by Lori S. Stewart, USAICoE Command Historian

PVT. MINNOCK SAVES A VIETNAMESE CITY FROM ENEMY ATTACK

On Apr. 5, 1968, Pvt. Edward Minnock, a traffic analyst with the 404th Radio Research (RR) Detachment, provided timely and accurate intelligence that proved largely responsible for the defeat of an enemy attack on Tuy Hoa City in South Vietnam. His actions earned him the Legion of Merit, an award rarely given for combat achievements and infrequently given to enlisted soldiers.

Edward Minnock was born May 4, 1948 in Wareham, Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Army in September 1966 and completed traffic analyst training at the Army Security Agency (ASA) Training Center and School at Fort Devens, Massachusetts, in May 1967. A month later, Minnock deployed to Vietnam as a member of the 404th RR Detachment, which provided manual Morse and low-level voice interception and communication security monitoring for the 173d Airborne Brigade (Separate).

The 173d operated in Tuy Hoa on the coast of the South China Sea, and in late January and early February 1968, fended off the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Viet Cong Tet Offensive attacks in that area. By mid-February, however, only a small 173d task force that included a handful of 404th personnel remained in the Tuy Hoa area. Private Minnock, just shy of his nineteenth birthday, found himself acting as the operations sergeant—a position normally held by a sergeant first class—for four other privates operating a radio intercept station at Phu Hiep a few miles south of Tuy Hoa City. Their mission was to monitor the 5th NVA Division’s activities in the area.

In late March, Minnock’s analysis of enemy radio messages indicated a major enemy attack on Tuy Hoa within the next ten days. Concentrating his station’s efforts on the forthcoming operation, Private Minnock quickly produced a comprehensive tactical analysis and prediction of how and when the enemy would attack. Geographically separated from his chain of command, Minnock then briefed local commanders about the coming attack while simultaneously trying to protect the source of the information informing his conclusions.

Acting in a role far exceeding his grade, Minnock briefed the commander of the 26th Republic of Korea (ROK) Regiment collocated in the Tuy Hoa area. The ROK commander, believing Minnock was a captain, immediately reacted to the private’s credible intelligence by postponing the 26th’s planned search and rescue operation to remain in Tuy Hoa to counter the enemy offensive. Minnock also convinced the commander of Delta Squadron, 16th Armor, to reposition his armored personnel carriers near the vulnerable Tuy Hoa bridge. Finally, after identifying the location of the 5th NVA Division headquarters, he helped coordinate devastating artillery and aerial bombardments on the target, seriously degrading the enemy’s command and control capability.

When the battle began on April 5, the accuracy of Private Minnock’s intelligence became clear. He had correctly determined which units comprised the enemy force, their size, time of the attack, and their routes of advance and withdrawal. Additionally, he had identified the primary targets of the assault, which included two key bridges, the city prison, the American airfield, and a South Vietnamese artillery battalion located in the city. As a direct result of Minnock’s analysis and initiative, the enemy was soundly defeated.

For his actions, Minnock was initially recommended for a Bronze Star, but the significant impact of his actions led his commanding officers to elevate the request to a Legion of Merit. The citation for his award clearly stated that Minnock’s timely intelligence “was chiefly responsible for the rout and defeat of the enemy…with minimum losses to friendly forces and the civilian population.”

Upon leaving Vietnam in 1969 after nearly twenty months in-country, then Sp4c. Minnock was assigned to the 326th ASA Company at Fort Riley, Kansas. He left active duty in June 1970 as a specialist fifth class. Specialist Minnock was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. He passed away on Aug. 2, 2011.

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