unit history information
for 81 TC CO
For date 621222
81 TC CO was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Pleiku Province, II Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Pleiku
Description: Charlie Long and his wife, EG, came to Vietnam with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in August, 1958 and had been working with the Jarai in the Pleiku area since July, 1960. In 'To Vietnam With Love' he describes the SF teams and their camps, then he mentions the 81st TC Company arriving at Old Pleiku. He says, "This unit of 200 American troop did not warrant a fulltime chaplain but, in response to their request, we hired some tribesmen to build a thatched bamboo chapel and began services every Sunday morning. I also held a memorial service for the first helicopter pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Charles Holloway, killed in action. While on furlough in 1963-64 I wrote the following letter to Mrs. Holloway:
(The following is an edited version of his long letter.) He says perhaps Major George Aldridge Jr. might have mentioned that he conducted the memorial service and that his wife had written her a letter. He mentions the increased terror caused by the communist guerrillas who have killed some of his closed Jarai friends. He relates how over 2,000 Vietnamese and tribespeople have been baptized in spite of the war and all the troubles. He states, "I would like to think that Charles Holloway had some share in these 2,000 people who have found Christ" because of the efforts of the American military. Indeed, the letter is a fine tribute to the American military for the sacrifices they made.
The source for this information was "To Vietnam With Love" by Charlies Long P:67+
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Last updated
03/26/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023