“Whoop-De-Doo! Lieutenant Morgan Is Going To Die”: A Marine Officer In Vietnam

Rick Morgan was born in March 1944, and grew up in Charleston, West Virginia. His father was a successful bank president, and his mother raised three children, two boys and a girl. Rick, the youngest, enjoyed sports, playing football one year and wrestling two years in high school. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1966, having majored in Economics, planning on following in his father’s footsteps. In college, he followed the news of the war in Vietnam, and, figuring that he would either volunteer or be drafted, he and a fraternity brother went to the Marine Recruiting Office, where the fraternity brother’s cousin was a Marine Captain at that recruiting office. Rick and his friend both enlisted for Marine OCS and shipped out to Quantico in March 1967, joining Class 6-67. His class had 500 college graduates in it, and ultimately suffered the highest casualty rate in Vietnam. Rick loved the physical activity, rope climbing, running, and the like, but felt that he did not perform well in night land navigation. Overall, he felt the training prepared him as well as it could for what he experienced in Vietnam. He arrived in Vietnam in December 1967 and was stationed in Quang Tri. He remembers being shot at the first time and having no idea where it was coming from. Initially, he was a Weapons Platoon Leader in H Company, 2-4 Marines. His platoon operated M-60s, 60mm Mortars, and Light Anti-Tank Weapons (LAW) in support of other Platoons. When a Platoon Leader in G Company was wounded, Rick took over a rifle platoon, and did more patrolling, ambushes, and listening posts. He was operating near the Cửa Việt River and Đông Hà in a predominately sandy area with little cover. He recalls conducting a lot of search-and-destroy missions and running into contact roughly every 10 days to 2 weeks. Rick had 42 Marines in his platoon, many of whom were black, but Rick focused on ability rather than color. His company commander was CAPT Jay Vargas, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Dai Do. Rick describes the action at Dai Do, and recalls being ambushed during a night patrol where “all hell broke loose.” A Medevac was called to evacuate the wounded, and a bird from the “Ugly Angels” arrived. While picking up casualties, the co-pilot was killed, and the pilot, Ben Cascio, was shot in the eye. He managed to fly out of the hot LZ, and was known from that point forward as the “One Eyed Ugly Angel.” He is still flying. During the battle of Dai Do, where 2-4 Marines faced over 3000 NVA, Rick lost 9 Marines. After the battle, he was assigned to recover the bodies of the 20 Marines who were killed. He describes a battlefield littered with equipment and weapons, and recalls one dead Marine with a radio on his back that was still receiving transmissions. Following Dai Do, his unit went through a rebuilding process and received 25 new Marines. At this point, Rick’s platoon was manning the lines around Khe Sanh, having been briefed about the mine fields surrounding the base. On June 4, 1968, one of Rick’s squads was coming in from patrol. Rick was sitting on a bunker observing them come back and realized that they were about to enter the minefield. Rick screamed into the radio to stop just as one of his Marines triggered a mine. Rick organized an evacuation party and called a Medevac. He and a corpsman were crawling towards the wounded Marine, probing for mines with their bayonets as they approached. As they got within 10 feet, the wounded Marine was flailing his arms around and triggered a second mine, which killed him, destroyed Rick’s left hand and left leg, and severed the right leg of the corpsman. Rick’s initial thought was “whoop-de-doo. LT Morgan’s gonna die.” Fortunately, the Medevac helicopter was inbound, and Rick and the Corpsman were evacuated to the Battalion Aid Station. A tourniquet saved Rick’s life, and he was evacuated to the hospital ship Repose, where he spent two weeks before being further evacuated to the 49th Army Hospital in Japan. He was then further evacuated to Andrews Air Force Base, eventually ending up at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital on July 4, 1968, one month after he was wounded. Throughout his journey, he received excellent medical care. Since losing a leg and a hand, he has considered it his mission to set an example for others who have suffered similar injuries. Frequently he visits Walter Reed Hospital to speak with younger amputees. He also spoke to Marines at Quantico with two other Veterans from his battalion, advising them to prepare for being wounded and adapting to life after. After being wounded in Vietnam, Rick took a job at Morgan Stanley, where he has been a stockbroker and wealth manager for 56 years. He stays active and physically fit riding a bike, skiing, and racing sailboats. Rick remains busy in his community and volunteers in a variety of positions. Being wounded gave him a challenge, and he is proud of his service in Vietnam. Mostly, he is proud of the high esteem his Marines still have for him. He concludes the interview sharing a story of how his Marines bid on a picture of the World Trade Center taken by Ben Cascio, who flew by the buildings two weeks before they were destroyed by terrorists. At a reunion, Rick’s Marines bid on the picture of the twin towers, autographed it, and gave it to Rick. It is now one of his most prized possessions and hangs on the wall in his office.