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Remember...Hobart Wilson McComas Jr.
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| Hobart Wilson McComas Jr. was born on April 15, 1944, in Lesage, Cabell County, West Virginia. His family consisted of his parents Hobart McComas Sr. (1914-1989) and Pearl Edith Roberts McComas (1921-1993) along with his four sisters: Patricia McComas Cooper; Lula McComas; Jeannette McComas; and Lawanna Gail McComas; and one brother, William Robert McComas. All of his siblings are now deceased. No certificates of marriage or records of children were found in Cabell or Franklin County, Ohio, those being the two places he lived. Hobart attended and graduated from Milton High School in 1962, but pursued no further education. |
 Courtesy of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund |
Hobart grew up in a remarkably eventful time in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. Throughout that time period, the United States was bustling with the end of World War II, the space race with Russia, the peak of the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, and President Kennedy's assassination. During the 1960s, the United States began growing anxious that communism would spread throughout southern Vietnam and the rest of Asia. At first, the United States was sending money and supplies; however, in 1963, President John F. Kennedy sent over 16,000 servicemen, who were reported to be advisers, to assist the government. In 1964, North Vietnam attacked United States Navy ships in the Gulf of Tonkin. This event acted as a catalyst, sending the United States into war. ('The 1950s,' History.com, accessed 10 February 2022, https://www.history.com/.amp/topics/cold-war/1950s.)
The McComas family had lots of military involvement. Hobart's father served in the U.S. Army as a private first class during World War II. Two of his siblings were on active duty at the time he was serving in Vietnam. His sister Lula McComas was an airman first class stationed at Travis Air Force Base, and his brother William was a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps and was in Vietnam.
Hobart was no exception in serving his country, as he enlisted into active duty in the U.S. Army on April 20, 1966, at Fort Hayes, Ohio; his service number was 15679158. His MOS was 12A10, Pioneer, which is also a Sapper or Combat Engineer. During Hobart's time in service, he reached the rank of private first class. After his basic and advanced training, he was sent to Vietnam on April 30, 1967. He was assigned to 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 8th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, U.S. Army in the Republic of Vietnam.
For the 8th Engineers, Vietnam was another conflict fought in a distant underdeveloped region. With the commitment of ground troops in 1965, engineers had the dual responsibilities of supporting combat operations and of constructing support facilities for the Army, its sister services, and allied nations. The battalion launched an extensive airfield construction program that resulted in new airfields and access roads at Hammond, Plei Mrong, Oasis, Polai Kleng, Dong Tre, and Plateau Gi. The effort to construct or expand the number of fire bases and airfields in II Corps was among the many missions for the battalion. In October 1968, when notified of the move to III Corps, the 8th Engineers picked up the equivalent of a medium-sized town and moved it to the other end of South Vietnam and constructed the first ten LZs. Within days, the division was conducting normal combat operations without a hitch. [A more detailed narrative of these operations can be found in the history of the 1st Cavalry Division ('Vietnam War: 1965-1972,' accessed 10 February 2022, http://www.first-team.us/tableaux/chapt_08/.)
On June 19, 1967, Pfc. Hobart McComas, along with his unit, was on a mine sweeping operation in Chanh Giao village, Binh Dinh province, Republic of Vietnam. During the mission, he was shot by a sniper at approximately 3:00 in the afternoon. He was only two months into his tour and 23 years old when he lost his life.
| The body of Pfc. McComas was recovered and returned to the U.S. The Heck Funeral Home in Milton, West Virginia, handled the funeral arrangements and the memorial service. Pfc. Hobart McComas Jr. was laid to rest in Barker Ridge Cemetery, Cabell County, approximately 10 miles north of Milton, West Virginia. He will always be remembered for his sacrifice, as his name is inscribed on the walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Panel 22E, Line 16, in Washington, D.C. He is also remembered as his name his inscribed on the walls of the West Virginia Veterans Memorial located in Charleston, West Virginia. |
 Barker Ridge Cemetery, where Pfc. Hobart W. McComas was laid to rest. Find A Grave photo (Memorial Number 140271958) used with permission |
The headstone for PFC Hobart W. McComas Jr. says the following:
In Memory of Our Beloved Son Hobart Wilson McComas Jr.
Pfc. Hobart Wilson McComas earned or could have earned the following commendations for his service to our country: the Purple Heart Medal (posthumously), the Combat Infantryman Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Army Good Conduct Medal. ('Hobart Wilson McComas Jr.,' HonorStates.org, accessed 10 February 2022, https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=286662.)
Article prepared by Elena Launi and Makenzie Morris, George Washington High School JROTC
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be
provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant
personal history.
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