Captain George Dailey, George was born on January 3rd, 1939 in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. He died May 12, 1966 in Vietnam. He was the Commanding Officer (C.O.) of Bravo Company, 2/28 Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, when it left Ft. Riley, Kansas, for Lai Khe Vietnam, and continued to be the C.O. until his untimely death in May, 1966. From all accounts, Captain Dailey was an outstanding officer and a good leader. Captain George Dailey lost his life in service to his country during an operation outside of Lai Khe. In memory of Captain Dailey, the following has been put together so that those who served under him can remember and honor him, and so that the rest of us can come to know and honor this fallen hero.

What Lt. Col. Joe Cardosi, USAR retired, had to say:
In everyone’s life there is a person who has motivated them, encouraged them, and driven them to be the best you possibly be at what you did. The current Army slogan “Be all that you can be” must have been written with George Dailey in mind because he did all of those things for me and my fellow B Company platoon leaders. Except for our resident snake-eater Keith Fish, he took us as a green Second Lieutenants, fresh out of the Infantry School at Ft. Benning and turned us into a combat ready, rifle platoon leaders over the course of seven months from the summer of 1965 until the spring of 1966. He was assisted by a corps of veteran NCOs, who made sure we understood how things worked in the Army. They ran it and we commanded it. We also had a terrific 1st Sergeant named Marvin Frakes. What a pair of topflight infantrymen they both were and how fortunate we were to have them running and commanding Bravo Company as we went into combat. My fellow platoon leaders-Hibbs, Fish, and Roberson and our XO- Cal Carlson were also great guys to work with and to have as buddies. We were all different but had one thing in common. The best CO in the Division. No one epitomized a “Black Lion” more than George Dailey.

Captain Dailey was also one tough cookie. He demanded excellence in everything we did. Pretty good was never good enough. You seldom made it through an inspection the first time. And he loved to train. We marched, crawled, ran, and jumped over every inch of Ft.Riley before we left. He was always in the lead and did everything we did. That’s one of the true marks of a leader and why we respected him so much. I was an ex-football/wrestler jock and he used to run me to the point of exhaustion and then laugh as he ran by. Being an all-state fullback in HS in Wisconsin prepared him for the physical grind but he was a natural athlete so being an infantry type suited him to a tee. He loved to play grab-ass and would knock you on your butt in a minute if you weren’t paying attention. He was my kind of guy. I earned his respect by being the only one ever to put him on his back. He was much stronger than I was but I had a major advantage- I was an ex-wrestling coach. It was during those moments when we were man to man testing each other’s strength and will that we came to know each other and respect each other. Here was a man I would follow to the gates of Hell…. And as it turned out, I did.

George was also very bright. He continually amazed me by his planning skills and his meticulous attention to detail. He never left anything to chance and his platoon leaders always knew what he expected of them and what their mission was. It was that more than anything, that kept many of us alive during those long patrols in the jungles and the rice patties. We were tactically as sound as a unit could possibly be and the day we saw our first real firefight proved it. We overran a VC outpost with a perfectly executed cover and assault maneuver that left them all dead or wounded without a single casualty on our side. He was right in the middle of the assault directing the entire operation just as he had done so many times when there weren’t real bullets coming our way. He would never let us be sloppy in our tactics. He used to say “Get sloppy, get dead”. So on every patrol, we slogged through the brush, avoided the roads, had point, flank and rear security. And we were NEVER ambushed. When he was wounded, I was the senior platoon leader and took over as acting commander for one mission. We did it George’s way and never lost one soldier. Later that week, in the same AO, the 2/25th was ambushed and nearly wiped out. As we later learned, they were on the trails with the flanks pulled in. Those of us who survived our year in Hell owe him more than we could ever repay. Not only for keeping us alive but for giving us skills and instincts that have served us well these many years since.

Finally, besides being an outstanding soldier, a courageous leader, and a loyal friend, George was a loving, caring family man. We spent many hours talking about our loved ones and what our plans were when we got home. I know how deeply he loved his wife and his little boy. He had their pictures all over his tent. I was fortunate enough to spend time with Wanda and Jeff before we left for the Far East and saw first hand how George always made time for them and gave them as much of himself as could. Unfortunately, that will never be enough. I can only hope they know how special they were to him and I know that what drove him was knowing we were in some small way making the world a safer place for them. Every father’s hope is that their sons will never have to face the horror of war in their lifetime. George died making that hope a reality.

To those of you who served in his command, these words will serve to reflect things you already knew to be true about him. To those of you who didn’t have the honor of serving with him, I hope this gives you some insight into a great American soldier, and hero in every respect.

What Tony Ness had to say: CPT Daily was killed in May, 1966 by friendly fire. A jet dropped a load of CBU's while we were getting ready to sweep an area suspected to have VC in it. One pass from the jet and 7 friedly KIA, including our Captain.

What Doc Stubblefield said about that day in May: When were were hit by American cluster bombs, I put Cpt. Dailey on chopper with a chest wound from those cluster bombs. The company went on sweep after bombing. There were only 13 of us left in 1st platoon. We spent that night in a wet rice patty in the rain with vc clicking the little frog clickers all night. Back to the bombing - it was not the Air Force pilot's fault. General Depue had run out of white smoke to mark vc positions for the jet cover and used purple smoke - the same color we were using to mark our LZ.

Shortly after that incident, it became standard operating procedure (S.O.P.) to use only RED or White Smoke to mark an enemy position. Any other color smoke meant friendly forces. Through Captain Dailey's tagic death, many future American soldiers lives were saved by the adoption of that S.O.P.

What Captain Dailey's wife can tell us about him: I knew George so well as we were dating since our Sophomore year in High School here in Fort Atkinson. He grew up in a large family (8 children) here in Fort Atkinson. His Dad was a vet of World War 2. His Dad died in about 1954 and he became sort of a father figure to his two young sisters - the youngest being about three or four years old.

George was always sort of a risk taker enjoying hunting, fishing and all sports (not golf though) He was a fullback on our championship football team and was always a funloving Guy. He worked hard at whatever he did. He had a very strong love of his country and freedom for us all.

He joined the National Guard in about 1955 and when Wisconsin started a Military accademy at Fort McCoy. He was in the first class and, as a matter of fact, was President of his class. He went to University of Wisconsin at Whitewater after graduation from High School and played football.

When the Guard was activated during the Berlin Crisis he left with the Unit from Washington State (Tacoma) as a 2nd Lieut., I believe. When they were deactivated George became a member of the 4th Division there (Ft. Lewis).

In 1963 he had a tour in Korea close to the DMZ. He was the battalion S4 for the 1st Battalion, Seventh Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division ("Gary Owen"). In 1964, he became part of the Big Red One - Company Commander for B Company, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division ("Black Lion") in Fort Riley, Kansas. Six months later they moved out to Viet Nam. We had always hoped for a tour in Europe but it wasn't to be. While in Washington State he spent several months TDY in Alaska for cold Weather Mountain training. He always took his assignments seriously, was always an infantryman and looked forward to returning home at the end of his tour.

He couldn't say goodbye, as we had done so many times before, to his Son and I when he left for Viet Nam . So our Son and I and our bloodhound dog came back home to Wisconsin to be with family during his tour.

They honored him at Fort McCoy by naming a training classroom after him called Dailey Hall. I still hear from some of the guys he was with.

George believed in his men and their abilities to give it their all and he remained up front even after being wounded there. He served our country in uniform for 8 years.

My Daughter met with his First Seargent and a Lieutenant from Bravo Company who now lives in Illinois. This Lieutenant brings flowers to his grave each year.

I want all to know that I am very proud of him.
So are we, Mrs. Draegar, so are we! Thank you for sharing your memories with us.

CPT Dailey's name is on panel 07E, line 052 of the Veterans Memorial Wall.

Captain Dailey's Fitness Report, Citations and Awards