On 19 August 1966, SEAL Team One suffered its first combat fatality in Vietnam. While on a reconnaissance mission, a patrol had discovered a series of bunkers and weapons positions along the Dinh Ba River, thirteen miles south-east of Nha Be. They were extracted and reinserted further up river to pinpoint two reported camouflaged sampans that had been spotted by a helicopter. Fresh tracks were discovered, and the sampans were then sighted five hundred meters from the SEAL’s position.
Radarman Second Class Billy W. Machen, a 28 year old sailor from Dallas, Texas, was acting as point man. Coming to a clearing in the jungle growth, RD2 Machen halted the unit and moved ahead into the opening to reconnoiter. As he paused and searched the surrounding area, he suddenly spotted several Viet Cong (VC) guerillas. Rather than retreating and seeking cover, Machen initiated fire and attacked the enemy unit, forcing them to trigger their ambush prematurely. The resulting hail of fire from both banks of the river alerted his fellow SEALs to the danger and allowed them to take cover, return fire, and engage to suppress the VC attack. Machen, however, was killed in the initial fusillade.
For sacrificing his own life for those of his shipmates, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third highest medal for valor. More recently, the SEALs named its Desert Warfare Training Facility in California, Camp Billy Machen.
4 Responses to "Remembering Radarman Second Class Billy W. Machen, USN"
sailors like BILLY MAKE US ALL PROUD TO BE VETERANS AND AMERICAN
PAUL DAVIS AVCM RET AN EX AQ
Thank you Bill for serving and being a great family member. Please visit our Facebook Memorial Site to help honor him and other Navy SEALS that have been killed in action.
Billy was my high school classmate in his hometown of Gilmer, TX. He was a senior and I was a freshman and we had wood working shop class together. His family were pioneers in this East Texas community but they’ve all either moved away or died out now. I purchased the Machen home place west of town on Machen Lane from his older brother…the only remaining survivor….and Im honored to help keep the memory alive..both at the museum and at the family home place.
I am also thrilled to hear the report of the Seal Team taking down OBL.
We honor Billy in our museum http://www.flightofthephoenix.org.
I served as a point man in a Seal platoon in Vietnam. I honor you for being a point man and giving your life for your fellow Seals. Roger Moscone, the man who carried your body out under fire lived a wonderful life as a result of your sacrifice. He has now joined you in Frogsville heaven.
Hooyah!
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