Old 08-16-2011, 09:15   #1
f50lrrp
BANNED USER
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Monterey California
Posts: 392
Bronze Star to OSS Vet

Toward the end of WWII, the OSS sent a "DEER TEAM" into Indochina to advise the Viet Minh in fighting the Japanese. This six man team set up shop in caves and one of them even nursed Ho Chi Minh back to health from a life-threatening disease!

["](NECN: Melissa Toupin, Worcester, Mass.) - An 89-year-old man was recognized today for his extraordinary role in making history on the periphery of the big battles in WWII, some 65 years ago. The man was on a secret mission. That mission would lead him to two men, who later became world famous as notorious figures in modern day Vietnam.

Surrounded by his family and friends Wednesday, Henry Prunier, a Worcester native and Army veteran, received the Bronze Star- a designation reserved for a select few who show heroism while serving their country.

"I'm really thrilled with the award of the Bronze Star," said Prunier. "I never expected it."

Prunier was just 23-years-old when he enlisted in the United States Army near the end of World War II. He was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services- the group that would later become the Central Intelligence Agency. He and 7 other men, known as "The Deer Team" parachuted into the middle of Japanese occupied Vietnam.

"It was a small organization which was meant to harass the Japanese. We were not there to meet them head on, but to disrupt their communication system," said Prunier.

The Deer Team worked closely with the leaders of the Viet Minh, Vo Nguyan Giap and Ho Chi Minh. Giap and Minh who took a photograph with Prunier in 1945 would become top generals after Japans surrender. Ho Chi Minh would later lead North Vietnam against the combined forces of the U.S. And South Vietnam.

Today, Prunier is just a few months shy of his 90th birthday. He's humble about his accomplishments and looking back he says he was just carrying out his duty to his country.

"My contribution was small," says Prunier. "but they think it's great. And maybe it is. Maybe it had a lot of impact which we didn't realize."

Prunier's uniform now hangs prominently in the Military History Museum in Vietnam's capital of Hanoi. He's considered a hero by both the governments of Vietnam and the United States for his work to help defeat the Japanese in World War II. And now--proof of his valor hangs on his chest.
f50lrrp is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2011, 12:55   #2
Red Flag 1
Area Commander
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: UK
Posts: 2,952
Congrats hero, about time.

RF 1
Red Flag 1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2011, 15:58   #3
rdret1
Quiet Professional
 
rdret1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Wilson,NC
Posts: 1,506
Congratulations for a long overdue honor.
__________________
"Solitude is strength; to depend on the presence of the crowd is weakness. The man who needs a mob to nerve him is much more alone than he imagines."

~ Paul Brunton (1898-1981)



R.D. Winters
rdret1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2011, 18:36   #4
JJ_BPK
Quiet Professional
 
JJ_BPK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: 18 yrs upstate NY, 30 yrs South Florida, 20 yrs Conch Republic, now chasing G-Kids in NOVA & UK
Posts: 11,901
I think I read this back in the beginning of the year??

Here is a pic of the Deer Team..
Attached Images
File Type: jpg OSS_DeerTeam_Viet_Minh_1945.jpg (223.0 KB, 56 views)
__________________
Go raibh tú leathuair ar Neamh sula mbeadh a fhios ag an diabhal go bhfuil tú marbh

"May you be a half hour in heaven before the devil knows you’re dead"
JJ_BPK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-16-2011, 18:49   #5
SF_BHT
Quiet Professional
 
SF_BHT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Sneaking back and forth across the Border
Posts: 6,627
Congrads for a long over due award....
SF_BHT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-09-2011, 15:02   #6
greenberetTFS
Quiet Professional (RIP)
 
greenberetTFS's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Carriere,Ms.
Posts: 6,922
This is when the Bronze Star should be given........ For Valor,not for any thing else........... Congratulations Warrior,long,long overdue.......

Big Teddy
__________________
I believe that SF is a 'calling' - not too different from the calling missionaries I know received. I knew instantly that it was for me, and that I would do all I could to achieve it. Most others I know in SF experienced something similar. If, as you say, you HAVE searched and read, and you do not KNOW if this is the path for you --- it is not....
Zonie Diver

SF is a calling and it requires commitment and dedication that the uninitiated will never understand......
Jack Moroney

SFA M-2527, Chapter XXXVII

Last edited by greenberetTFS; 09-12-2011 at 17:39.
greenberetTFS is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:47.



Copyright 2004-2022 by Professional Soldiers ®
Site Designed, Maintained, & Hosted by Hilliker Technologies