2/19/1971
MSG Jackie Wayne Barnwell was killed on 19 February 1971. MSG Barnwell was assigned to the 59th Ordnance Detachment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). Viet Cong sappers had gotten into Ammunition Storage Point 101 at Quang Tri, Thua Thien Providence, Republic of Vietnam and placed satchel charges among the stacks of ammunition on 18 February 1971. Three satchel charges located on “O” road, holding area 1, 2, and 3 had been rendered safe by the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. MSG Barnwell had located a fourth satchel charge near a pad of 175mm high explosive projectiles on “N” road holding area 1. The charge was stuffed down in between the pallets. At 1645 hours, MSG Barnwell got down into the prone position and was attempting to render it safe, when it exploded killing him instantly. CPT Lewis E. Farely was on top of the pallet approximately 15 feet from the detonation and was hurled to the ground. CPT Robert J. Walker was on the ground examining the sides of the pallet and was knocked over by the blast. Both Captains were unhurt, but suffered temporary lost of hearing. The satchel charges contained one Russian 10-day CHMV-10 fuze, two pull/friction six-second delays backup fuzes, one 1,000-gram block of Czechoslovakia C-4 plastic explosive, and four 400-gram block of Communist Chinese trinitrotoluene explosives. The satchel charge had a total explosive weight of 5.7 pounds. MSG Barnwell was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and the Bronze Star Medal.