6 June 1948 – 6 March 1970
3rd-Great-Grandson of Martha Marie Tourn and Philip Cardon
2nd-Great-Grandson of Susette Stalé and Louis Philip Cardon
Great-Grandson of Amelia Mariah Merrick and Emanuel Philip Cardon
Grandson of Frances Maude Farnsworth and Jesse Leo Cardon
Son of Nellie Cardon and Walter Foote Jr.
When it comes to Memorial Day, the United States pays tribute to loved ones and family members who have given their lives to ensure the protection of our country. We honor the fallen and say our prayers for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The flag is lowered in remembrance of those who have died trying to pursue a better life for the people of this nation, and on this day, people often find themselves treating their neighbors with a little more respect than usual.
This year, the Gila Valley Honor Guard and the Arizona Chapter of the Special Forces Association held a memorial service in remembrance of Sgt. Walter Bruce Foote, a Special Forces Green Beret who was killed while serving in the Vietnam War.
Sgt. Foote was born June 6, 1948, to Walter and Nellie Foote, and graduated from Safford High School in 1966.
Throughout his time at school, he played an active role on the football team and in FFA. After graduating, Bruce joined the Army’s Airborne Infantry, accompanied by his best friend, Bailey Stauffer. Foote and Stauffer then went on to attend basic training together at Fort Bragg, N.C. Once done with training, they parted ways, each pursuing a separate career in the military.
In August 1969, Sergeant Foote was deployed to Vietnam, where he served as a radio operator in Detachment A-413 for the Green Berets. On March 6, 1970, Foote and his team were dropped into a hostile landing zone near Binh Thanh Thon, Vietnam, where they attempted to secure the area for the Special Forces.
As Foote and his company fought bravely to secure the zone, he was fatally injured by a blast of fragmentation, small scraps and particles thrown by an exploding grenade or land mine, and later succumbed to his injuries.
His body was recovered and brought back to Safford, where he was buried in Rest Haven Memorial Gardens Cemetery near Safford Regional Airport. For his actions, Foote received the Purple Heart and Silver Star, both among the highest military awards.
During the ceremony, the toll of Foote’s death could be seen in the eyes of the veterans.
They had lost not just a fellow comrade, but a brother, a man who was very much respected by his peers and was, in a way, part of their family.
Foote was more than a soldier, but a brave young man who gave his life willingly to protect the lives of many, and that’s what makes a true hero.
In honor of Sgt. Foote and the remaining men and women who have lost their lives for our country, may you rest in peace.
-Published in the Eastern Arizona Courier, Friday, June 1, 2012
In memory of Walter, the son of Walter and Nellie Foote, Jr.
Walt had been enlisted in the Army for two years. He began his tour in Vietnam on August 16, 1969, as a radio operator attached to the Special Forces Command, Unit A-413.
You were a brave young man with the courage to volunteer for that mission that ended up being your fate. Your calls on the radio for help getting you out of there were heard and they tried and failed to reach you in time. The enemy was lying in wait and you were right in the midst of them. No routes proved to get any closer to you despite their efforts.
Those last words that you spoke over the radio “They got me.” still haunt them to this day.
Also killed with Walt was MSG Willie D Stephens.-Information obtained from Virtual Vietnam Veterans Wall of Faces,
The Coffelt Database of Vietnam Casualties and Ancestry.com.
Safford, Graham, Arizona
