POW/MIA Burt C. Small

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Burt C. Small, Jr.

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Name: Burt Chauncy Small, Jr.

Rank/Branch: E4/US Army Special Forces

Unit: (Psyops Specialist) C Company, Detachment A-108, 5th Special Forces Group

Date of Birth: 02 September 1946 (Long Beach CA)

Home City of Record: Savannah GA

Date of Loss: 06 March 1967

Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 145918N 1084233E (BS537582)

Status (in 1973): Prisoner of War

Category: 1

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground

Other Personnel in Incident: 20-man Vietnamese patrol of the 142d CIDG Company.
Jacob G. Roth (rescued);
2 unnamed American advisors (killed, bodies recovered)

REMARKS: LEG WOUND - CAPTURED

SYNOPSIS: SSgt Burt C. Small and Sgt. Jacob G. Roth, Jr. were with a 20 man South Vietnamese patrol which was ambushed near Minh Long on March 6, 1967. During the skirmish, Small and Roth tried to stop the CIDG radio operator, who was running away, when Small was wounded in the left leg, captured by North Vietnamese troops, and not seen again.

According to Robert Garwood, returned POW, the Vietnamese questioned him about Burt Small, and asked if he was a relative of Garwood's. Some sources say that Burt Small was seen being led away by the enemy, but Small's records are still classified (1989), and there is no way to verify any of the reports relating to him through official channels.

Burt was born September 2, 1946 in Long Beach, CA and graduated from high school in Savannah GA in 1965. He enlisted with his brother in the Army in January 1966. He took basic training at Ft. Gordon GA then went on to Ft. Benning GA for specialized training and jump school.

Burt took and passed all the tests for Special Forces at Ft. Benning, but he did not receive his Beret until he was in Vietnam in September 1966 because of his age. He worked with 35 Vietnamese, training them and accompanying them on patrols.

Small was classified as a prisoner of war, yet the Vietnamese claim no knowledge of him. The United States Government "assumes" he is dead, and is apparently not vigorously seeking answers as to his fate. The U.S. Army will not release information regarding him. His family would like to have Burt Small home.

NOTE: Information sources: "Green Berets At War" by Shelby Stanton; interviews with returned POW Robert Garwood; various news articles.

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This page last updated on December 7, 1998

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