S. Army]] soldier to be killed in the [[Vietnam War]]. A street at [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], Washington is named in his honor. He is buried at the [[United States Military Academy]], [[West Point, New York]].


==Childhood==
==Childhood==
Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a First Sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School, and young Harry played on the football squad.The family lived in a large brick home at 321 Luzerne Street in the Westmont suburb of Johnstown.
Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School.The family lived in a large brick home at 321 Luzerne Street in the Westmont suburb of Johnstown. The house still stands today.


==West Point==
==West Point==
Cramer graduated from Johnstown High School in 1942 at the age of 16. He applied for West Point, but was underage, so he went to the [[Carson Long Military Institute]] in [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania|Harrisburg]] for a year. He entered West Point in 1943 at the age of 17, joining the Class of 1946.
Cramer graduated from Upper Yoder- Westmont High School in 1942 at the age of 16. He applied for West Point, but was underage, so he went to the [[Carson Long Military Institute]] in [[New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania]] for a year. He entered West Point in 1943 at the age of 17, joining the Class of 1946.


He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it to stay focused on academic challenges, despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets.
He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it to stay focused on academic challenges, despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets.
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After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> or [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".
After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> or [[Savannah, Georgia|Savannah]]<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946]</ref> on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".


His first service was as a platoon leader with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry Regiment]], [[25th Infantry Division (United States)|25th Infantry Division]] at [[Camp Majestic]], [[Gifu, Gifu|Gifu]], during the Occupation of Japan. He returned stateside to serve at [[Fort Dix]], [[New Jersey]], as an airborne recruiting officer from June 1950 to February 1951.
His first service was as a platoon leader with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American [[24th Infantry Regiment (United States)|24th Infantry Regiment]], [[25th Infantry Division (United States)|25th Infantry Division]] at [[Camp Majestic]], [[Gifu, Gifu|Gifu]], during the Occupation of Japan. Camp Majestic was the former Kagamigahara Airfield, a kamikaze base during the Second World War. Harry returned stateside to serve at [[Fort Dix]], [[New Jersey]], as an airborne recruiting officer from June 1950 to February 1951.


==Korean War==
==Korean War==
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Harry requested a combat assignment. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as platoon leader and then company commander of Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action<ref>http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star</ref> by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. [[Joseph Sladen Bradley]], and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.
When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Harry requested a combat assignment. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as platoon leader and then company commander of Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action<ref>http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star</ref> by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. [[Joseph S. Bradley|Joseph Sladen Bradley]], and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.


From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, [[14th Infantry Regiment (United States)|14th Infantry Regiment]], 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.
From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, [[14th Infantry Regiment (United States)|14th Infantry Regiment]], 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.
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==Vietnam service==
==Vietnam service==
Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), [[Military Assistance and Advisory Group#MAAG, Indochina; MAAG, Vietnam|MAAGV]]. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to [[Fort Shafter]], Hawaii, in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed [[1st Special Forces Group]] at [[Fort Buckner]], [[Okinawa, Japan]], on June 24, 1957.
Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), [[Military Assistance and Advisory Group#MAAG, Indochina; MAAG, Vietnam|MAAGV]]. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to [[Fort Shafter]], Hawaii in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed [[1st Special Forces Group]] at [[Fort Buckner]], [[Okinawa, Japan]] on June 24, 1957.


The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Operations & Intelligence), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC [[Chalmers Archer]] (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Msgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).<ref>[http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10942/HARRY-G-CRAMER#sthash.4sjWz66s.dpuf Harry G. Cramer]</ref> The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.
The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Team Sergeant), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC [[Chalmers Archer]] (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Msgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).<ref>[http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10942/HARRY-G-CRAMER#sthash.4sjWz66s.dpuf Harry G. Cramer]</ref> The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.


In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.
In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.
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From June to November 1957, they began training Vietnamese Special Forces in raiding operations and related skills. The realistic exercises involved small-scale ambushes and raids. The ARVN 15th Light Division in the field near Nha Trang was used as the "opposing force".
From June to November 1957, they began training Vietnamese Special Forces in raiding operations and related skills. The realistic exercises involved small-scale ambushes and raids. The ARVN 15th Light Division in the field near Nha Trang was used as the "opposing force".


The class was undergoing a series of confidence-building exercises before their graduation in late October, when Cramer was involved in a training accident on October 21, 1957. During an ambush drill, a Vietnamese soldier near Cramer was readying to throw a lit block of [[Picric acid|melinite]] (a French military [[high explosive]]) when it prematurely detonated. The melinite was later determined to have deteriorated in storage and was unstable. Cramer died instantly and other members of the team and their students were wounded.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://1957timecapsule.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/october-21-1957-army-captain-hank-cramer-first-u-s-combat-death-in-vietnam/ |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525023552/http://1957timecapsule.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/october-21-1957-army-captain-hank-cramer-first-u-s-combat-death-in-vietnam/ |archive-date=2012-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ultimatesacrificevietnam.com/American_Casualties_Pre-1963.htm '''Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. / Captain / United States Army''' ''Cause of Death: Non-Hostile, Died Of Illness / Injury, Ground Casualty / Other (Explosive Device)'']</ref>
The class was undergoing a series of field training exercises before their graduation in late October, when Cramer was involved in a training accident on October 21, 1957. During an ambush drill, a Vietnamese soldier near Cramer was readying to throw a lit block of [[Picric acid|melinite]] (a French military [[high explosive]]) when it prematurely detonated. The melinite was later determined to have deteriorated in storage and was unstable. Cramer died instantly and other members of the team and their students were wounded.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://1957timecapsule.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/october-21-1957-army-captain-hank-cramer-first-u-s-combat-death-in-vietnam/ |title=October 21, 1957 – Army Captain Hank Cramer First U.S. Combat Death in Vietnam « 1957 Time Capsule |access-date=2014-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525023552/http://1957timecapsule.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/october-21-1957-army-captain-hank-cramer-first-u-s-combat-death-in-vietnam/ |archive-date=2012-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ultimatesacrificevietnam.com/American_Casualties_Pre-1963.htm '''Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. / Captain / United States Army''' ''Cause of Death: Non-Hostile, Died Of Illness / Injury, Ground Casualty / Other (Explosive Device)'']</ref>


==Vietnam Veterans Memorial==
==Vietnam Veterans Memorial==
Cramer's name was added to [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial|"The Wall"]] in November, 1983. This was after successful efforts by Captain Cramer's son, Lt. Col. Harry G. Cramer III [[United States Army Reserve|USAR]], then an active duty Army officer, to get the [[Department of Defense (United States)|Department of Defense]] to acknowledge his father's death. Capt. Cramer's son asked that his father's name simply be added to the center (1E) stone, out of sequence, but it is still clearly listed in the chronological book at "The Wall" as 1957, not 1959.) In October 2007, The Army conducted an official ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which Capt. Cramer had graduated, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the first Vietnam casualty.<ref>http://www.army.mil/article/5692/army-marks-50-years-since-first-vietnam-casualty/</ref>
Cramer's name was added to [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial|"The Wall"]] in November, 1983. This was after successful efforts by Captain Cramer's son, Lt. Col. Harry G. Cramer III [[United States Army Reserve|USAR]], then an active duty Army officer, to get the [[Department of Defense (United States)|Department of Defense]] to acknowledge his father's death. Capt. Cramer's son asked that his father's name simply be added to the center (1E) stone, out of sequence, but it is still clearly listed in the chronological book at "The Wall" as 1957, not 1959.) In October 2007, The Army conducted an official ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which Capt. Cramer had graduated, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the first Vietnam casualty.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.army.mil/article/5692/army-marks-50-years-since-first-vietnam-casualty/|title = Army Marks 50 Years Since First Vietnam Casualty}}</ref>


=="First casualty in Vietnam"==
=="First casualty in Vietnam"==
He had been earlier reckoned the first casualty in Vietnam when his name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in 1983. Previously it had been declared as Spec/4 [[James T. Davis]], who died (along with nine South Vietnamese soldiers) in a Viet Cong ambush on 22 December 1961. Cramer was replaced in 1999 as the first casualty by murdered Air Force Technical Sergeant [[Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr.]] Fitzgibbon, who was shot after a dispute with a drunken fellow airman and died of his wounds on June 8, 1956.<ref>[http://www.virtualwall.org/df/FitzgibbonRB02a.htm '''Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.''']</ref>
Cramer was reckoned the first casualty in Vietnam when his name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in 1983. Previously it had been declared as Spec/4 [[James T. Davis]], who died (along with nine South Vietnamese soldiers) in a Viet Cong ambush on December 22, 1961. Some historians now consider the first casualty to be murdered Air Force Technical Sergeant [[Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr.]] Fitzgibbon was shot after a dispute with a drunken fellow airman and died of his wounds on June 8, 1956.<ref>[http://www.virtualwall.org/df/FitzgibbonRB02a.htm '''Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.''']</ref>


He is still considered the first Special Forces casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. To honor him, the men of the 1st SFG wore black armbands for 30 days after his death. A parachute drop zone on Okinawa, CRAMER DZ, was named in his honor. Later, when the 1st Special Forces Group moved into its new facilities at Fort Lewis in 1987, they named a street (Cramer Avenue) after him.<ref>[http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/]</ref>
Cramer is still considered the first US Army casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. To honor him, the men of the 1st SFG wore black armbands for 30 days after his death. A parachute drop zone on Okinawa, CRAMER DZ, was named in his honor. Later, when the 1st Special Forces Group moved into its new facilities at Fort Lewis in 1987, they named a street (Cramer Avenue) after him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.west-point.org/users/usma1946/15816/|title = Cramer, Harry Griffith}}</ref>


==Family==
==Family==
Harry married Anne Supple at the Catholic Chapel at West Point on June 25, 1947. They had three children (two daughters and one son):
Harry married Anne Charmonte Supple of Newburgh, NY at the Catholic Chapel at West Point on June 25, 1947. They had three children (two daughters and one son):
*Kainan Kelly "Kai" Cramer - president of Cramer & Sirras, a legal recruiting firm.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/style/kai-cramer-and-mark-bergman-marry.html New York Times (January 7th, 1990)</ref>
*Kainan Kelly "Kai" Cramer - president of Cramer & Sirras, a legal recruiting firm.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1990-01-07 |title=Kai Cramer and Mark Bergman Marry |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/01/07/style/kai-cramer-and-mark-bergman-marry.html |access-date=2023-02-21 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
*Anne Quinn Cramer
*Anne Quinn Cramer
*[http://hankcramer.com/ Harry Griffith Cramer III] (born 1953) – Served in the US Army with the 1st Special Forces Group, US Special Forces, later rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
*[[Hank Cramer]] -- [http://hankcramer.com/ Harry Griffith Cramer III] (born 1953) – Served in the US Army with the 1st Special Forces Group, US Special Forces, later rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.


==Decorations==
==Decorations==
Cramer received the following decorations:<ref>[http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/Captain_Harry_Griffith_Cramer_Jr.html '''My Hero: Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr.''']</ref><ref>[http://www.virtualwall.org/dc/CramerHG01a.htm '''Virtual Wall: Cramer, H.G.''']</ref>
Cramer received the following decorations:<ref>[https://archive.today/20140924181810/http://www.homeofheroes.com/myhero/Captain_Harry_Griffith_Cramer_Jr.html '''My Hero: Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr.''']</ref><ref>[http://www.virtualwall.org/dc/CramerHG01a.htm '''Virtual Wall: Cramer, H.G.''']</ref>


===American awards and badges===
===American awards===
*Airborne Tab
*Special Forces Tab and Unit Insignia.
*Beret flashes for the [[77th Special Forces Group|77th]] and [[1st Special Forces Group (United States)|1st]] Special Forces Groups.
*[[Combat Infantryman's Badge]]
*[[Combat Infantryman's Badge]]
*[[Silver Star]]
*[[Silver Star]]
*[[Purple Heart]] with Bronze Oakleaf Cluster
*[[Purple Heart]] with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
*[[American Campaign Medal]] (World War II 1943-1945)
*[[American Campaign Medal]] (World War II 1943-1945)
*[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
*[[World War II Victory Medal (United States)|World War II Victory Medal]]
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*[[National Defense Service Medal]] (Korean War)
*[[National Defense Service Medal]] (Korean War)
*[[Korean Service Medal]] with 4 Bronze Stars (First United Nations Counteroffensive, Chinese Communist Forces Spring Offensive, United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean Winter Offensive)
*[[Korean Service Medal]] with 4 Bronze Stars (First United Nations Counteroffensive, Chinese Communist Forces Spring Offensive, United Nations Summer-Fall Offensive, Second Korean Winter Offensive)
*[[Vietnam Service Medal]] with 1 Bronze Star (US Advisory Phase)
*[[Glider Badge|Airborne Glider Badge]]
*[[Glider Badge|Airborne Glider Badge]]
*[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|Senior Parachutist Badge (US Army)]]
*[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|Senior Parachutist Badge (US Army)]]
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[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:American army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:American army personnel of the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel killed in the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]]
[[Category:Members of the United States Army Special Forces]]
[[Category:Members of the United States Army Special Forces]]

Latest revision as of 22:53, 2 September 2023

Harry Griffith Cramer Jr.
Born(1926-05-24)May 24, 1926
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
DiedOctober 21, 1957(1957-10-21) (aged 31)
Nha Trang, South Vietnam
Buried
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchU.S. Army
RankCaptain
Unit14th Special Forces Operational Detachment
Battles / warsVietnam War
AwardsSilver Star
Alma materWestmont-Upper Yoder High School
Spouse(s)Anne Supple
Children3
RelationsWilson Cramer

Captain Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. (May 24, 1926 – October 21, 1957) was an American soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He was the first U.S. Army soldier to be killed in the Vietnam War. A street at Fort Lewis, Washington is named in his honor. He is buried at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.

Childhood

[edit]

Cramer came from a military family. His grandfather Wilson Cramer had been a sergeant of Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War, and his father (Harry "Coach" Cramer) had served as a captain in the Army's 808th Pioneer Infantry during World War I. His father was the football coach at Johnstown High School.The family lived in a large brick home at 321 Luzerne Street in the Westmont suburb of Johnstown. The house still stands today.

West Point

[edit]

Cramer graduated from Upper Yoder- Westmont High School in 1942 at the age of 16. He applied for West Point, but was underage, so he went to the Carson Long Military Institute in New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania for a year. He entered West Point in 1943 at the age of 17, joining the Class of 1946.

He initially was on the Army football squad. He had to drop it to stay focused on academic challenges, despite pressure from the coaches and other cadets. Harry graduated in June of 1946 at the age of 20, the youngest of over 800 cadets in his class.

Post-war

[edit]

After graduation, he went through Infantry Basic Course and Airborne School at Fort Benning. While there, he and classmate Frank "Taffy" Tucker owned a used Taylorcraft light plane. They used to fly cross-country to New Orleans[1] or Savannah[2] on the weekends, barely getting back before Monday classes – earning him the nickname of "Hairsbreadth Harry".

His first service was as a platoon leader with Company B, 1st Battalion of the famous African-American 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division at Camp Majestic, Gifu, during the Occupation of Japan. Camp Majestic was the former Kagamigahara Airfield, a kamikaze base during the Second World War. Harry returned stateside to serve at Fort Dix, New Jersey, as an airborne recruiting officer from June 1950 to February 1951.

Korean War

[edit]

When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Harry requested a combat assignment. He got a transfer back to his old outfit – the 24th Infantry – as platoon leader and then company commander of Company B in March 1951. On March 28, 1951, during the Han River crossing his company was involved in attacking a strongly held enemy position near Haeryong. The attack stalled due to heavy fire and his unit was pinned behind a ridge. Cramer personally led a bayonet charge that drove the enemy from their trenches, allowing the unit to advance, but was wounded by machine gun fire. For his actions, he was later presented with the Purple Heart and the Silver Star for gallantry in action[3] by the 25th Division's commander, Brig. Gen. Joseph Sladen Bradley, and was promoted to captain. After three months' recuperation in Japan, he returned to the front to serve as the commander of Company D (Heavy Weapons), 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry. He was then wounded again by mortar shell fragments to his shoulder and back, earning the bronze oak leaf cluster to his Purple Heart. He later found out that at the same time his best friend Frank Tucker had died in combat on a nearby hill. In October 1951, the 24th Infantry was finally disbanded under desegregation.

From October 1951 to April 1952, he served with the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Division. He realized the war would be a stalemate until a truce or peace treaty was signed, so he transferred to work as an aerial observer in an artillery spotter plane. (Although a capable civilian pilot, he was never trained as a military aviator.) The Artillery Corps believed an experienced infantry officer would have an eye for the terrain and be able to find enemy "hiding spots" an artillery spotter might miss.

In 1952, he was rotated stateside. He was reassigned to the G-2 staff of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) of the 82nd Airborne Division. After completing the Infantry Advanced Course at Fort Benning, he attended and passed the Special Forces selection course at Fort Bragg, North Carolina - the first West Point graduate to do so.[4] After graduating, he was assigned to the 77th Special Forces Group. From 1955 to 1956 he was assigned as an Operational Detachment commander.

Vietnam service

[edit]

Captain Cramer was assigned to the Mobile Training Team, 14th Special Forces Operational Detachment (Area), MAAGV. The sixteen-man 14th SFOD, under the cover of the "8251st Army Service Unit", was transferred to Fort Shafter, Hawaii in June 1956 and shortly thereafter to Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mobile Training Team's job was to train indigenous Special Forces teams in various military skills. The 14th SFOD was later placed under the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group at Fort Buckner, Okinawa, Japan on June 24, 1957.

The Mobile Training team was initially led by Lt. Col. Albert Scott Madding and MSgt. Robert L. Voss, until they were recalled to Okinawa to become the commander and sergeant major (respectively) of the 1st Special Forces Group. Command of the mission was then assumed by Captain Cramer. His team was composed of MSgt. Francis J. "Fran" Ruddy (Team Sergeant), MSgt. Fred Williamson (Communications Chief), MSgt. Raymond LaBombard (Operations & Intelligence),SFC Chalmers Archer (Senior Medic), SFC Bobby Newman (Weapons), SFC Lester Ruper (Medic), SFC Donald Stetson (Senior Radio Operator), SFC James Hanks (Senior Radio Operator), Msgt Jacques Standing (Radio Operator), and SP2 Earl Kalani (Demolitions).[5] The men under Cramer's command were either highly decorated combat veterans like himself, with service going back to World War II or Korea, or junior NCOs who had demonstrated high levels of motivation and competence.

In September 1956, they set up airborne, jumpmaster and Ranger training for the Royal Thai Ranger Battalion. While there, Cramer earned Royal Thai Army parachute wings.

From June to November 1957, they began training Vietnamese Special Forces in raiding operations and related skills. The realistic exercises involved small-scale ambushes and raids. The ARVN 15th Light Division in the field near Nha Trang was used as the "opposing force".

The class was undergoing a series of field training exercises before their graduation in late October, when Cramer was involved in a training accident on October 21, 1957. During an ambush drill, a Vietnamese soldier near Cramer was readying to throw a lit block of melinite (a French military high explosive) when it prematurely detonated. The melinite was later determined to have deteriorated in storage and was unstable. Cramer died instantly and other members of the team and their students were wounded.[6][7]

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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Cramer's name was added to "The Wall" in November, 1983. This was after successful efforts by Captain Cramer's son, Lt. Col. Harry G. Cramer III USAR, then an active duty Army officer, to get the Department of Defense to acknowledge his father's death. Capt. Cramer's son asked that his father's name simply be added to the center (1E) stone, out of sequence, but it is still clearly listed in the chronological book at "The Wall" as 1957, not 1959.) In October 2007, The Army conducted an official ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, from which Capt. Cramer had graduated, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the first Vietnam casualty.[8]

"First casualty in Vietnam"

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Cramer was reckoned the first casualty in Vietnam when his name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in 1983. Previously it had been declared as Spec/4 James T. Davis, who died (along with nine South Vietnamese soldiers) in a Viet Cong ambush on December 22, 1961. Some historians now consider the first casualty to be murdered Air Force Technical Sergeant Richard B. Fitzgibbon Jr. Fitzgibbon was shot after a dispute with a drunken fellow airman and died of his wounds on June 8, 1956.[9]

Cramer is still considered the first US Army casualty in Vietnam, as well as the first casualty of the newly formed 1st Special Forces Group. To honor him, the men of the 1st SFG wore black armbands for 30 days after his death. A parachute drop zone on Okinawa, CRAMER DZ, was named in his honor. Later, when the 1st Special Forces Group moved into its new facilities at Fort Lewis in 1987, they named a street (Cramer Avenue) after him.[10]

Family

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Harry married Anne Charmonte Supple of Newburgh, NY at the Catholic Chapel at West Point on June 25, 1947. They had three children (two daughters and one son):

  • Kainan Kelly "Kai" Cramer - president of Cramer & Sirras, a legal recruiting firm.[11]
  • Anne Quinn Cramer
  • Hank Cramer -- Harry Griffith Cramer III (born 1953) – Served in the US Army with the 1st Special Forces Group, US Special Forces, later rising to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Decorations

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Cramer received the following decorations:[12][13]

American awards

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Unit citations

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Foreign awards and badges

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References

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  1. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946
  2. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. NO. 15816 CLASS OF 1946
  3. ^ http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=102842 Harry Griffith Cramer Jr. - Silver Star
  4. ^ Army Marks 50 Years Since First Vietnam Casualty
  5. ^ Harry G. Cramer
  6. ^ "October 21, 1957 – Army Captain Hank Cramer First U.S. Combat Death in Vietnam « 1957 Time Capsule". Archived from the original on 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2014-09-24.
  7. ^ Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr. / Captain / United States Army Cause of Death: Non-Hostile, Died Of Illness / Injury, Ground Casualty / Other (Explosive Device)
  8. ^ "Army Marks 50 Years Since First Vietnam Casualty".
  9. ^ Richard B. Fitzgibbon, Jr.
  10. ^ "Cramer, Harry Griffith".
  11. ^ "Kai Cramer and Mark Bergman Marry". The New York Times. 1990-01-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  12. ^ My Hero: Captain Harry Griffith Cramer, Jr.
  13. ^ Virtual Wall: Cramer, H.G.
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