Friday, October 12, 2012

Fullbore Friday

Sometimes, Fullbore Friday can be only one thing. 

A long life, well lived. When a man such as this goes, all I can do in nod approvingly - say "well done" and wish him a smooth path to the next stage. 

Command Sergeant Major Basil L. Plumley, USA, has passed at age 92. What more can you say?
Command Sgt. Maj. Plumley fought in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam and made five parachute jumps into combat. Friends said he never told war stories and was known to hang up on people who called to interview him. ... “He’s iconic in military circles,” Camp said. “Among people who have been in the military, he’s beyond what a movie star would be. . . . His legend permeates three generations of soldiers.” He was a native of Shady Spring, W.Va., and enlisted in the Army in 1942. He ended up serving 32 years in uniform. In World War II, he fought in the Allied invasion of Italy at Salerno and the D-Day invasion at Normandy. He later fought with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in Korea. In Vietnam, he served as sergeant major with the 7th Cavalry Regiment. “That puts him in the rarest of clubs,” said journalist Joseph L. Galloway, who met Command Sgt. Maj. Plumley while covering the Vietnam War for United Press International and remained lifelong friends with him. “To be combat infantry in those three wars, in the battles he participated in, and to have survived — that is miraculous.” In November 1965, Command Sgt. Maj. Plumley served in the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam, the first major engagement between the U.S. Army and North Vietnamese forces.
For those who did not know him personally, that is probably what he will be most known for. Rest in peace Command Sergeant Major, you have earned it.

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