lest we forget

QUINN, MICHAEL COURTNEY

Rank / Branch:

  • SEAMAN, U.S. NAVY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1947-04-12

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE/ROCKET-MORTAR

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • RIVER

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • U.S. NAVAL FORCE-VIETNAM

Date Of Loss:

  • 1967-05-24

Loss Coordinates:

  • DIHN TUOUNG

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • MICHAEL COURTNEY QUINN, SEAMAN, U.S. NAVY, SAN ANGELO, TOM GREEN COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • BRONZE STAR MEDAL WITH "V", PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Michael Courtney Quinn was born in San Angelo to Katheryne Rickel and Willie Dee Quinn. His family was living in Big Lake, Texas at the time. His father was a permit compliance officer with Amerada Oil Company. Shortly before his sister, Judith Ann was born in 1948, the family moved into San Angelo. He grew up in San Angelo and he attended San Angelo schools. He graduated from San Angelo Central High School in 1965. While at Central he was in the Bobcat Marching, Concert and Stage Bands. After graduation, he attended San Angelo College, now Angelo State University.
  • He enlisted in the Navy in the spring of 1966 and completed his recruit training at the U.S. Navy Recruit Training Depot at San Diego, California. He received additional training in gunnery. He began his tour in Vietnam as a member of the U.S. Navy Forces, Vietnam. He was assigned as a gunner on a Patrol Boat-River with PBR-101. His craft patrolled the rivers near Canton. They worked with the U.S. Army's 9th Division. He was awarded a Bronze Star for Valor for helping to extract wounded soldiers of the 9th Army Division into River Boats for extraction during a fire fight in March 1967.
  • On 24 May, 1967, the Officer in Charge, River Patrol Section 531, three PBR crewmen to include SN Quinn and a Vietnamese national policeman were killed by intense fire from the north bank of the [Ham Luong] river, four miles downstream from Cu Lao Oc. Five other U.S. sailors were wounded during this action. The patrol, composed of PBRs 101 and 106, was attacked by automatic-weapons and recoilless-rifle fire from several Viet Cong positions. The patrol returned the fire. Then a recoilless-rifle round struck the forward .50 caliber mount of PBR 101, killing the gunner, the patrol officer, and the helmsmen. The midships gunner was subsequently killed by machine gun fire as the PBR veered toward the bank out of control. The wounded after gunner finally managed to bring the boat under control and turned clear of the range of fire.
  • The Vietnamese policeman, embarked in PBR 106, was killed when a recoilless-rifle round struck the patrol boat amidships. The effects of the burst also seriously wounded the boat captain and the after-gunner, also disabling the craft's port engine. During the engagement armed helicopters and fixed wing aircraft launched strikes against the ambush sites. Subsequent intelligence reports indicated that the air strikes and the PBR fire had killed at least 19 Viet Cong and wounded 36 others.
  • SN Michael C. Quinn was buried with full military honors in the Fairmount Cemetery in San Angelo, Texas. He was survived by his parents and his sister, Judy of the home.
  • RIVER BOAT DUTY-VIETNAM 1967
  • FAIRMOUNT CEMETERY, SAN ANGELO, TEXAS