VIETNAM

Once again most of the company grade officers who fought the Vietnam War were OCS graduates. Here at Fort Benning more than 13,000 officers graduated from the “Benning School for Boys” with most serving as rifle platoon leaders in Vietnam. Other OCS graduates were tank platoon leaders, scout platoon leaders, engineer platoon leaders, battery fire direction officers, forward observers and helicopter pilots. The demands of Vietnam, however, did not mean all graduates served in Vietnam as the Army retained requirements in Korea, Europe, Alaska, and elsewhere.

With the onset of the Vietnam War, the OCS program again expanded with officer candidates undergoing a grueling 23-week program of instruction designed to prepare young officers to be platoon leaders in a demanding Vietnam jungle environment and with an extremely high attrition rate as one of its defining characteristics. During the height of the Vietnam Conflict, Infantry OCS produced 7,000 officers annually from five battalions, all located at Fort Benning. Towards the end of the conflict, the Army re-established WAC OCS at Fort McClellan, Alabama. The Army also reactivated other OCS programs at Fort Gordon, Georgia (Signal Corps); Fort Sill, Oklahoma (Artillery), Fort Lee, Virginia (Quartermaster), Fort Eustis, Virginia (Transportation), Fort Knox, Kentucky (Armor), Fort Belvoir, Virginia (Engineer) and Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (Ordnance). The OCS contribution to the Vietnam War was significant. At the small unit levels (company and platoon), OCS commissioned officers comprised the majority. The Medal of Honor ranks from Vietnam included more than a dozen OCS graduates – Joe Marm, Bruce Crandall, Chuck Kettles, Stephen Doane (posthumous), Roger Donlon, Douglas Fournet (posthumous), Loren Hagen, Robert Leisy (posthumous), Gary Miller (posthumous), Ronald Ray, Ruppert Sargent (posthumous), Charles Williams, Robert Poxon (posthumous), Harold Fritz and James Michael Sprayberry. As in World War II and Korea, OCS graduates tended to lead from the front.

Lieutenant Harold (Pinky) Durham, Class 1-67 Field Artillery Officer Candidate School embodies the spirit of the OCS graduates of the period. Serving in Vietnam as a Forward Observer in Battery C, 6th Battalion, 15th Artillery Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, during the Battle of Ong Thanh, Durham repeatedly exposed himself to hostile fire to direct artillery fire. Despite his numerous severe wounds, he continually positioned himself about the battlefield, fighting, assisting Soldiers, and calling artillery fires on the enemy. He died still grasping the radio handset. A posthumous Medal of Honor recognizes Lieutenant Durham for his actions.

During Vietnam, our World War II and Korea-era graduates were battalion and brigade commanders. World War II OCS graduate and Medal of Honor recipient Keith Ware rose to the rank of Major General and commanded the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He lost his life when enemy fire downed his helicopter during the Battle of Loc Ninh in 1968. General Ware was one of two Army division commanders killed while commanding their divisions in Vietnam and the most senior officer to die in the Vietnam War.

VIETNAM WAR OCS PROGRAMS

  • Armor (Fort Knox, Kentucky) [July, 1966 – February, 1968]

  • Branch Immaterial (Fort Knox, Kentucky) [December, 1965 – September, 1966] Fort Knox briefly ran a Branch Immaterial course that trained officers for the Armor, Quartermaster, Transportation, or Ordnance Corps. Classes performed Phase I (13-week basic officer's training) at Fort Knox and transferred together to complete Phase II (10-week advanced officer training course) at either Fort Lee (Quartermaster), Fort Eustis (Transportation), or Aberdeen Proving Ground (Ordnance Corps).

  • Ordnance Branch (Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland) [1966-1968]

  • Quartermaster Corps (Fort Lee, Virginia) [July 1966 – February 1968]

  • Transportation Corps (Fort Eustis, Virginia) [1966 – February, 1968]

  • Engineers (Fort Belvoir, Virginia) [November, 1965 – January, 1971]

  • Field Artillery (Fort Sill, Oklahoma) [1952 – July, 1973]

  • Infantry (Fort Benning, Georgia) [1951 – 1973]

  • Signal Corps (Fort Gordon, Georgia) [1965 – 1968]

  • Women's Army Corps Center and School (Fort McClellan, Alabama) [1954 – 1976]

    With the Vietnam conflict drawing down, the Army recognized the need to retain OCS but also recognized the need to abolish the branch specific courses in response to decreased requirements. In April 1973, a new 14-week, Branch Immaterial Officer Candidate School replaced the branch specific courses for males. OCS for female officer candidates remained at Fort McClellan, Alabama until December 1976, when it merged with the branch immaterial OCS program at Fort Benning, Georgia. With WAC OCS closing its doors, all active duty candidates received the same demanding training and assessment at Fort Benning.