Legends

Larry Liss’ first exposure to PMC was as a high school senior at the 1958 Mother’s Day parade. He watched from the stadium as the Corps marched onto the field. He told his father “I’ve got to go to this school.” Larry adapted to balancing his academic and cadet life very well. As a ‘Rook” he joined Pershing Rifles, which was a demanding experience. Larry graduated as a Distinguished Military Student in 1963 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Regular Army. While stationed in Germany, he volunteered for helicopter flight training. After primary training, he was sent to the Army Aviation Center and learned to fly the Huey. Larry graduated from flight school in the fall of 1966. Within 30 days, he was in South Vietnam.

On May 14, two unarmed UH-1 “Huey” helicopters had landed at an outpost called Cau Song Be, near Tay Ninh City. Co-Pilot Captain Larry Liss along with Warrant Officer Tom Baca, learned that a South Vietnamese company had been surrounded by the 273rd North Vietnamese Army regiment. Along with another Huey they responded by taking off to rescue the South Vietnamese. The South Vietnamese had been ambushed along a narrow road with trees and bamboo growing along the roadside. As the helicopters hovered, it was clear that there was not clearing, so they chopped their way through the bamboo and other vegetation using the rotor blades.
Almost immediately South Vietnamese soldiers started to climb aboard both helicopters. Disregarding his own safety, Liss left the cockpit and assisted evacuees onto the helicopter during several landings. Later, the aircrews recalled seeing soldiers being killed on the aircraft while they were boarding the helicopters or already had boarded. The valiant helicopter crews made numerous trips, and rescued 80 to 100 South Vietnamese soldiers and the U.S. Special Forces adviser. In addition, information about the location of the enemy force likely prevented the outpost at Cau Song Be from being overrun. His courageous actions during the Cau Song Be rescue mission earned Liss the Distinguished Flying Cross for Valor.

View Rescue at Cau Song Be On YouTube at http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rhdvG1X2AU4&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Ffeature%3Dplayer_embedded%26v%3DrhdvG1X2AU4 produced by the Angelo Group.

Dennis Isom ‘66 was a hard person not to like at PMC. Although small in stature, he was a member of the Ranger Platoon and was remembered for rappelling off the roof of Terrell Hall. He was mentally tough and processed the qualities of being a leader. Upon graduation he was commissioned and joined the infantry.

The Army’s 4th Infantry Division began Operation Wayne Grey in early March 1969. Its mission was to prevent the 66th North Vietnamese Army Regiment from moving into South Vietnam’s Central Highlands, particularly in Kontum province near the Cambodian border. The lead element for the operation was the third battalion, 8th Infantry, comprised of Companies A, B, C, and D. They were deployed by helicopter assault into the Plei Trap Valley, an area northwest of Pleiku and Kontum.

On the morning of March 3, helicopters dropped A Company, led by Captain Dennis Isom, into the valley to prepare for a night patrol. As the company began to set up their night location, the third platoon, under the command of Lt Buddy Williams, was ordered to go further along the trail.  As the men made their way along a ridgeline, they killed two NVA soldiers, and that’s when the firefight began. A machine gun opened up at close range, killing one soldier and wounding another. Williams and his men took cover and returned fire, but more NVA joined in the fight. When Isom learned of the engagement, he rushed to reinforce the platoon with elements of A Company. Isom immediately calls for air support. At this the radio operator was wounded. When Isom went to his aid, he was killed instantly by a burst of machine gun fire across the chest.

Conceived by Cadet Roger A. Godin, ’61, the Corps of Cadets honored the sacrifice of Second Lieutenant Zadoc Aydelotte, a member of the Class of 1861, in January 1961. During the observance, Cadet Colonel Edward Bankowski, Battle Group Commander, stated that the actions of Lieutenant Aydelotte “has been so typical of the wearers of the proud gray of PMC through the years ….”

Aydelotte joined the 81st Pennsylvania Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers and was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1862. The Regiment left its winter quarters in December to engage the Confederate army at Fredericksburg. On the morning of December 13, the Regiment went into action. Aydelotte was leading Company F. In the face of a terrific storm of fire, a ball shattered his right arm. With sword in his left hand, Aydelotte continued to advance until struck by a shell, which broke his leg in three places and fractured a number of ribs. He fell bleeding from nine wounds, and died January 5, 1863, in Washington, D. C., at the age of nineteen. Among his last words were “I die for God and my country.”

The corps of cadets of the PMA were the guard of honor at the military funeral accorded the heroic Aydelotte at the Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery.

It was a rare occasion when PMC encountered John “Jack” Geoghegan. As a cadet he left everyone with the impression of potential greatness.  He entered PMC in 1959 and was described as a young man of “impressive presence and likeable personality.” He was selected as a Mother’s Day Corporal and as a second classman he was appointed Brigade Sergeant Major. As a First Classman, he was selected to be the Brigade Commander. He was also an above-average student and graduated in the top third of his class.

Before reporting to the Army, Geoghegan entered the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a master’s degree in International Relations. Upon completion of the Infantry Officers’ Basic Course he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry (Air Mobile) Division’s 1s Battalion, 7^th Cavalry, under the command of Lt. Colonel Harold G. Moore.

In November 1965, the news of the ferocious and costly Battle of ia Drang Valley began to spread throughout the campus. Soon it was learned that Geoghegan had been killed while tending to a wounded soldier. PMC was shocked and in silent disbelief.

The tributes from those who knew him were endless. General William S. Biddle, Military Affairs Advisor at PMC, may have said it best: “he thus joined in memory Zadoc Aydelotte (Class of 1861) and other gallant sons of PMC who died on the field of battle.”

For a video presentation about the life of “Jack” Geoghegan, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FRscyNjuvU.

“Walt” Layer entered PMC in 1928 after attending Pennsylvania Military Preparatory School. As a cadet he was admired by all and earned the confidence of General Charles E. Hyatt. Academically he was a serious student and earned a degree in Civil Engineering. Athletically he was talented and captained the football, baseball and boxing teams. He also won a letter in basketball. George Hansell, former PMC Athletic Director said “No man ever had a greater love for the college and its athletic program than Walt.”

After graduation he taught mathematics at PMC for two years. He resigned his commission in the Army Reserve in 1941 and accepted a commission in the Marine Corps Reserve. During World War II, he served in both the European and Asiatic theatres. After the war he served in the state legislature and as a councilman for the borough of Ridley Park. In 1950, Layer was recalled to active duty and commanded the 1st Marine Regiment in Korea. In 1953 he was integrated into the regular Marine Corps. His next assignments were as Provost Marshal of the Navy Department and commanding officer of the Marine Corps Barracks, Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In 1965 Layer was awarded the Outstanding Alumnus Award that was presented posthumously. The citation read in part: “The purpose of the award is to honor a graduate who has … brought recognition and distinction to his Alma Mater and himself.” Cadets formed an honor guard for Colonel Layer’s funeral before his burial in Arlington National Cemetery.

Sylvanus Morley may best be known for his Excavations at Chichen Itza, the discovery of the Temple of the Warriors and his study of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. He also is known as Agent No. 53 for his work as a spy for the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) during World War I.

Colonel Benjamin F. Morley, was a professor of chemistry, mathematics and tactics at PMC Although the family had moved to Colorado, the Colonel encouraged his son to study engineering. Morley enrolled at PMC and graduated at the top of his class, receiving a degree in Civil Engineering. He then promptly enrolled at Harvard and began his study of archaeology, his life long passion.

After several years at the Museum-affiliated School of American Archaeology in Santa Fe, Morley was appointed Research Associate for the Carnegie Institute. This permitted him to lead a series of expeditions to Central America.

In March 1917, Morley approached ONI and suggested that specialists, including himself, in Mexico and Central America were willing to become intelligence agents using their professional activities as cover. In April, with only basic instructions from ONI and no training, he was sent to Guatemala City. His mission for ONI was to search for secret German submarine bases; and, build an intelligence network in Central America while conducting an “archeological reconnaissance” for the Carnegie Institute. For the next 2 years, he traveled more than 2,000 miles along the coastline of Latin America. As he traveled through Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico, he recruited an extensive network of agents who kept watch on the activities of German nationals.

Morley’s career as a spy ended in 1919. During that time he proved to be a remarkable gatherer of intelligence. Once it became clear that there were no German submarine bases, he provided useful economic and political intelligence.

Rich Mulhern arrived at PMC from Long Island, but was born in Brooklyn. His classmates described him as a great friend with a tough demeanor and a sense of humor. When he arrived at PMC in the fall of 1967 he was assigned to Echo Company. He became a Corporal, Cadet Sergeant and Cadet Captain. He was also a member of the Battery Robinett and the Ranger Platoon. After graduation he pursued a career in the Army. He served in Germany, the U.S. Embassy in Jordan, and in various positions in the Pentagon.

In 1991 Operation Provide Comfort, which provided humanitarian aid to over one million Kurdish Refugees in northern Iraq, was begun. For the next 1,000 days, the Air Force flew over the area and airdropped food, clothing, tents, blankets, medicine). To further stop Saddam from killing the Kurds, a northern No-Fly Zone was placed north of the 36th parallel. Any Iraqi aircraft would be shot down in the No-Fly Zone. The No-Fly Zone was patrolled and kept “clean” by the USAF with fighters (F-15s) being supported by command and control aircraft (AWACS).

In April 1994 two Blackhawk helicopters, carrying Colonel Jerry Thompson and his replacement, Colonel Richard Mulhern, 71, the incoming Commander of the No-Fly Zone, along with 24 others, the group took off from Turkey for an orientation tour of the area. Despite being granted permission to enter the No-Fly Zone, the two helicopters were mistakenly identified as Soviet style helicopters used by the Iraqi army by two Air Force jets patrolling the area with a C5-A providing air traffic control. From a distance of 4 nautical miles, both Air Force jets fired on the helicopters. Both Black Hawk helicopters were instantly destroyed. All twenty-six people on board perished.

When World War I broke out, Edmund “Ned” Cook, ex-cadet, Class of 1906, felt it was his patriotic duty to fight for the Allies. He traveled to England and enlisted. He became a member of the 4th Battalion of the British Grenadier Guards, the oldest and most famed infantry regiment in England.

The regiment was in France and a major part of the Allies offensive in 1917. Ordered to attack just before dawn on August 10, Cook went “over the top” dodging from shell hole to shell hole. German machine guns fired an unrelenting barrage on them on the Grenadiers. “Ned” Cook was struck and went down, wounded in the abdomen and legs. Refusing care during the attack, Cook told his comrades to “carry on, you fellows.”

Stretcher-bearers following the attack picked up the injured man who had refused the aid of his brother Grenadiers. They carried him to the rear where he died a few days later at Casualty Clearing Station Number 62.

“Ned” Cook was the first PMC casualty of the war. Sometime later, his wife wrote to Colonel Hyatt that Cook was an honor to PMC’s “teachings and guidance and you may be proud of your good soldier.”

In 1861, Henry Clay Robinett, like others before him, Robinett distinguished himself by the defense of “Battery Robinett,” a Union artillery battery, during the Battle of Corinth in Mississippi. Unlike many who returned to civilian life after the Civil War, Robinett pursued a career in the regular Army. That career, however, was marred by ever increasingly erratic behavior that ended in his suicide just three years after the war while still on active duty – the result of complex psychological problems that still manifest themselves in our military today.

The PMC “Battery Robinett,” was named in Robinett’s honor. During each football game, the Battery fires its cannon.

After graduating PMC, Richard O’Malley, ’38, entered the Graduate School of Business at Harvard. The approaching war, however, changed his plans and he entered the military in 1940. He became the commander of H Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, one of the oldest and most decorated regiments in the Army, and deployed to England with the 4th Infantry Division.

On D-Day, he saw his first action of the war when the 12th Regiment spearheaded the invasion of the Cherbourg Peninsula. The 12th Infantry landed south of the beaches Uncle Red and Tara Green. Despite being widely dispersed, the Regiment was quickly reassembled, organized and advanced inland. As the 2nd Battalion moved inland, it became engaged in a fierce firefight at Neuville-au-Plain. When the Battalion commander became a casualty, O’Malley assumed command and proceeded to the front lines. There he could be heard calling “Up and at “em, 2nd Battalion, follow me!” The next objective of the 2nd Battalion was 2 enemy pillboxes near two stone quarries. O’Malley lead a fierce attack and in conjunction tanks, overcame the enemy. After the capture of the port of Cherbourg on June 26, the 12t Infantry was repositioned to the Sainteny front.

O’Malley’s then became engaged in fierce fighting against Götz von Berlichingen Division’s SS grenadiers, supported by the parachutists of the 6th Regiment. These elite enemy forces were entrenched in the hedgerows of the Normandy countryside. Although wounded twice, Major O’Malley continued to lead the battalion from a frontline position. Only hours before the Battalion was to be relieved on July 16, an enemy sniper shot and killed O’Malley. As the men of the 2nd Battalion learned of his death, they were stunned.

Richard O’Malley was a “ruggedly handsome man with a voice that could crack timber,” whose manner was brisk, decisive and authoritative. His fearless leadership and concern for his troops endeared him to his men who called him “The Iron Major.”” When Major General Raymond Barton, Commander of the 4th Infantry Division, learned of the loss of Major O’Malley he was so moved that he ordered the mass firing of three volleys of the 4th Infantry Division artillery and mortars into enemy lines. This was the only time in World War II that this honor was given by the 4th Infantry Division and the only time to this day.”

In 1945, Major O’Malley was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. The citation accompanying the awarded stated:

“After relieving the battalion of another unit, Major O’Malley attacked with his battalion and succeeded in advancing in the face of fierce enemy resistance. Throughout this period, Major O’Malley, although handicapped by a stiff leg resulting from a previous wound, was continuously up forward, directing the attack.

“When his battalion was ordered to take up a defensive position, Major O’Malley continued to remain forward in order to adequately co-ordinate defensive fire. Despite the fact that the enemy front lines were less than 100 yards away, and that his own troops were continually under small arms and artillery fire, he visited each company front personally to check positions.”