Bruce Wayne Staehli

The database page for Bruce Wayne Staehli

15 Jan 1999 REMEMBERED by a friend, James Noel jamesnoel@webtv.net

28 Jan 2007 My wife's youngest brother passed away recently, and while going through his personal effects, I found a ziplock bag with a metal bracelet and a photocopied sheet of paper. The bracelet is inscribed with the name of Bruce Wayne Staehli, his unit, and the date he was MIA. There is no idication of what organization provided this bracelet and information, and I suppose it does not matter. What matters is that this brave Marine gave his all for his country and will not be forgotten, even by someone who never knew him, never met him, and never knew he existed until a week ago. My daughter was in the Marines, and her husband is in the Marines. Both have served multiple tours in the Middle East. I intend to put the bracelet and the information sheet into a nice frame and display it respectfully for everyone to see, in the hopes that it will keep his memory alive. If anyone has updated information, or wants a copy of my info sheet, feel free to contact me. God Bless Our Troops. God Bless America. Dan Sleep ww_ignacio@yahoo.com

04 Jul 2007 Bruce, we will never forget you or the losses of that day. From a Marine brother, Tom Scheib CO, Lima 3/9 2147 SR 35, Milltown, Wi 54858 tascheib@lakeland.ws

Notes from The Virtual Wall In late April 1968 it became apparent that the North Vietnamese Army was again moving across the DMZ into the area north of Dong Ha. On 29 April the ARVN 2nd Infantry Regiment sent its 1st and 4th Battalions in a pincer movement to locate and engage NVA units around An Binh. "Task Force Robbie", consisting of Delta 1/9 Marines reinforced with tanks from Alpha 3rd Tanks, was sent to relieve building pressure on the ARVN's southern flank. "Robbie" ran into trouble at Cam Vu, about 5,000 meters west of An Binh, where a North Vietnamese blocking force was waiting for them. After taking 10 dead and 22 wounded in a six hour fight against a clearly superior force, "Robbie" broke off the contact and withdrew. The ARVN forces had absorbed 17 dead and 47 wounded, could not link up, and also withdrew. At this point the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, was brought into the fight, advancing toward Cam Vu. India 3/9 was the first to make contact, encountering an "L"-shaped ambush just north of Cam Vu. As 3/9's other three companies deployed in support of India, the NVA broke contact and withdrew under cover of artillery fire from within and north of the DMZ. The fighting around Cam Vu was paralleled by the engagement of the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, with elements of the 325th NVA Division at Dai Do some 5 miles to northeast of Cam Vu. These engagements - the 2nd ARVN Infantry, 1/9, and 3/9 at Cam Vu and 2/4 at Dai Do - were the opening engagements in what became known as the Battle of Dong Ha. While the Cam Vu fights cost the North Vietnamese at least 197 dead, Allied losses also were high: 1st Bn, 9th Marines - 10 dead 3rd Bn, 9th Marines - 36 dead 1st and 4th Bns, 2nd ARVN Infantry - 17 dead Then-Lance Corporal Staehli, Lima 3/9, disappeared during the fighting and could not be found during battlefield sweeps following the NVA withdrawal. He was carried as Missing in Action, and was promoted while in that status, until the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death on 22 June 1975. His remains have not been recovered.

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 15 Jan 1999
Last updated 08/10/2009