Capt. Donlon was serving as the commanding officer of the U.S. Army Special Forces Detachment A-726 at Camp Nam Dong when a reinforced Viet Cong battalion suddenly launched a full-scale, predawn attack on the camp. During the violent battle that ensued, lasting five hours and resulting in heavy casualties on both sides, Capt. Donlon directed the defense operations in the midst of an enemy barrage of mortar shells, falling grenades, and extremely heavy gunfire.

PFC Karlwilhelm Olsen
US Army 35th Division
BORN: Frederikshavn, Denmark May 27, 1923
DIED: Bluffton, SC - March 1, 2024

Dad had a large family, many brothers and sisters. His father, Johann Christian Olsen, was born in Bergen, Norway. He relocated to Denmark, and worked in Frederikhavn (in Jylland, in the north of Denmark by the sea) as a harbor policeman. He had met my grandmother, Georgine, when she rode horses in a circus act. There are many family stories, but I will only tell one. One of my dad’s brothers, when he was very young, was dying. My grandfather was not a religious man. He prayed to God that if his son lived, he would become religious. His son lived, but it was a year before my grandfather fulfilled his vow. He read the Bible and other religious books and always carried a Bible with him. I know that he actually read it because I have one of his Bibles and he took copious notes on every page (which I can’t read). Each evening before the family dinner at the dinner table my grandfather would read and discuss the Bible for half an hour before the family would eat. Many people came to my grandfather as if he were a priest, seeking advice and comfort.