Floyd Lee Bradshaw, III

Specialist Four
C CO, 2ND BN, 5TH CAVALRY, 1 CAV DIV
Army of the United States
02 September 1949 - 15 June 1971
Boston, Georgia
Panel 03W Line 077

1 CAV DIV

5TH CAV RGT
Silver Star

Combat Infantry

Purple Heart, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for Floyd Lee Bradshaw, III

28 Mar 2006

Floyd and I were in junior college together in the late 60's. Both of us ended up being drafted. We ran into each other again in 1971 while on a three day R and R in Vung Tau. We talked about home, family, and what we were going to do when we got back to the world.

A week later someone approached me on FSB Mace and told me Floyd had been killed in an ambush. Floyd and I were similiar in so many ways... I have wondered so many times how easily our lives could have been reversed. I have been so forunate to have lived a wonderful life - wife, kids, career. I think of Floyd every day ... he will always be that young guy in Vung Tau with the same hopes and dreams that I had...

Jeff McKie Padgett



June 15, 2007, 36 years thinking of Floyd and all the years that have passed.

Jeff Padgett
3754 Old Waynesboro Road
Augusta, Ga. 30906
706-793-6689
jpadgett49@hotmail.com

09 Apr 2007

This poem says it all:

DEDICATED TO THE ONE I LOVE
My heart is heavy and aching
My spirit is oh, so low;
I want so much to see him
But, Dear God, he had to go.
We fell in love so quickly
It seems like yesterday;
The memories still linger
As if it was today.
Brad was called to service
In a war we cannot bear;
But he went because he loved us
And prayed God's tender care.
God took him for some reason
That I do not understand;
But I pray that He will guide me
With his kind and gentle hand.
My eyes are still heavy
From the tears I have just shed;
I cannot seem to stop them
But I know to look ahead.
It is not always easy
To keep in full control;
But I have to find the way
To comfort my own soul.
I have to keep my head up
For he left me with a son;
I have to teach him right things
As his father would have done.
My love for Brad will linger
Till my life on earth is done;
For there'll never be another
Like the father of my son.
by Miriam Bradshaw Hunter
©July 8, 1972

Everyone at home in Boston, Georgia called Floyd "Brad." Our son, Ben Bradshaw, is now 37. He was a Marine during Desert Storm and now is in the Army National Guard. Ben has two beautiful daughters, Hannah and Kayla. We welcome correspondence.

From his wife,
Miriam Bradshaw Hunter
mbhunter52@yahoo.com

14 Jul 2007

I remember Brad from growing up in Boston. The day he was brought home was the saddest in my whole summer that year and his service was full of pride from all of us who knew him. The last time I saw Brad he came by where I worked and talked a little. I asked him if he really wanted to go. Brad said no, he had too much at home to take up his time but somebody had to do what few were willing. Two weeks after he was laid to rest I was in Fort Jackson S.C. to begin a 22 year hitch in the Army. I will always remember a smile, laugh, and a friend.

From a friend,
Charles Echols



26 May 2008

Brad, I just wanted to say I will remember you every Memorial Day as long as I am alive. It is not the same without you.

From a boyhood friend,
Charles Echols



22 Jun 2008

Brad, I went by to see you today. It's hard to believe it was 37 years ago the 15th that you were taken away from us. It was a hard summer for us all.

From a boyhood friend,
Charles Echols
lifer93@bellsouth.net

A Note from The Virtual Wall

On 14 June 1971 Delta Company, 2/5 Cavalry, tangled with an enemy bunker complex while patrolling outside Fire Support Base FURR, about 6 kilometers north of Xuan Loc in Long Khanh Province. They had five dead and twelve wounded, one of whom died after being medevaced.

Since Delta 2/5 had not been able to bring out their dead as they withdrew, on 15 June Charlie Company, 2/5 Cavalry, went back after them. Although they did recover Delta's men, they had 14 wounded of their own - and one man missing in action. On the 16th Charlie 2/5 went in again - and recovered the body of SP4 Floyd Bradshaw.

The six men from D Company were

  • SGT Leonard L. Broenneke, Moscow, ID
  • SGT Earl R. Lester, Stroud, OK
  • SP5 Manuel Miranda, Tujunga, CA
  • CPL Franklin T. Crites, Flint, MI
  • CPL William T. Walsh, Chicago, IL
  • PFC Jeffrey D. Schumacher, Fairport, NY


The point-of-contact for this memorial is
his wife,
Miriam Bradshaw Hunter
mbhunter52@yahoo.com



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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 28 Mar 2006
Last updated 07/20/2008