The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, PFC Asher Audbry Anthony, who died in the service of his country on July 11th, 1967 in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. The cause of death was listed as Small Arms/AW. At the time of his death Asher was 22 years of age. He was from Greensboro, North Carolina. Asher is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 23E, Line 49.
The decorations earned by PFC Asher Audbry Anthony include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star with V, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation.
Asher is buried in a private cemetery behind the Concord Friends Meeting House in Greensboro, NC.
KIA Asher Anthony news story from the Greensboro (NC) Daily News July 15, 1967 page B14.
Asher Anthony, War Casualty
He Died While helping The Vietnamese
"Before he went to Vietnam Asher did not understand the war," the young wife said. "But once he got over there he wrote that if you could see the people you would understand. You would want to help them so much -- so he died helping them."
Mrs. Deann Anthony sat on a couch in her parents home at 421 Routh Circle Friday, surrounded by friends and relatives.
She had learned just the day before that her husband, Pfc Asher A. Anthony, 22, had been killed in Vietnam, and as she talked she tried to understand and remember.
Asher was drafted in November, 1966, his wife said, but he liked the Army, she continued, and never complained. "In his letters he said since he was in Vietnam he had to accept it. He wanted to make me proud of him,and he did," she said.
Mrs. Asher( Anthony) smiled when she talked about her husbands medals. He will receive the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and possibly others.
Mrs. Anthony has not decided yet whether she will travel to Ft. Bragg to receive her husbands medals or have the ceremony in Greensboro, where they both have lived all their lives and where his mother, two sisters and brother live.
Both she and her husband attended Sumner school, Mrs. Anthony said, and were in the same room every year.
"But he did not notice me until we were in the tenth grade," she added. "That was when we started dating."
They were married in January, 1964, and moved into a house on Sumner School Road, where they lived until Asher left for Vietnam in April. Asher was working at Smith and Son Tile Inc. when he was drafted.
Mrs. Anthony is expecting their first child in November. They had planned to meet in Hawaii so Asher could see the baby.
Her husband wrote that his stay in Vietnam made him realize how fortunate people in the United States are. "He was so glad that our baby would be brought up here," Mrs. Anthony said.
His unit,Co C, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry; Third Brigade, supported an orphanage in Vietnam, and his letters told of his contribution to it.
Asher was impressed with the people of Vietnam and the beauty of the country, Mrs. Anthony said. His letters said it would be a lovely place to vacation,if only there were not a war going on.
And he wrote about the big game in Vietnam. He was a member of the Cantrell Rod and Gun Club when he lived in Greensboro, and he jokingly recommended Vietnam as a good location for a hunting trip.
Pfc. Anthonys body will come home to Greensboro soon, to be buried with full military honors in a private cemetery behind the Concord Friends Meeting House.
His wife is glad, she said, that his military escort will be another friend and classmate, Pfc. Marvin Taylor of Greensboro, stationed at Fort Story, VA.
Taylor received his draft papers the same day that Asher did, and he came to Greensboro every time Asher was home on leave.
Mrs. Anthony hopes now that her husbands death will not be meaningless, she said. She hopes there will be help -- and peace -- for the people of Vietnam.
A second short story was published in the Greensboro Daily News page B1 on July 14, 1967
Asher A. Anthony Dies In Action In Vietnam
Pfc. Asher A. Anthony, 22, of 421 Routh Circle was killed in Vietnam, according to word received Thursday by members of his family. He was a member of Co. C, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry: Third Brigade.
The body will be brought to Hanes-Lineberry Funeral Home on West market Street. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
He is survived by his wife, DeAnn E. Anthony of Greensboro; sisters, Mrs. Phyllis DeHaven and Miss Bonnie Anthony of Greensboro; brother Bruce Anthony of Greensboro
(His BSV Citation)
General Orders 2447, Award Of The Bronze Star For Heroism, 4th Division, 5 August 1967
For heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 11 July 1967, Private First Class Anthony distinguished himself while serving as a Rifleman with C, 2/35th Infantry, on a search and destroy mission near Duc Pho. As his platoon maneuvered toward a small village, an enemy soldier was seen running from the area. With disregard for his own safety, Private First Class Anthony ran forward to capture him, but was thwarted when the enemy opened fire from concealed positions. Courageously, he took up a position in an exposed area and began returning the enemy fire, allowing the men who had been advancing behind him to take cover before the enemy could inflict any casualties. At this point the enemy fire increased and Private First Class Anthony was seriously wounded. Despite his wound, he remained and fought until his comrades could close with the enemy and destroy them. He succumbed to his wound a short time later. Private First Class Anthonys valiant actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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