The following is a letter that I received from Dick Claire, Ken's brother. I'm posting it for those that may want to read more about what Ken's family have been told.
Hi Tina, thank you for inquiring about my brother for the memorial you are going to put up for your 50th class reunion. I am nine years ahead of you. Ken was my “little brother” that is until my youngest brother Kevin was born when I was thirteen years old. I’m not quite sure what you’re interested in because there’s a lot of stories about Ken when he was in Vietnam so I thought I would start at the beginning and you can decide what you want to use. Below is what I know about Ken’s time in Vietnam.
Ken went into the Marine Corps very shortly after he graduated from Sequoia and I think was deployed to Vietnam in August of 1967. He was at Da Nang in the early part of his deployment and then went to Khe Sanh most likely in September of 1967. From his letters it sounds as if he was spending most of his time on patrols going up to the top of hill 861 and others that surrounded the base. There are small bunkers on the top of each of these hills and Ken would spend a week or more on their top and then came back down again. That is where Ken started getting a reputation.
When he and I were growing up we would spend our summers in the Sierras at a place called Silver Lake. We used to hike up to the top of Thunder Mountain which is right behind the lake and 9,800 feet high. There is a sheer cliff on the side of the mountain that looks down on Silver Lake. Ken would climb out on this rocky ledge 2, 300 feet above the lake and give out and enormous Tarzan yell. He did the same thing on the top of the hills he was on in Vietnam every morning and everyone in Khe Sanh’s base camp below could hear him. He became pretty much of a celebrity for just that but that wasn’t all.
He got a reputation at being very good at what he did. He also took charge whenever a crisis came up on a patrol and the officers liked him for that. Before Ken knew it he was promoted to a Lance Corporal and was put in charge of one of the 3 squads in his platoon. It wasn’t exactly quiet during this time period and he was on lots of patrols outside the base camp at Khe Sanh. However everything changed on January 21, 1968 when the siege of Khe Sanh’s started with a barrage of mortars, rockets and cannons shells fired by the NVA. It continued almost nonstop for 4 months and 18 days.
The first night of the barrage a Marine was coming back to the base perimeter from the listening post. He got entangled with the barb wire that was surrounding the base with mortar shells and rockets exploding all around him. Ken popped up from his covered position and ran across about 30m with shells exploding everywhere. He un-tangled the Marine and got him back to the trench line. He did a lot more things that night that are well documented in a book written by Ray Stubbe which I’ve mentioned below. Ken received the bronze star for what he did that night and soon after promoted to corporal.
The most infamous event of the Khe Sanh siege and one that Marine Corps has never forgotten was on February 25, 1968. There has been a lot written about what happened on that day and what has been called by the Marine Corps and news reports the “Ghost Patrol”. The most accurate account of what happened to my brother came from information given to us by Ken’s point man Ed Rayburn.
Almost a year and a half after Ken’s death I got a phone call from a nurse at the Veterans Menlo Park Hospital saying that one of the recovering veterans from Vietnam was at the hospital. He knew Ken had grown up in Redwood City and wanted to meet with our family. I told my mother and father about it and my dad went and picked Ed up. Ed told us that he was one of 3 survivors from my brother’s 16 man squad. He had his lower jaw blown off in the battle and played dead until dark and then crawl away. It took him 2 days to crawl back to the base camp. He couldn’t talk so no one at headquarters actually knew exactly what happened on that day. He was airlifted out the very next day. He had to use a voice box microphone to describe what happened to my brother and below is what he told us.
The platoon was supposed to go out no more than 400m from the base perimeter but they were almost a full kilometer from the base when the ambush took place. They saw 3 NVA soldiers on what was called the Plantation Road. The lieutenant in charge of the platoon was very young and very inexperienced and decided to take off after them. Ken’s company commander said in an interview that the reason why he sent this lieutenant out was because of the fact that he sent the most experience Sergeant and the most experienced squad leader (Ken) in his company with him to keep them out of trouble. Ken’s squad usually walk point and he told the lieutenant that he thought they were walking into a trap but was ignored. They did walk into a classic L-shaped ambush and were pinned down by an estimated 300 NVA in well-fortified trench lines. The lieutenant told Ken to take his squad and try to outflank the NVA troops that were in the trench line. Ken’s squad had moved parallel to the trench line and when he thought he had outflanked it moved his men across an open field. Unfortunately he turned too early and his squad was mowed down by machine gun fire. Ed was one of the first ones to be hit. He said Ken dragged him and three other wounded squad members into a trench and he put Ed right next to him. Ed said Ken fought for approximately an hour throwing grenades and firing his M-16 rifle. Ken then stood up in the trench to see what was happening and was hit but was still alive. He then started firing his M-16 again and throwing grenades when he was hit a second time and killed. Ed’s account of what happened that day is a little different from the official Marines account of the engagement but is most likely the most accurate explanation of what happened to Ken. I thought that would be the end of the story but I was very wrong.
Almost 20 years after Ken’s death I received a letter from the 1st battalion’s chaplain Ray Stubbe concerning Ken. He was in the process of writing a book about Khe Sanh and wanted me to provide as many details about Ken as I could. His first book was published in 1991 and its title is “Valley of Decisions-the Seage of Khe Sanh”. He spoke about Ken in the number of different places in the book. He published his second book which he authored in 2005 titled “Battalion of Kings. He devoted almost 4 pages to Ken in that book. What I learned about Ken from Ray is that almost everyone in the battalion either knew Ken or had heard of him. In that the second book, which is really more of an oral history, one of the Marines in another platoon said that Ken was tough, fair and always took care of his men. That’s the brother I remember.
There is a lot more that I can go over including a trip to the 50th anniversary of the 3rd Marine Corps and the twenty-24th anniversary of the Khe Sanh veterans in San Diego. It was even more informative as to why Ken was so well thought of by the officers and enlisted men of his company. I think however I have given you too much already. I thought I had a picture of Ken in his Marine uniform but I do not. I will check with my brother and see what he has. I have attached the official post concerning the “Ghost Patrol” below. If you need anything else let me know.
By the way I want to thank you for asking for this information. While I was writing it and doing a little research I realized that I am the only living person in my family that knows the story. Kevin was a freshman in high school when Ken was killed and does not remember much. All of my other younger siblings are no longer alive. Because of you I decided it’s time for me to write the entire story of my brother so that my three children and seven grandchildren can understand what happened to him. Kevin does take his four grandchildren to the Presidio in San Francisco where Ken is buried every Memorial Day. His story has been published in the New York Times a number of times.
Thank you for telling Ken's story. Ken and I were very good friends in high school. I have never forgotten him. I still remember the day he and Jim Barentine and (there were others with them) came over to my parents house and told me they had enlisted. They were so proud, I was so sad. I know Jim came home, Ken didn't, and it still is sad.
Hi Dick , I only knew Ken as a first string offensive line man ,I was a lowly 4th string left end but was always impressed with Kens speed and agility .I am so sorry for your loss and not surprised at his heroism.The world has been a sadder place because of that war.Thanks for sharing such painful memories .RIP Ken .Sincerely Ken Brinkley
Antonette "Tina" Carini (Peterson)
The following is a letter that I received from Dick Claire, Ken's brother. I'm posting it for those that may want to read more about what Ken's family have been told.
Hi Tina, thank you for inquiring about my brother for the memorial you are going to put up for your 50th class reunion. I am nine years ahead of you. Ken was my “little brother” that is until my youngest brother Kevin was born when I was thirteen years old. I’m not quite sure what you’re interested in because there’s a lot of stories about Ken when he was in Vietnam so I thought I would start at the beginning and you can decide what you want to use. Below is what I know about Ken’s time in Vietnam.
Ken went into the Marine Corps very shortly after he graduated from Sequoia and I think was deployed to Vietnam in August of 1967. He was at Da Nang in the early part of his deployment and then went to Khe Sanh most likely in September of 1967. From his letters it sounds as if he was spending most of his time on patrols going up to the top of hill 861 and others that surrounded the base. There are small bunkers on the top of each of these hills and Ken would spend a week or more on their top and then came back down again. That is where Ken started getting a reputation.
When he and I were growing up we would spend our summers in the Sierras at a place called Silver Lake. We used to hike up to the top of Thunder Mountain which is right behind the lake and 9,800 feet high. There is a sheer cliff on the side of the mountain that looks down on Silver Lake. Ken would climb out on this rocky ledge 2, 300 feet above the lake and give out and enormous Tarzan yell. He did the same thing on the top of the hills he was on in Vietnam every morning and everyone in Khe Sanh’s base camp below could hear him. He became pretty much of a celebrity for just that but that wasn’t all.
He got a reputation at being very good at what he did. He also took charge whenever a crisis came up on a patrol and the officers liked him for that. Before Ken knew it he was promoted to a Lance Corporal and was put in charge of one of the 3 squads in his platoon. It wasn’t exactly quiet during this time period and he was on lots of patrols outside the base camp at Khe Sanh. However everything changed on January 21, 1968 when the siege of Khe Sanh’s started with a barrage of mortars, rockets and cannons shells fired by the NVA. It continued almost nonstop for 4 months and 18 days.
The first night of the barrage a Marine was coming back to the base perimeter from the listening post. He got entangled with the barb wire that was surrounding the base with mortar shells and rockets exploding all around him. Ken popped up from his covered position and ran across about 30m with shells exploding everywhere. He un-tangled the Marine and got him back to the trench line. He did a lot more things that night that are well documented in a book written by Ray Stubbe which I’ve mentioned below. Ken received the bronze star for what he did that night and soon after promoted to corporal.
The most infamous event of the Khe Sanh siege and one that Marine Corps has never forgotten was on February 25, 1968. There has been a lot written about what happened on that day and what has been called by the Marine Corps and news reports the “Ghost Patrol”. The most accurate account of what happened to my brother came from information given to us by Ken’s point man Ed Rayburn.
Almost a year and a half after Ken’s death I got a phone call from a nurse at the Veterans Menlo Park Hospital saying that one of the recovering veterans from Vietnam was at the hospital. He knew Ken had grown up in Redwood City and wanted to meet with our family. I told my mother and father about it and my dad went and picked Ed up. Ed told us that he was one of 3 survivors from my brother’s 16 man squad. He had his lower jaw blown off in the battle and played dead until dark and then crawl away. It took him 2 days to crawl back to the base camp. He couldn’t talk so no one at headquarters actually knew exactly what happened on that day. He was airlifted out the very next day. He had to use a voice box microphone to describe what happened to my brother and below is what he told us.
The platoon was supposed to go out no more than 400m from the base perimeter but they were almost a full kilometer from the base when the ambush took place. They saw 3 NVA soldiers on what was called the Plantation Road. The lieutenant in charge of the platoon was very young and very inexperienced and decided to take off after them. Ken’s company commander said in an interview that the reason why he sent this lieutenant out was because of the fact that he sent the most experience Sergeant and the most experienced squad leader (Ken) in his company with him to keep them out of trouble. Ken’s squad usually walk point and he told the lieutenant that he thought they were walking into a trap but was ignored. They did walk into a classic L-shaped ambush and were pinned down by an estimated 300 NVA in well-fortified trench lines. The lieutenant told Ken to take his squad and try to outflank the NVA troops that were in the trench line. Ken’s squad had moved parallel to the trench line and when he thought he had outflanked it moved his men across an open field. Unfortunately he turned too early and his squad was mowed down by machine gun fire. Ed was one of the first ones to be hit. He said Ken dragged him and three other wounded squad members into a trench and he put Ed right next to him. Ed said Ken fought for approximately an hour throwing grenades and firing his M-16 rifle. Ken then stood up in the trench to see what was happening and was hit but was still alive. He then started firing his M-16 again and throwing grenades when he was hit a second time and killed. Ed’s account of what happened that day is a little different from the official Marines account of the engagement but is most likely the most accurate explanation of what happened to Ken. I thought that would be the end of the story but I was very wrong.
Almost 20 years after Ken’s death I received a letter from the 1st battalion’s chaplain Ray Stubbe concerning Ken. He was in the process of writing a book about Khe Sanh and wanted me to provide as many details about Ken as I could. His first book was published in 1991 and its title is “Valley of Decisions-the Seage of Khe Sanh”. He spoke about Ken in the number of different places in the book. He published his second book which he authored in 2005 titled “Battalion of Kings. He devoted almost 4 pages to Ken in that book. What I learned about Ken from Ray is that almost everyone in the battalion either knew Ken or had heard of him. In that the second book, which is really more of an oral history, one of the Marines in another platoon said that Ken was tough, fair and always took care of his men. That’s the brother I remember.
There is a lot more that I can go over including a trip to the 50th anniversary of the 3rd Marine Corps and the twenty-24th anniversary of the Khe Sanh veterans in San Diego. It was even more informative as to why Ken was so well thought of by the officers and enlisted men of his company. I think however I have given you too much already. I thought I had a picture of Ken in his Marine uniform but I do not. I will check with my brother and see what he has. I have attached the official post concerning the “Ghost Patrol” below. If you need anything else let me know.
By the way I want to thank you for asking for this information. While I was writing it and doing a little research I realized that I am the only living person in my family that knows the story. Kevin was a freshman in high school when Ken was killed and does not remember much. All of my other younger siblings are no longer alive. Because of you I decided it’s time for me to write the entire story of my brother so that my three children and seven grandchildren can understand what happened to him. Kevin does take his four grandchildren to the Presidio in San Francisco where Ken is buried every Memorial Day. His story has been published in the New York Times a number of times.
Thank you,
Dick
Lynda Nicholson (Morgan)
Thank you for telling Ken's story. Ken and I were very good friends in high school. I have never forgotten him. I still remember the day he and Jim Barentine and (there were others with them) came over to my parents house and told me they had enlisted. They were so proud, I was so sad. I know Jim came home, Ken didn't, and it still is sad.
Ken D. Brinkley
Hi Dick , I only knew Ken as a first string offensive line man ,I was a lowly 4th string left end but was always impressed with Kens speed and agility .I am so sorry for your loss and not surprised at his heroism.The world has been a sadder place because of that war.Thanks for sharing such painful memories .RIP Ken .Sincerely Ken Brinkley