SFC Rafael Angel Diaz


The following documents were prepared in February 2007 by Ms. Penny Falcon of Aurora, Illinois and a member of the Hispanic Pioneer Committee. Ms. Falcon and her research contributed to the recognition of SFC Diaz's military service on the Kane County (Illinois) Veterans Memorial.

Ms. Penny Falcon's speech to the Kane County Board to request that they add SFC Diaz's name to the Kane County Veterans Memorial.

Madame Chairman, honorable board members. My name is Penny Falcon and I am here on behalf of the Hispanic Pioneers Committee to recognize Sgt. Rafael Angel Diaz, whose name will soon be added to the Kane County Veteran's Memorial.

When the Veteran's Memorial was approved in 2004, Mr. Diaz's name was omitted because there was insufficient proof to establish his residency here. But with the help of your chairman and the Hispanic community we were able to provide the evidence needed to add Mr. Diaz's name to the memorial.

I would like to share with you a little about who this fallen soldier was.

The notation on the Vietnam Memorial Wall points out that Rafael Diaz was born on Nov. 29, 1940, and that he died one day after he celebrated his 30th birthday. It notes that he was a Sergeant, but nothing about the journey that led to the title. It says he was from New York, and, indeed, that was where he enlisted. But the Vietnam Memorial Wall couldn't possibly tell the stories of the 58,000-plus soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam War. So beyond noting the cause of Sgt. Diaz's demise, it tells little more about who Sgt. Diaz was, or what he meant to the U.S. Army or his family.

Rafael Diaz was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, the son of a military man, and was raised by his aunt in a suburb of San Juan. When he turned 17, he decided to visit the United States - and his mother.

Once here, he stayed. Before marrying his wife, Brunilda, Rafael enlisted in the Army. The Army sent Rafael across the country and overseas. He served for a while in Korea, where he was injured. He trained to be an officer at the United States Army School of the Americas. He took a jungles operation course in the Panama Canal Zone and attended drill sergeant school at Fort Ord. For a time, he was stationed in Germany. He trained soldiers and he trained military dogs. Along the way, the family grew, as first Elizabeth, then Rafael Jr., then Robert was born.

The Diazes were living in California when Rafael got the call to go to Vietnam. He decided to move his family to Aurora, close to his brother, Marco Antonio, while he served his country.

Rafael arrived at Camp Hocmuth, an Army base in Phu Bai, in late August. About 35 people were in the platoon, most of them dog handlers. Diaz, who was second in command, was tasked with motivating a platoon that had seen too many men and dogs lose life and limb as they walked point, searching for booby traps and mines.

The Vietnam conflict was in its 12th year. Morale was low, and drugs were plentiful.

Sergeant Diaz apparently had gotten on the bad side of some platoon members due to his style and efforts to enforce drug policies.

Sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 30, a platoon member slipped from his bed and rigged a Claymore Mine on a sandbag wall near Rafael's bunk. The blast sprayed shrapnel and blew a 5-foot by 5-foot hole in the billets where Rafael slept. Rafael was pronounced dead an hour later at a nearby hospital.

Sgt. Diaz had been a victim of fragging, assassinated by a member of his own fighting unit.

Brunilda decided to have her husband's remains flown to his "tierra, his land, where his heart was." His body was laid to rest in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery. Diaz had about a dozen medals, including the bronze star, to his name.

We might never have known who Sgt. Rafael Diaz was. That he had a thing for convertibles, that his nickname was Suggy, or that baseball was his second love, if it hadn't been for Kane County's Veterans administrator John Carr and Board Chair Karen McConnaughay.

The Illinois list of deceased soldiers lists Sgt. Diaz as living in Kane County at the time of his death. But the National Archives Record of Vietnam has New York as his home of record. The discrepancy led to his name being left off the Kane County Veteran's Memorial.

But when I spoke with Mr. Carr during research for last year's Hispanic Pioneers Breakfast, he brought up Sgt. Diaz's name. And Chairman McConnaughay asked the 300 people in attendance at the breakfast for their help in finding Mr. Diaz's family. That plea eventually led me to Liz Diaz, the daughter of Sgt. Diaz.

So I would like to thank Mr. Carr and you, Madame Chairman, for helping us to give proper tribute to Sgt. 1st Class Rafael Angel Diaz.

 

Ms. Penny Falcon's press release sent to area newspapers regarding SFC Diaz

 

FELLOW SOLIDER
IT WAS BAD ENOUGH WE HAD TO FIGHT THE VC, AND THE NVA. THERE WAS NO NEED TO FIGHT EACH OTHER. I KNOW YOUR IN HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU SPENT YOUR TIME IN HELL - VIETNAM.
Friday, June 27, 2003
Posting for Sgt. Rafael Diaz on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall message page

COUNTY TO ADD SOLDIER'S NAME TO MEMORIAL

Later this spring in an unassuming ceremony, the Kane County Veterans Commission will remember career GI Rafael Angel Diaz by placing a plaque with his name inscribed on it on the Veterans Memorial that guards the southwestern edge of the County government complex in Geneva.

The name will join those of 837 other soldiers of various ranks and branches of the military who gave their lives to protect freedom in the seven wars of the 20th century. All of the names represent tales of bravery and patriotism. But when Diaz's name is added, it will bring with it a mystery all but solved. Though 36 years have passed since Diaz first stepped foot on the dusty baked soils of South Vietnam, one question still remains. Who killed Sgt. Rafael Angel Diaz?

The notation at Panel 06W Line 098 of the Vietnam Memorial Wall tells us that Diaz, a sergeant, was born on Nov. 29, 1940. And that he died just one day after celebrating his 30th birthday. It says he was from New York, but Aurora was really his home when he headed for Vietnam. It also lists the cause of his demise - non-hostile death, ground casualty, intentional homicide.

Rafael Angel Diaz, Sgt. 1st Class of the 47th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon, was the victim of fragging, killed by one of his own. His death brought an abrupt end to the life of a dedicated soldier who had risen to the ranks of drill sergeant during his 11-year career in the U.S. Army.

THE MAKINGS OF A LEADER

By all accounts, Diaz was a by-the-books soldier. The son of a military man, he was raised by his aunt in Puerto Rico, where he excelled in school and signed up for the ROTC. When he was 17, Diaz decided to visit the United States - and his mother.

Once here, he stayed. And while living in the Bronx, he met his future bride, Brunilda. But first, Rafael enlisted in the Army, and attended basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Rafael and his new bride traveled across the United States as Rafael took on different Army assignments.

"He was very professional," said Brunilda, explaining how her husband would slide stiff cardboard in his pant legs to make sure his crease stood out. "That was how GI he was."

The Army sent Rafael across the country - to New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Georgia, California, Texas. He served for a while overseas in Korea, where he was injured. He trained to be an officer at the United States Army School of the Americas. He took a jungles operation course in the Panama Canal Zone and attended drill sergeant school at Fort Ord. For a time, he was stationed in Germany. He trained soldiers and he trained military dogs. Along the way, the family grew, as first Elizabeth, then Rafael Jr., then Robert was born.

The family was living in California when Diaz got the call to go to Vietnam. He decided to move his wife and children to Aurora, close to his brother, Marco Antonio. The Diaz family arrived in Aurora in June of 1970, bunking with Marco on Fulton Street while they looked for a home. By the time Diaz headed to battle two months later, he had settled the family into an apartment at 760 Spring St.

A DIFFERENT WAR

When Diaz arrived at the Army base in Phu Bai in late August, about 35 people were in the platoon, most of them dog handlers. Diaz, who was second in command, was tasked with motivating a platoon that had seen too many men and dogs lose life and limb as they walked point, searching for booby traps and mines.

The Vietnam conflict was in its 12th year. Morale was low, and drugs were plentiful.

"His responsibility was to run the platoon," said Specialist 4th Class Ed Reeves, who served with Diaz. "He was interested in doing a job right. We all had a job to do. And his job was to make sure I did my job."

One of Diaz's jobs was to address the growing drug problem on the base. "He busted the people who had the drugs," said Reeves. "He tried to take care of it in-house. He tried to get the guys help, get them in rehab."

And according to a diary entry from a 47th Infantry tribute page on the Internet that led to friction with some of the platoon members, who decried his style and efforts to enforce drug policies.

In the early morning hours of Nov. 30, a platoon member slipped from his bed and rigged a Claymore Mine on a sandbag wall near Rafael's bunk. The blast sprayed shrapnel, blowing a 5-foot by 5-foot hole in the billets where Rafael slept. Rafael was pronounced dead an hour later at a nearby Evac hospital.

Sgt. Diaz had been assassinated by a member of his own fighting unit.

SORRY TO INFORM YOU

Of 58,151 deaths listed in the Combat Area Casualties for the Vietnam War, 234 are classified as intentional homicides. Fragging had become the popular way to get rid of unpopular officers. Mines and grenades left little evidence. And there was always the possibility that the attack would be blamed on the enemy.

But in Diaz's case, there was no reason to believe the Viet Cong had strayed into the Army base.

A suspect, one of the platoon's drug users, was arrested and held by the Criminal Investigations division for more than a month, Reeves said. Eventually, the suspect was released because of lack of evidence, he said. A request to the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command for information on the investigation has yet to be processed.

"Drugs, in Vietnam, during that time, they were easy to get, really prevalent," recalled Reeves. "Sgt. Diaz was trying to stop as much of that as possible. In the end, I guess, it ended up costing him his life."

Brunilda was home with her children on the Saturday morning an officer made his way up her front step with the news. Liz, 10 at the time, looked out the window and saw the Army uniform. She thought it was her father coming home.

The officer had little to say, Brunilda recalled. About all she remembers is, "He was sorry to inform me that my husband had been killed in Vietnam."

Brunilda decided to have her husband's remains flown to his "tierra, his land, where his heart was." His body was laid to rest on Dec. 12, 1970, in the Puerto Rico National Cemetery in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Diaz had about a dozen medals, including the bronze star, to his name.

Eight months later, the 47th Infantry Scout Dog Platoon officially stood down, ending the platoon's service in Vietnam.

MAKING THE CONNECTION

Diaz's name was on a state list of fallen soldiers, listing Kane County as his home. But John Carr, the Kane County Veterans administrator who has dedicated a decade of his life to identifying the County's fallen soldiers, needed two forms of proof. And the National Archives Record of Vietnam listed New York as Diaz's home of record.

When Hispanic Pioneer Committee member Penny Falcon contacted Carr in 2006 for information she could use for a program on Hispanic war veterans, he brought up Diaz.

"The Puerto Rican community is very close," said Falcon, "so I knew that if we could get the word out, if Mr. Diaz did live here at one time, someone would have heard of him."

As it happened, that someone was Zaida Chapa of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. And when Kane County Board chair Karen McConnaughay made a plea for help in locating Diaz's family at the Hispanic Pioneer Breakfast held in Aurora in September, Chapa stepped forward.

Chapa had grown up with Liz Diaz, who had shared stories of how her father had been a soldier and was killed in Vietnam. Liz provided Falcon with the evidence Carr needed to establish Sgt. Diaz's residence as Aurora.

Sources: www.thewall-usa.com ; www.47ipsd.us/47hist.htm ; U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command; interview with Specialist 4th Class Ed Reeves of Grove City, Ohio; interview with Brunilda and Liz Diaz; discussions with John Carr, Kane County Veterans administrator.

Caption: Sgt. 1st Class Rafael Angel Diaz, who died in the Vietnam War, will be recognized as a fallen Kane County soldier on the Kane County Veterans Memorial in Geneva.

Material contributed to this website by Ms. Penny Falcon.

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