Keith L. Ware

Keith Lincoln Ware
Born November 23, 1915
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Died September 13, 1968 (aged 52)
South Vietnam
Buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 1941–1968
Rank Major General two silver stars
Commands held 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry,
3rd Infantry Division
1st Infantry Division
Battles/wars World War II
Vietnam War †
Awards Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Silver Star
Bronze Star
Purple Heart (3)

Keith Lincoln Ware (November 23, 1915 – September 13, 1968) was a United States Army major general and a Medal of Honor recipient of World War II. General Ware was killed in action while commanding an infantry division in 1968 during the Vietnam War and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Early life and education

General Ware was born in Denver, Colorado in November 1915. He was drafted into the United States Army in July 1941 and sent to Officer Candidate School in 1942, emerging a platoon leader stationed at Fort Ord, California. After extensive service in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel by December 1944, commanding the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

Career

Major General Ware

On December 26, 1944, Lt. Colonel Ware's infantry battalion was attacking a heavily fortified German hilltop position. Finding one of the assault companies stalled and digging in under heavy fire, Ware went forward past their position and made a close reconnaissance of the German positions, deliberately drawing their fire in order to determine their location. After two hours, he returned to the company and brought back a small force — eleven men including two officers and a tank — in order to renew the attack; leading the advance on the enemy, he personally assaulted four enemy machine-gun positions that enabled the tank to destroy, and was wounded ... and five of the eleven soldiers of his group were killed attacking enemy hill positions before the hill was secured. In April 1945, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions on December 26.

Unlike most draftees, General Ware remained in the U.S. Army after demobilization, becoming a career soldier, and one of the first former draftees to reach general officer rank. On July 1, 1966, he was promoted to major general.[1]

Vietnam

General Ware volunteered for Vietnam and arrived in South Vietnam shortly before the outbreak of the Tet Offensive in early 1968, serving as the deputy commander of II Field Force. Dispatched to Saigon immediately after the start of the Tet attacks, he assumed control of the American forces in the area, forming Task Force Ware; after several days of heavy fighting had stabilized the situation, the task force was dispersed. Following this, Ware was assigned to command the 1st Infantry Division in March 1968.

Death

On September 12 and 13, 1968, with elements of the division closely engaged near Loc Ninh near the Cambodian border, he made several low passes over the fighting in a helicopter in order to better command his units. However, heavy anti-aircraft fire brought the helicopter down on September 13, along with Ware, his three command staff, and the four helicopter crew. There were no survivors; General Ware became the second US Army general officer to die in the Vietnam War, after Brigadier General Alfred J. F. Moody died of a heart attack in South Vietnam on March 19, 1967.[2] On October 25, 1968, General Ware was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Legacy

General Ware is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[3]

General Ware received the following namings in his honor:

Major General Ware's name is inscribed on the Vietnam War Memorial ("The Wall") on panel 44W.[6]

Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

LIEUTENANT COLONEL KEITH LINCOLN WARE
UNITED STATES ARMY

for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

Commanding the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry, attacking a strongly held enemy position on a hill near Sigolsheim, France, on 26 December 1944, found that 1 of his assault companies had been stopped and forced to dig in by a concentration of enemy artillery, mortar, and machinegun fire. The company had suffered casualties in attempting to take the hill. Realizing that his men must be inspired to new courage, Lt. Col. Ware went forward 150 yards beyond the most forward elements of his command, and for 2 hours reconnoitered the enemy positions, deliberately drawing fire upon himself which caused the enemy to disclose his dispositions. Returning to his company, he armed himself with an automatic rifle and boldly advanced upon the enemy, followed by 2 officers, 9 enlisted men, and a tank. Approaching an enemy machinegun, Lt. Col. Ware shot 2 German riflemen and fired tracers into the emplacement, indicating its position to his tank, which promptly knocked the gun out of action. Lt. Col. Ware turned his attention to a second machinegun, killing 2 of its supporting riflemen and forcing the others to surrender. The tank destroyed the gun. Having expended the ammunition for the automatic rifle, Lt. Col. Ware took up an M-1 rifle, killed a German rifleman, and fired upon a third machinegun 50 yards away. His tank silenced the gun. Upon his approach to a fourth machinegun, its supporting riflemen surrendered and his tank disposed of the gun. During this action Lt. Col. Ware's small assault group was fully engaged in attacking enemy positions that were not receiving his direct and personal attention. Five of his party of 11 were casualties and Lt. Col. Ware was wounded but refused medical attention until this important hill position was cleared of the enemy and securely occupied by his command.

See also

U.S. Army general officer who died in the Vietnam War:

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Army, MG Keith L. Ware, Public Affairs Competition, Major General Keith L. Ware Biography Retrieved August 9, 2014
  2. ↑ TIME Magazine obituary.
  3. ↑ Arlington National Cemetery profile.
  4. ↑ Ware Journalism Awards biography page.
  5. ↑ Ware Elementary School website.
  6. ↑ The Virtual Wall.

External links