Real Life Hero: Boots on the Ground Report #2 — A Tribute to SSG William. E. Vile

by Brigadier General (R) Anthony J. Tata

I received an email telling me to check out the responses to my Hollywood Heroes column and was overwhelmed and gratified to see so many respond in such a positive fashion. I guess most Soldiers, such as myself, go about our business and don’t expect too much in return. It’s a part of our ethos, as many of you commented, and therefore my aforementioned surprise at the great posts.


Accurate mortar fire lands on Taliban positions thanks to SSG Vile’s Mortar Ballistic Computer Skills

One of the many personal emails I received was from Staff Sergeant William Vile’s former battalion commander. Then-Sergeant Vile is the hero in my first Boots on the Ground Report and I purposely kept his name out of the piece because I remember how embarrassed he was by all of the attention he received from my team and me as we medically evacuated him from the Korengal Outpost to Bagram Airfield Combat Surgical Hospital.


Rocket propelled grenade ‘duds’ into a Hesco barrier at the Korengal Outpost during 5 January attack 

I received the former commander’s email on Wednesday this week. I was in a business meeting when my Blackberry buzzed indicating I had a new message. Noticing the sender and the topic, I scanned the email and the words: 

Sir,

I read your article on-line today about fighting in the Korengal.  I’m sorry to add a poignant piece of news to it:  SSG William E. Vile was killed in action in Kunar Province on 4 May [2009].  He was back as an [Embedded Transition Team member] assigned with 6-4 Cav up near Naray [along the Pakistan border].  His [Afghan National Army combat outpost] was overrun, and SSG Vile was [Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown] for three days.  [The battalion Command Sergeant Major] proudly reported to me that soldiers of 1-32 were called upon to locate and recover SSG Vile’s remains, and that they carried him back to Bagram for his last flight home.

Sir, in the article you mentioned that Vile’s heroics didn’t stop at the end of the fight, that he returned to his unit.  His heroics didn’t stop then, either, I guess. 

SSG Vile will be buried on Thursday in Arlington National Cemetery.  As you might imagine, several alumni of the unit will attend. 

A chill shot up my spine for two reasons. First, of course, this is a man, half my age, that I truly held in the highest esteem. The news of his death in combat struck me to the core. I’m affected by every service member’s death as I’ve officiated over several funerals of Soldiers killed in combat, some who were friends, some who were assigned to me by the Army. It was a privilege in every case and each service required about two days to fully process and emotionally recover from as I engaged grieving family members and friends, presented the flag to the next of kin and personally mourned the loss of a great American. 

But having watched this man in action I had selfishly held out the notion that I had a hero I could call my own and could one day point to him as the Sergeant Major of the Army or some other influential position worthy of his abilities and sacrifice. Indeed, he had already been rapidly promoted to Staff Sergeant as a young man. 

So as the contents of the email registered, I stood, walked out of the room and took about five minutes to myself. I don’t know what the others in the room thought, and I truly didn’t care. 

And that’s when it hit me: 4 May 2009 was the day Andrew Breitbart and I exchanged emails about my joining the Big Hollywood team. After that email exchange, I wrote the article that day, of course oblivious to SSG Vile’s plight in Kunar Province. 

Indeed, as I was writing that first Boots on the Ground report, Staff Sergeant Vile’s new place of duty as an advisor to the Afghan Army in Kunar Province was in mortal combat with Taliban forces. 

The brave men of 1-32nd Infantry, Chosin, from the 10th Mountain Division, SSG Vile’s old unit in which he was serving when he conducted the heroic deeds reported in the last column, heard the news, geared up and buzzed through the Asadabad Valley to find their missing hero. While SSG Vile was not assigned to his old unit on this mission, the Soldiers were living by the Army Warrior Ethos:

Never leave a fallen comrade behind. 

It was purely a coincidence that 1-32 was back in the action in Afghanistan, just as it was purely coincidence that I wrote that blog column on the exact day he went missing. 

Right. 

No matter what you believe, no matter what your personal moral guideposts may be, don’t think for a second that this isn’t the Big Guy upstairs at work. I don’t believe in coincidences and, in retrospect, I do believe that God spoke to me on 4 May. I essentially wrote that piece in one sitting without stopping and only going back to do some minor edits. It’s almost as if I was called to write his story before knowing he was killed in action. Perhaps to capture the purity of the event without being clouded by the tumbling emotions that I’m feeling now. 

When I return to Washington, DC I intend to visit SSG Vile’s gravesite and pay my respects to a man who had at least three purple hearts and served at least three combat tours in the last six years. He did so with a humble heart, just wanting to do his piece and take care of his buddies, perhaps advancing American foreign policy a bit as he served. 

While there’s no nexus between pop culture, Hollywood and the military here, I thought it proper to update those of you who read the first column. 

Make no mistake about it, SSG William Vile remains a personal hero to me and it was my privilege to write his story. 

And my departing thought today is that SSG Vile has rightfully ascended to a place where the full measure of his sacrifice is properly rewarded. I pray that he has found the everlasting peace he was trying so hard to accomplish, on our behalf, in this world. 

Stay safe,
AJT

 

 
Pinning on then-Sergeant William Vile’s Purple Heart (2nd Award) in Bagram, Afghanistan a few minutes before his flight to Landstuhl and Walter Reed


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Posted May 19th 2009 at 3:42 pm in Featured Story, Military | 41 Comments