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Carl
Pipher
Pipher
SP4 · · 11B20 · Infantryman
KIA
In-Country Service
1968-06-09 –
Home of Record
Canton, Stark County, OH
Character of Service
Honorable
Archive Status
Active
Virtual Wall, Honor States, and Wall of Faces, cross-referenced against CPT Henry Colavita's 2016 oral history and his own memoir, "Company Grade: Memoir of an Angry Skipper" (Hellgate Press, 2015, ch. 9, "Chicken Valley") — see events/operation-sheridan-sabre-1969-01-28 and sources/colavita/09-chicken-valley/. If you served with or knew Carl Pipher, please use the contribute form to share what you remember.
1968-06-09
Arrived
Arrived in Vietnam — June 9, 1968
SP4 Carl Pipher began his tour in the Republic of Vietnam with 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, D Company.
1969-01-28
Incident
Killed in action — January 28, 1969
SP4 Pipher was killed by hostile action (small arms fire) on a search-and-destroy patrol in Binh Long Province, Republic of Vietnam (casualty records list Tay Ninh — see admin notes), while serving with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry. He and CPL Warren Eskridge died in the same engagement, walking into a prepared enemy bunker complex on a three-platoon front; the fight continued through the night, with the enemy staying in their bunkers rather than pressing the attack. Company commander CPT Henry Colavita has given two independent firsthand accounts of this fight — a 2016 oral history and his own memoir, which names Pipher directly. SP4 Pipher was 19 years old. Full account: events/operation-sheridan-sabre-1969-01-28.
1969-01-28
Casualty record
Binh Long Province, III Corps, RVN — War Zone C (Fishhook area / Saigon River corridor); operating base FSB Rita (LZ Rita)
Did You Know Carl, or Serve Alongside Carl?
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