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Lafrancis
Hardiman (left) and Milton L. Olive (right).
Photographs from “The Wall of Faces” [i]
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/
PFC
Lafrancis Hardiman and PFC Milton L. Olive
Of the 45 public
schools in the Town of Babylon,[ii]
there are two named for soldiers who died in the Vietnam War – Lafrancis
Hardiman Elementary School and Milton L. Olive Middle School, both of which are
in the Wyandanch School District.
Four other
schools include “Memorial” in their name, in honor of veterans – Park Avenue
Memorial Elementary School and Amityville Memorial High School (Amityville
School District), Babylon Memorial Grade School (Babylon School District) and
Wyandanch Memorial High School (Wyandanch School District). Wyandanch Memorial
High School opened in 1960. In the main foyer is a memorial plaque stating that
the school was “Dedicated to all the members of the community who served in
the Armed Forces of our country.” At the time of the high school’s opening,
the United States had not yet engaged in the Vietnam War; not until 1965.
Lafrancis Hardiman Elementary School – 792 Mount Avenue,
Wyandanch, NY
Lafrancis Hardiman was born May 2, 1948. He had an older sister and would
later be joined by two younger brothers. Lafrancis grew up in Wyandanch and
graduated from Wyandanch Memorial High School in 1966. “The Wall of
Faces” website displays a photo of Hardiman wearing a football uniform with
the number “71.”[iii]
After graduation, Lafrancis joined the Army on September 9, 1966, and he
was deployed to Vietnam on March 27, 1967. He was a member of the 173rd
Airborne Brigade, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, B Company.
PFC Lafrancis
Hardiman died of wounds sustained on Hill 875 in the Battle of Dak To, in the Kontum
Providence of South Vietnam, on November 13, 1967. Newsday[iv]
reported Hardiman’s death on November 21, 1967, along with the deaths of Sgt.
Donald E. Kreuscher of North Merrick and Sgt. Robert A. Hartwell of Smithtown,
all in the Army. The men were described as the 153rd, 154th
and 155th Long Island casualties in the Vietnam War.
Lafrancis
Hardiman was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart, and was interred at Washington
Memorial Park, in Mount Sinai. His name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, in Washington, DC, on Panel 29E, Line 89.[v]
Hardiman never returned to his hometown, but his hometown did not forget
him. In February 1968, Wyandanch Memorial
High School hosted a performance of “The Fantasticks,” in honor of its recent
graduate. The musical was a fundraiser for the Lafrancis Hardiman Scholarship Fund,
to benefit students exemplifying good citizenship.[vi]
In 1969, the Lafrancis Hardiman Early Childhood Center opened for pre-kindergarten
students.[vii] In
1999, the Wyandanch School District built a second elementary school, and named
it in his honor – Lafrancis Hardiman Elementary School.
Milton L. Olive Middle School – 140 Garden City Avenue, Wyandanch,
NY
Milton Lee Olive was born November 7, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois. In
August 1964, at just 17-years-old, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to
Vietnam in June 1965. Just a month after his arrival he was injured. Private
First Class Olive recovered from his injuries and received a Purple Heart.[viii] On
October 22, 1965, PFC Olive was with his fellow soldiers in a jungle in Phu
Cuong when a grenade was thrown at them. Milton threw himself on the grenade,
sacrificing his life and saving four others. He died just 16 days before his 19th
birthday. He was buried in West Grove Cemetery,
in Lexington, Mississippi,[ix]
where he finished school after leaving Chicago and a young boy.
For his heroic actions, Milton L. Olive was awarded, posthumously, the
Congressional Medal Honor, our country’s highest military honor. PFC Milton L.
Olive was the first African-American recipient of the Medal of Honor, from the
Vietnam War.
On April 21, 1966, the presentation was made at the White House to PFC
Olive’s parents, Milton and Antoinette Olive, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. You
can listen to a recording of President Johnson’s remarks here,[x] along
with a transcript of the speech, the Congressional Act and a letter from the
Olive family to President Johnson.
Excerpts from President Johnson’s remarks:
“There are occasions
on which we take great pride, but little pleasure. This is one such occasion.
Words can never enlarge upon acts of heroism and duty, but this Nation will
never forget Milton Lee Olive III. … The Medal of Honor is awarded for acts of
heroism above and beyond the call of duty. It is bestowed for courage
demonstrated not in blindly overlooking danger, but in meeting it with eyes
clearly open. And that is what Private Olive did. When the enemy's grenade
landed on that jungle trail, it was not merely duty which drove this young man
to throw himself upon it, sacrificing his own life that his comrades might
continue to live. He was compelled by something that's more than duty, by
something greater than a blind reaction to forces that are beyond his control.
… Milton Olive died in the service of a country that he loved, and he died that
the men who fought at his side might continue to live. For that sacrifice his
Nation honors him today with its highest possible award.”
The Medal of Honor Citation:
“Private First Class
Milton L. Olive, III, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty while
participating in a search and destroy operation in the vicinity of Phu Cuong,
Republic of Vietnam, on 22 October 1965. Private Olive was a member of the 3d
Platoon of Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503d Infantry, as it moved
through the jungle to find the Viet Cong operating in the area. Although the
Platoon was subjected to a heavy volume of enemy gun fire and pinned down
temporarily, it retaliated by assaulting the Viet Cong positions, causing the
enemy to flee. As the Platoon pursued the insurgents, Private Olive and four
other soldiers were moving through the jungle together when a grenade was
thrown into their midst. Private Olive saw the grenade, and then saved the
lives of his fellow soldiers at the sacrifice of his own by grabbing the
grenade in his hand and failing on it to absorb the blast with his body.
Through his bravery, unhesitating actions, and complete disregard for his own
safety, he prevented additional loss of life or injury to the members of his
platoon. Private Olive's conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and
intrepidity at the risk of his own life above and beyond the call of duty are
in the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit
upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.”
Nearly one
year after PFC Olive was killed in action, the Wyandanch school board held a
ceremony on October 2, 1966 naming the community’s new $1.3 million, 870 pupil,
elementary school building in his honor.[xi]
Appearing before the school board, James Ellison suggested the idea of naming
the school after Milton L. Olive and having “pointed out that Private Olive had
given his life to save fellow soldiers, without worrying about their race,
creed, or color,” the board members unanimously agreed that the naming of the
school after this great role model would be a lasting tribute to his sacrifice
and to the hopes and aspirations of future generations.
The
Wyandanch school is not the only tribute to Private Olive.
- Chicago, Illinois – Milton Lee Olive Park on Lake Michigan was
named in his honor.[xii]
- Chicago, Illinois –
Olive-Harvey College is named for Olive and Carmel Bernon Harvey Jr., another
Medal of Honor recipient.
- Lexington, Mississippi – A
State Historical
Marker
was erected in 2007.[xiii]
- Fort Campbell, Kentucky –
Fort Campbell dedicated the PFC Milton L. Olive III Gymnasium in 2020.[xiv]
- Fort Benning, Georgia –
Fort Benning has a simulations facility – Olive Hall – named for him, in 2012.
- Thomas D. Breeden, who
served alongside Private Olive, penned this tribute to him in 2019.[xv]
Milton Lee
Olive’s name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Washington, DC,
on Panel 2E, Line 131.[xvi]
[i]
“La Francis Hardiman.” The Wall of
Faces, www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/21296/LA-F-HARDIMAN/.
“Milton Lee Olive III.” The Wall of Faces, https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/38621/MILTON-L-OLIVE-III/. Accessed February 6, 2021.
[ii] Please note: The Town of Babylon is served by 10 school districts –
Amityville, Babylon, Copiague, Deer Park, Farmingdale, Half Hollow Hills, Lindenhurst,
North Babylon, West Babylon and Wyandanch. Students living in East Farmingdale
attend schools in the Farmingdale School District, and students living in
Wheatley Heights attend schools in the Half Hollow Hills School District. This
essay concentrates on the public schools within the physical boundaries of the
Town of Babylon.
Farmingdale School
District:
Albany Avenue Elementary School, Northside Elementary School, Woodward Parkway
Elementary School, Saltzman East Memorial Elementary School, Howitt School,
Farmingdale Senior High School.
Half Hollow Hills School
District:
Otsego Elementary School, Sunquam Elementary School, Vanderbilt Elementary
School, Paumanok Elementary School, Signal Hill Elementary School, Candlewood
Middle School, West Hollow Middle School, Half Hollow Hills High School East,
Half Hollow Hills High School West.
[iii] “La Francis Hardiman.” The
Wall of Faces, www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/21296/LA-F-HARDIMAN/.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[iv] “3 LIers Killed in Viet; One on Hill at
Dak To,” Newsday, November 21, 1967,
p. 11.
[v] “Lafrancis Hardiman.” The
Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial, http://www.virtualwall.org/dh/HardimanLx01a.htm.
Accessed February 6, 2021.
[vi] “Plan Big New-Impressionist Show,” Newsday, February 2, 1968, p. 3A; “Schools
Seek Night Scholars; Courses Offered Are Varied,” Newsday, February 5, 1968, p. 15A.
[vii] “’Playroom’ Has Eye on the Future,” Newsday, June 14, 1969, p. 11.
[viii] “Parents Learn Dead Son Was Viet Nam
Hero,” Chicago Tribune, October 26,
1965, p. B6.
[ix] “Memorial for Milton Lee
Olive III.” Find-A-Grave, www.findagrave.com/memorial/5858815/milton-lee-olive.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[x] “Congressional Medal of
Honor - Milton L. Olive.” African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War,
https://aavw.org/served/homepage_olive.html.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[xi] “L.I. School Named For Negro Soldier Who
Died a Hero,” New York Times, October
3, 1966, p. 26.
[xii] “Milton Lee Olive Park.” Wikipedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Lee_Olive_Park.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[xiii] “PFC Milton Lee Olive
III.” The Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=140856.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[xiv] “3RD BATTALION, 187TH
INFANTRY ‘IRON RAKKASANS.’” GovServ, https://www.govserv.org/US/Fort-Campbell/1419925608230498/3rd-Battalion%2C-187th-Infantry-%22Iron-Rakkasans%22.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[xv] Breeden, Thomas D.
“Remembering Milton Olive III – An American Hero.” Chillicothe Gazette,
26 May 2019, www.chillicothegazette.com/story/news/local/2019/05/26/remembering-milton-olive-iii-american-hero/3740902002/.
Accessed February 4, 2021.
[xvi] “Milton Lee Olive, III.” The
Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial, www.virtualwall.org/do/OliveML01a.htm.
Accessed February 4, 2021.