William Timothy Dorsey

Tim Dorsey at the Ben Luc Front Gate

Comment by Greg Spears:

I am looking for anyone that was in my skimmer boat on July 3, 1970, when we hit a trip wire on a canal in Long An Province. KIA that day was Private First Class William Timothy Dorsey. Wounded that day PFC McCormick, PFC Johnson, LT. Konyha. I would like the names of the rest of the men that were on board my skimmer boat. To the best of my recollection - On July second, evening, we took a couple squads down a canal about a mile and a half from the river, not far from Ben
Luc. We dropped them off and went back to the river and set up for the night. July third we went back in the morning to pick them up. We got everyone loaded on the boat and headed back toward the river.  About 200 yards from the mouth of river, the VC had set a trip wire across the canal. We hit the trip wire and a mine went off, which wounded all on board but three , my gunner and 2 of the 6th of the 31st. We  made it to the middle of the river and the boat sunk. PFC William Dorsey still had his full field gear and flack jacket on. He went down with the boat and did not surface. The Navy divers found him 2 days later. He was a medic. Of the remaining troops a helicopter picked up 6 men and a Navy patrol boat picked up 2 men.
That is about as close as I can get for as many years ago as it was. 

E-mail me: Greg Spears

Greg Spears

Charles Sadlers my gunner. We spent 15months together. I've been trying to find him. He did not get hit in the Dorsey incident.

Additional Comments by David Izzo

After submitting my article I was contacted by Doc's family and they said that he was a very good swimmer and was a new husband. His nephew and I talked about it and he corrected me about the part of new baby to new wife. He did die saving and pulling to shore two wounded guys, with a third it was too much. We went back on the 4th of July and recovered the body. Also wounded that day was David Gallaspy from Cincy Ohio, SFC Slatton, Dan Kadlac from New Hope Minn, Arnette Johnson from South Bend Ind, Richard Moxley from Tulsa Oklahoma, and of course Doc Dorsey.
David Izzo

davidi@thevillages.net