Georgia Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame Spotlight
Phillip Leslie Spackman
2016 Georgia Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame Inductee (Valor)
Attention All Georgia Military Veterans!
for the Georgia Military Veterans’ Hall
mission of honoring Georgia Veterans
for 2019. If you know any veterans,
Georgia, or entered the military in Georgia, or have lived in
| July 2019 | Real Hero Report
packets are accepted through the
last Friday in August. All packets are
The GMVHOF is located in the Floyd
Veterans Building across the street
from the Georgia Capital Building.
United States Army First
Lieutenant Philip Leslie
Spackman from Jasper,
Georgia was inducted into the 2016
Class of the Georgia Military Veterans’
Hall of Fame for his undaunted and
extraordinary heroism and numerous
acts of bravery as an Armored Cavalry
Assault Platoon Leader in Vietnam.
On eight separate occasions, he
and courageous leadership, resulting
in a remarkable number of valor
awards for his actions in combat.
The most notable of these battles
occurred on July 2, 1969. As the
lead armored personnel carrier of
his platoon crossed a stream and
penetrated a hedgerow, it was struck
by several North Vietnamese rocket
propelled grenades and machine
of the American soldiers on board.
The enemy then began quickly
moving down the stream bed in an effort to cut off the stricken
vehicle from the rest of the friendly force. Without hesitation,
Lieutenant Spackman immediately dismounted his vehicle
and, with total disregard for his own
safety, rushed through intense enemy
aid of his wounded soldiers, while
killing many of the enemy attackers.
He then removed the casualties from
further exposure to the enemy’s
safer area across the stream. Upon
remounting his track, and with focused
determination, he maneuvered his
remaining force on-line and then led
them in an all out and unrelenting
attack on the numerous well dug-in
enemy positions. When stiff resistance
was encountered from one particular
enemy bunker, he focused his track
directly toward it, resulting in totally
routing the enemy and thus saving the
lives of his men.
For this and other similar heroic
actions, he was awarded two Purple
Hearts, four Bronze Star Medals for
Valor, three Silver Stars, and our nation’s second highest award
for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.