Edward Rykoskey
graduated from Carlisle
High School in 1964, and joined the Marine Corps
rather than wait to be drafted. The second year of his
enlistment was to be spent in Vietnam, where he was
shipped early in 1966.
Because
the war in Vietnam lacked
a defined front line, the
enemy strategy made Long
Range Reconnaissance
Patrols (LRRP) a needed
tool to gather
intelligence about
communist activities
throughout Southeast Asia.
The ground commanders who
fought the day to day war
readily recognized the
need for special
reconnaissance units at
the onset of the fighting.
During 1965 provisional
LRRP units were formed
with all assets they could
spare.
On
18 August 1966, with nine
months of service in
Vietnam, LCpl. Edward
Rykoskey was considered to
be a well-trained and
experienced "old
hand." On that date
he was assigned as the
radio operator of a 4-man
long range reconnaissance
patrol. The team's mission
was to locate, identify
and report on enemy
activity in the forested
mountains approximately 9
miles due north of An Hoa
and 11 miles southwest of
DaNang, Quang Nam
Province, South Vietnam.
After
completing its mission,
the team was moving toward
a pre-briefed rendezvous
point for pickup when they
were ambushed by a Viet
Cong (VC) force of unknown
size. During the ensuing
firefight, LCpl. Rykoskey
was struck by small arms
fire and fell to the
ground. Other team members
tried to reach him, but
because of the intense
enemy fire, they were
unable to do so before
being forced to withdraw.
The
three remaining team
members successfully
escaped and evaded to a
safe location where they
were extracted by
helicopter. Later they
reported that when they
were forced to retreat,
Edward Rykoskey had been
wounded and was either
unconscious or dead.
Further, they were unable
to determine the extent or
location of his wounds.
Search
and rescue (SAR) efforts
commenced immediately for
the LCpl. Rykoskey. They
continued for
approximately four days,
but were unable to find
any trace of the missing
radio operator or his
equipment in and around
the ambush site. At the
time the formal SAR was
terminated, Edward
Rykoskey was immediately
classified Killed in
Action/Body Not Recovered.
Shortly thereafter, his
status was changed to
Missing in Action. Then it
was changed again, within
a reasonably short period
of time, back to Killed in
Action/Body Not Recovered.
All of these changes were
made without explanation.
Whether
Edward Rykoskey was alive
and captured by the Viet
Cong, or died in their
hands in the
jungle-covered countryside
of South Vietnam is not
known. If he did die of
his wounds, he has a right
to have his remains
returned to his family and
friends. However, if he
survived, his fate like
other Americans who remain
unaccounted for in
Southeast Asia, could be
quite different. Either
way what is known for
certain is that the
communists know what
happened to him and could
return him or his remains
any time they had the
desire to.
Since
the end of the Vietnam War
well over 21,000 reports
of American prisoners,
missing and otherwise
unaccounted for have been
received by our
government. Many of these
reports document LIVE
America Prisoners of War
remaining captive
throughout Southeast Asia
TODAY.
Military
men in Vietnam were called
upon to fight in many
dangerous circumstances,
and they were prepared to
be wounded, killed or
captured. It probably
never occurred to them
that they could be
abandoned by the country
they so proudly served.
