Johhny William Trainham

Johnny William Trainham

Company C 1/22 Infantry

4th Infantry Division

KIA 11/21/69

MILITARY DATA

Service: Army (Regular)
Grade at loss: E4
Rank: Sergeant
Note: Posthumous Promotion as indicated
MOS: 11B20 Infantryman
LenSvc: Between 1 and 2 years
Unit: C CO, 1ST BN, 22ND INF RGT, 4 INF DIV

Johnny Trainham was killed in action while walking point when his unit was engaged by hostile forces
at grid reference BR825101, approximately 4 kilometers north/northwest of Van Canh airfield.

SGT Johnny W. Trainham's decorations

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"Below is a copy of a poem that I received from Jim Green, one of my Panther Platoon buddies back in Charlie Company in 69-70.
It contains a poem written about the fight for hill 474 where "Doc" Phillip Jewell and Johnny Trainham
of Charlie Company were killed on Nov 21, 1969. The poem was written by Alan Bracken, of Second Platoon.
It is in Alan's own handwriting and was kept by Jim these 30 odd years.
Bracken was Killed in Action himself on January 25, 1970."

Robert Wren, January 2005

"I'm not the only one who deserves credit for the poem.Thomas Waybright has the orignal copy of it.
He sent me a photo stat copy of it and we've been talking about doing this for a long time.

Jim Green, January 2005

Hill 474 12-7-69

November 21st, a day of Reconing,
A time of Sorrow, a moan of Beckoning,
So scared were we, the night of the day before,
For tomorrow we faced the undetermined score.

The hill was Theirs, but our to take
A hill bestowed, for our lives were at stake!
Then Morning came, the men were ready,
Our gear all packed, but our minds unsteady.

The long hump began, with insides shakey,
For everyone knew our shit was flakey,
The Hill was theirs, but would soon be ours,
Though it might take days or infinite hours.

With mini-guns working, & red tracers flying,
The Gooks Held; for their goal is worth dying.
Our journey under way, there would be no stop,
for the Colonel said, "We must make it to the top".

We took the hill, but without great pride,
For beneath our feet, our two buddies lied.
Two great men were Doc and J.T.,
But in our minds they ever will be.

No greater price could anyone ask of man,
Than to give his life, to insure peace in the land.
To fight they were called, and to fight they came,
But who can you curse, and who can you blame.

The Hill is ours, but we must push on,
For the "grunt" is a nomad; here then gone.
The Hill was theirs and now its ours,
Forever to stand like a graveyard with towers.

written in Vietnam by Alan Bracken, December 7, 1969

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The website is grateful to Robert Wren, Jim Green and Thomas Waybright, all veterans of 1/22 Infantry,
for preserving and sharing Alan Bracken's heartfelt tribute to his fallen brothers-in-arms.

Below is a tribute to Johnny and Doc Jewel created by Gary Hurl:

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Rubbing of Johnny Trainham's name from the Vietnam Wall in Washington D.C.

Picture of Sgt. Johnny William Trainham's name on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. taken 05/13/2002.

Photo by Scott Jones from the Find A Grave website

Burial:
Octagon Cemetery
Octagon
Marengo County
Alabama, USA

Grave monument for Johnny Trainham

Photo by Scott Jones from the Find A Grave website

Grave marker for Johnny Trainham

Photo by Scott Jones from the Find A Grave website

For tributes to Johnny Trainham click on the following links:

Together We Served

Virtual Wall

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