Full Text of SR0198 99th General Assembly
SR0198 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0198 | | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, From October
28 through November 2, 1969, Captain | 3 | | William L. Albracht distinguished himself while serving as
| 4 | | commander of Firebase Kate, a small, isolated United States | 5 | | Army artillery base secured by a company of Civilian
Irregular | 6 | | Defense Group (CIDG) troops; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, On October 28, 1969, Firebase Kate was attacked by | 8 | | approximately 6,000
North Vietnamese troops in 2 infantry | 9 | | regiments and a reinforced artillery regiment which soon | 10 | | knocked out
its 3 howitzers; on the morning of October 29, | 11 | | while leading a reconnaissance patrol near the base,
an enemy | 12 | | ambush wounded the point man; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Disregarding his own safety, Captain Albracht ran | 14 | | through
withering fire from a machine gun concealed less than | 15 | | 50 meters away to find the unconscious trooper
and carry him to | 16 | | safety; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, A few hours later, after returning to the | 18 | | firebase, Captain Albracht took up an
exposed position to guide | 19 | | a Medevac helicopter to a safe landing; as the aircraft | 20 | | approached, he
observed the launch of an enemy B-40 rocket from | 21 | | a nearby hill and realized that the pilot could not see
this | 22 | | missile; and |
| | | SR0198 | - 2 - | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, With complete disregard for his own safety, | 2 | | Captain Albracht stood his ground while
frantically waving off | 3 | | the helicopter; the pilot veered away to safety just before the | 4 | | rocket impacted,
wounding Captain Albracht with shrapnel; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, Although in great pain from this wound, Captain | 6 | | Albracht
refused medical evacuation and continued to direct the | 7 | | actions of Firebase Kate's defenders; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Later that same day,
and on numerous occasions on | 9 | | October 30, October 31, and November 1, with complete disregard | 10 | | for
his own safety, Captain Albracht took up exposed positions | 11 | | from which he could fire tracer rounds at
enemy machine guns | 12 | | and crew-served weapons, thereby identifying targets for a | 13 | | United States Air Force Forward Air
Controller overhead; | 14 | | ignoring the storm of small arms and recoilless rifle fire | 15 | | directed at him each time,
he remained in position until his | 16 | | marked target was destroyed by United States Air Force attack | 17 | | aircraft; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Captain Albracht's actions on
these numerous | 19 | | occasions allowed the safe landing of resupply and Medevac | 20 | | helicopters without which
the firebase would have been overrun; | 21 | | and |
| | | SR0198 | - 3 - | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, At dusk on October 30, after an emergency resupply | 2 | | of water,
dozens of CIDG troops rushed the water trailer; the | 3 | | enemy immediately fired mortars at them; with
complete | 4 | | disregard for his own safety, Captain Albracht ran into this | 5 | | barrage to drive, lead, and in some
cases carry CIDG troops out | 6 | | of the beaten zone; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, On the morning of October 31, as a Medevac | 8 | | helicopter
approached the firebase to evacuate several wounded | 9 | | men, the enemy fired mortars, small arms, and
recoilless rifles | 10 | | at the wounded men; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Fearing for their lives, and with complete | 12 | | disregard for his own
safety, Captain Albracht used his own | 13 | | body to shield 2 wounded men until they were on the
helicopter; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, By November 1, relentless attacks by the | 16 | | numerically superior enemy had reduced Firebase Kate's | 17 | | defenders to 125 U.S. and allied soldiers, many of them | 18 | | wounded; resupply flights and air support by
helicopter | 19 | | gunships were halted because of overwhelming enemy ground fire; | 20 | | and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Ordered to evacuate the
firebase and then escape | 22 | | and evade the thousands of enemy troops surrounding them, |
| | | SR0198 | - 4 - | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | Captain Albracht led his forces off their hilltop at nightfall; | 2 | | and | 3 | | WHEREAS, When the CIDG point man froze at the entrance
to a | 4 | | narrow path through thick jungle that was an obvious ambush | 5 | | location, Captain Albracht took the
point and led his men | 6 | | forward; as they approached the tree line, an enemy machine gun | 7 | | directed
plunging fire at the column; men scattered into an | 8 | | area littered with bomb and shell craters and
splintered trees; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, To safeguard his men and keep them together, and | 11 | | with complete disregard for his
own safety, Captain Albracht | 12 | | plunged into this area, grabbing men 2 and 3 at a time and | 13 | | redirecting
them to a safer rallying point; then, evading enemy | 14 | | patrols while navigating entirely by dead reckoning,
Captain | 15 | | Albracht led his men through 5 kilometers of thick, trackless | 16 | | jungle to a waiting rescue force; the combined force took a | 17 | | circuitous route to the safety of Special Forces Team A-236's | 18 | | camp at Bu
Prang; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, After 5 harrowing days, Captain Albracht's | 20 | | selfless courage and leadership had saved approximately 125 | 21 | | U.S. and Allied soldiers; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, Captain Albracht's actions resulted in the only |
| | | SR0198 | - 5 - | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | time during the 8 years that U.S. combat forces operated in
| 2 | | South Vietnam that a unit surrounded by a numerically superior | 3 | | enemy force escaped intact; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Because of
Captain Albracht, approximately 125 | 5 | | men lived to fight another day; Captain Albracht's unflinching | 6 | | courage and
unflagging leadership in the face of a well-trained | 7 | | and highly motivated enemy were in keeping with the
highest | 8 | | traditions of the military service, and will forever reflect | 9 | | great credit upon both himself and the
United States Army; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Capt. William Albracht has been the recipient of 3 | 11 | | Silver Star Medals, 3 Purple Heart Medals, 5 Bronze Star Medals | 12 | | (3 for valor), 2 Air Medals (one for valor), and the Army | 13 | | Commendation Medal (for valor), but was not
awarded the Medal | 14 | | of Honor for his courageous acts at Firebase
Kate; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, The members of this body believe that the
| 16 | | gallantry displayed by Captain William Albracht on those | 17 | | fateful days
deserves to be further reviewed by the Department | 18 | | of the Army and
the Department of Defense in order to determine | 19 | | if his actions are
worthy of this nation's highest military | 20 | | honor; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 22 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge Congress, the |
| | | SR0198 | - 6 - | LRB099 10768 MST 31699 r |
|
| 1 | | Department of the Army, and the Department of Defense to again | 2 | | review Captain Albracht's heroic actions at Firebase Kate and, | 3 | | if warranted, upgrade the Silver Star Medal bestowed on him for | 4 | | those actions to the Medal of Honor; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 6 | | presented to the President, the Speaker and Minority Leader of | 7 | | the United States House of Representatives, and the Majority | 8 | | and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate.
|
|