Roger Thomas Lagodzinski

Sgt. Lagodzinski was a "multi-tour" Tracker and won the Silver Star and other decorations for heroism. He was quite a special guy. I have heard from some of the other Combat Tracker Team guys from the 557th. It seems that the LRRP Teams had individual Trackers (not the entire Team and Labrador Retriever) to act as Visual Trackers on some of their Missions. Roger Lagodzinski rappelled down on this Mission, and landed on a mine or booby trap. He was immediately medevaced and although badly injured, the doctors were sure that he was stabilized. Because of the extent of his injuries, they missed a piece of shrapnel which had cut a major artery - and he bled to death. He had written a note before the Mission which was locked in the safe at the base camp - or wherever they were based - saying that if he did not survive the Mission, he would like his best friend George Divens (another Tracker from 557th IPCT) to escort his body home. This was done - and was the hardest month of George's life. Our Trackers were highly trained to reestablish contact with the enemy. Sgt. Lagodzinski had been trained with the early Trackers at the British Jungle Warfare School in Johore Bahru, Malaysia. All of our early Teams were trained there by the British and NZ SAS, the British Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Gurkha and Iban natives. It was the toughest training available anywhere at that time.

Guys, Roger Lagodzinski was killed while a member of team Georgia 24. Team leader was SSGT. Vestal. Roger and the Kit Carson Scout Huan, then Vestal were the first one's off the bird at the LZ. They all had to go out the same side of the ship. As Roger left the bird, he went a few meters and tripped a booby trapped mortar or small artillery round. The pilot thought they were receiving incoming and pulled pitch and lifted out of the LZ, leaving Vestal, Huan and Roger on the LZ. The rest of the team on that bird never had a chance to get off. That was Frank Johnson and Dalton.

Insertion time was 08:30 in the eastern end of the Roung Roung Valley, on the northern rim.

B troop bird was off acid pad at 09:00 rigged for a McGuire rig extraction of the unwounded team members left on the ground [Vestal and Huan]

An account of this mission is in Gary Linderer's book, 6 Silent Men Bk. 3. It says he bled to death before the MEDEVAC could make it to the 85th evec. The above was all taken from the daily log for May 19, 1970. Below is the INTSUM for that mission. That's about all I can tell you from the reports.

*This report gives slightly different times for insertion and extraction, but not much. Insertion at 08:19 and extraction at 09:30. the time the medevac was called in this report, is actualy the time he was lifted out, 09:02.