Memorial service to honor American hero Billy Machen

Courtesy Photo BILLY WAYNE MACHEN

This year’s Memorial Day Service at the Upshur County Courthouse in Gilmer will honor a true Upshur County—and American—hero.

The service of Petty Officer Billy Wayne Machen, a Gilmer High School graduate, and Navy SEAL, to his country will be remembered. Machen was killed in Vietnam in an ambush Aug. 19, 1966. For his heroism, he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star by President Lyndon Johnson.

The Memorial Day Service will be jointly sponsored by the Gilmer posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans.

It will be on the south side of the courthouse next to the Veteran’s Monument. It will begin at 9 a.m.

Following the service on the square, a newly engraved headstone will be unveiled at Machen’s final resting place, at Willow Oak Cemetery off U.S. 271 North of Gilmer. This ceremony is also open to the public.

All veterans and their spouses are invited to lunch at the DAV building, across from Wal-Mart in Gilmer, at 11:30 a.m. This is not restricted to members of the local VFW post or DAV chapter, but is for all veterans of all services. The lunch will be hamburgers and hot dogs with trimmings.

PO Machen’s old friend, Frank Breazeale of Gilmer, said that he and Machen graduated from Gilmer High School together in 1957. He had been an outstanding football star on the Buckeye football team which made it to the regional level that year.

“Shortly after graduation, he joined the Navy and went to radar school,” Breazeale said.

Machen subsequently became a submariner and a UDE (Underwater Demolition Expert).

After his five years’ initial service in the Navy, he got out in 1962, and he and Breazeale met again as students at The University of Texas in Austin.

In 1964, he rejoined the Navy, and was selected for the elite SEAL (Sea, Air, Land) team. They are trained in parachuting, underwater demolition and air combat, as well as ground combat.

According to his citation for the Silver Star, Radarman Second Class Machen was cited for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action on 19 August 1966 while serving as point man for a SEAL fire team. . . in the hostile area of the Rung Sat Special Zone, Republic of Vietnam.

“As point man, Petty Officer Machen led the team through Viet Cong territory in search of two camouflaged sampans reported by friendly elements. Coming upon a clearing in the dense jungle environment, he halted the patrol, proceeded into the clearing alone, and, spotting an enemy ambush, chose to expose himself to hostile fire by firing his weapon on the enemy positions rather than retracing his steps and thereby compromising his team-members’ positions.

“By this courageous action, he enabled his comrades to seek cover, form a hasty defensive perimeter, and escape unharmed after suppressing the enemy fire.

“Mortally wounded when struck by the initial enemy fusillade, Petty Officer Machen, by his valiant and selfless actions, upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”

Machen was the first SEAL to be killed in Vietnam.

Camp Billy Machen, a SEAL desert training facility, in California, is named for him.

Breazeale kept an extensive file on Machen, and it lists at least six other U.S. medals he was awarded.

He also was posthumously awarded the Vietnamese Military Merit Medal and the Gallantry Cross with Palm.

The Vietnamese commendation cites him for “courageous combatant, well known for his sacrifice, who always exhibited good will and cooperation. He assisted the Republic of Viet Nam (sic) Armed Forces in blocking the Red Wave of aggression from engulfing South Viet Nam and South East Asia. . . . He died in the execution of his mission. His loss is greatly mourned by his American and Vietnamese friends.”

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