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STEPHEN
GRADY PECK
In-Country 13 Aug 66
KIA 6 Mar 67
Panel 16E, Line 030
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Stephen served with FO Lt Don Keith as his RTO
E-4, 11465409
MOS 13A10, Age 22
"A" Battery
Trumbull, CT
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From
the Trumbull CT. Times, March 9, 1967:
A
Nichols soldier who last fall described his role in the Vietnam War as "very
hard work out in the field, but it's what's got to be done," was killed in
action Monday, 6Mar67.
Sp4
Stephen G. Peck, 22 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Peck, 32 Mischa Hill Road, was serving with the First battalion of the 25th Infantry Division along
the coast of the South China Sea. A memorial service was held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in Nichols Methodist Church with the Rev. Louis E. Young, former pastor,
officiating. Internment will be in Nichols Village Cemetery at the convenience of the family.
Sp4
Peck's description of war was contained in a letter home to his folks. In it he narrated in terse, sensitive style what it's like to lob out explosive shells
into the mysterious darkness of Vietnam at 4:30 in the morning to try to harass the enemy. {Harassing & Interdictory fires}
"Sometimes
you wonder if maybe it isn't harassing you more than it is Charlie", he
wrote in the letter, quoted in The Times last Nov. 3.
Steve
enlisted in the Army in Bridgeport on Aug. 27, 1965 and requested airborne training. He
was born on Armistice Day, now Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 1944, in Atlanta Ga. He lived most of his life in Trumbull and graduated from Trumbull High School in
1963. He enrolled at the University of Denver that fall and remained there for a year and a half. He was a member of Alpha Lambda fraternity
there. He was a member
of the Nichols Methodist Church and the Nichols Methodist Youth Fellowship.
Surviving
in addition to his parents are a sister, Lacy E. Peck; his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Louis E. Peck of Fairfield, and his maternal grandfather, H. Ernest Schulz
of Largo Fla.
Stephen is buried at Nichols Village Cemetery in New Britain, CT.
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SP4
Peck was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor (BSV)
Award Citation reads:
General
Orders 537, Award Of The Bronze Star For Heroism, 4th Infantry Division, 6 April
1967, For heroism in connection with military operations against a hostile force:
Specialist Four Peck distinguished himself on 6 March 1967 while serving as a Reconnaissance Sergeant attached to B, 1/35th Infantry. When his patrol came
under intense small arm and automatic weapons fire from an estimated twenty or more Viet Cong, : Specialist Four Peck quickly realized that artillery support
would be needed in order to overcome the enemy. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he crawled into the open and through the hostile barrage with a
radio to reach the forward observer and call in effective artillery rounds. During this heroic endeavor, he was mortally wounded, but managed to get within
reach of the forward observer. As a result, accurate artillery fire was placed upon the enemy and friendly casualties were kept to a minimum. Specialist Four
Peck's outstanding display of personal courage and devotion to duty is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great
credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
