Battalion Commander Lost — LTC Howard Petty, LZ Betty, March 15, 1968
March 15, 1968 — LZ Betty, Quang Tri Province
Research stub. The casualty record and unit history confirm date, mechanism, and command succession. The firebase name is disputed between two sources. This page holds what is known and marks the gap explicitly.
LTC Howard Palma Petty, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, was killed in action on the night of March 15, 1968, at LZ Betty, Quang Tri Province. He had commanded the battalion for 33 days. He was 37 years old. He is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Panel 44E, Line 61.
What is known
A mortar and rocket attack struck LZ Betty during the night of March 15. A mortar round landed on the tent occupied by LTC Petty and his Battalion Operations Officer, Major Barney Darby. Petty was killed immediately; Darby was evacuated with serious wounds. LTC John V. Gibney assumed command of the battalion the following day, March 16.
L.J. Adams, who served as Petty's S-3 NCO, later wrote that a church tower spotter directed the mortar team, and that the team was killed in the follow-up action. This detail is not corroborated by other available sources but is consistent with VC tactics in the Quang Tri area.
LTC Petty had assumed command in early February 1968, succeeding LTC John Stannard, who was promoted to Colonel and took command of the 1st Brigade. He was a Regular Army officer with 18 years of service at the time of his death.
The location dispute
The Eager Arms Bravo Company history — a unit-level narrative — places the battalion at LZ Betty, described as "a newly established base … to the west of Quang Tri." Adams, in his Wall of Faces remembrance, names LZ Sharon. The most likely explanation is that Adams' header ("Co A 2/8th Cav 1st Cav LZ Sharon") describes his own company's home position, not the battalion TOC where Petty was killed. LZ Betty is the preferred location; the NARA daily staff journal would settle the question.
Next source needed
The 2/8 Cav daily staff journal (NARA RG 472, 15 March 1968) is the primary outstanding source. It should confirm the firebase, the nature of the attack, and whether any other casualties were recorded that night.
See LTC Howard Petty.
If you served with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry in Quang Tri Province in early 1968, we'd like to hear from you. LTC Howard Petty — the battalion commander — was killed by a mortar attack on March 15, 1968, 33 days into his command. Major Barney Darby, his operations officer, was seriously wounded in the same strike. Any memory of LTC Petty, of that night, or of the battalion in Quang Tri in early 1968 helps complete the record.
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