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Remember...Carl Bradford Goodson
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Carl Bradford Goodson ("Punkin") was born on October 14, 1948, to Vernon Floyd Goodson (1918-1999) and Dortha W. Smith Goodson (1917-1987). He was born in the small community of Cedar Grove, West Virginia. He had an older brother named Vernon Floyd Goodson Jr. (1939-2007). His father was a Kanawha County School Board custodian and a former coal miner with Warner Collieries and Valley Camp Coal Company. His mother, Dortha, was also a custodian for the Kanawha County School Board with 15 years of service.
Cedar Grove is a quiet town in Kanawha County, West Virginia. It is located on the banks of the Kanawha River, 25 miles southeast of Charleston. Carl grew up through the 1950s and 1960s, and most likely lived a fairly normal life before the inception of the Vietnam War. As a kid he enjoyed playing baseball and eventually played for three years while in high school. Carl graduated from Cedar Grove High School in 1966 and was a member of the Church of God in Ward, West Virginia. He was not married and did not have any children.
During the later years of the 60s, the expansion of military forces for the Vietnam War required the draft, selective service, to be utilized. Carl was drafted into the U.S. Army on May 22, 1969. He graduated basic training and AIT (advanced initial training) from Fort Benning, Georgia, as a specialist fourth class (SP4). Goodson's military occupational specialty (MOS) was 11B, which is light weapons infantryman. Carl would be sent to Vietnam on October 28, 1969, and was assigned to 1st Platoon, Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. During the Vietnam War, the 101st Airborne Division fought in several major campaigns and battles.
Spc. 4 Goodson's battalion was sent in early March of 1970 to reopen the strategic Fire Support Base (FSB) Ripcord. The firebase was to be used for a planned offensive by the 101st to destroy the North Vietnamese Army's (NVA) supply bases in the mountains overlooking the A Shau Valley. FSB Ripcord was one of a string firebases along the eastern perimeter of the A Shau Valley, and their mission was to block the NVA divisions that were positioned to advance on the coastal city of Hue. FSB Ripcord had been carved out near the top of a 2,800 foot high mountain. Soon after the infantrymen arrived, the level of the NVA activity increased around the Khe Sanh plain and the A Shau Valley. The NVA were watching and began a series of attacks. From the beginning, the North Vietnamese would sporadically attack the base. The battle for FSB Ripcord would be considered the last great fight of the Vietnam War. On April 1, Charlie Company would conduct an assault onto Hill 927, which was adjacent to FSB Ripcord. Other companies were spread out to provide security for the base to operate. However, on April 6, 1970, members of 1st Platoon, Charlie Company came under attack from the NVA trying to overtake FSB Ripcord. After a grueling two- hour battle, three members of 1st Platoon, Charlie Company lost their lives that fateful day defending FSB Ripcord: Cpl. Lawrence Christman, Sgt. Steve Seward, and Spc. 4 Carl B. Goodson.
Gary Gilliam recounted this about Carl and the circumstances of his death on April 6, 1970: "He was a brave young soldier who died serving the country he loved. Carl was part of the battle of Firebase Ripcord. The elements of this battle began as the 101st Airborne Division began the effort to reopen the strategic firebase [Ripcord] located overlooking the infamous A Shau Valley in March and ended July 22." Gilliam continued, "With almost continual daily contact throughout the campaign, on April 6 on Hill 927, 25 miles west of the city of Hue, Carl, along with his brothers Lawrence Christman and Steve Steward of Charlie Company, fought bravely to hold their position to protect Firebase Ripcord against an overwhelming force of the North Vietnamese Army. After two brutal hours of battle, these three brave soldiers gave their lives to save the lives of their brothers of Charlie Company." They were not the last of the company to lose their lives. According to Gilliam, "Over the next four months, Charlie Company would lose 19 men leading to siege on Firebase Ripcord. Carl and his fallen brothers would become part one of the most deadly battles of South Vietnam." In total, around 138 service members would give their lives to defend the firebase to include the brother of the actor Chuck Norris, Wieland Norris, who was assigned to Alpha Company.
 Military marker for Carl B. Goodson, Ward Cemetery, Cedar Grove. Find A Grave courtesy Russell Bennett |
Spc. 4 Carl Bradford Goodson's remains were recovered and returned to the U.S., where he was buried in Ward Cemetery at Cedar Grove. Specialist Carl Goodson is memorialized on Panel 12W, Line 101, of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, West Virginia. In his brief military career, Carl became a highly decorated soldier. Among his awards were the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, and Combat Infantryman Badge. On March 9, 2019, the West Virginia Legislature introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 63 wherein they renamed the U.S. Route 60 Cedar Grove Overpass 3565 Bridge. In honor of three local veterans, the bridge is named the "U.S. Army PFC Earl Russell Cobb, SP4 Carl Bradford Goodson, and SSGT George T. Saunders Jr. Memorial Bridge." |  Headstone for Carl B. Goodson, Ward Cemetery, Cedar Grove. Find A Grave courtesy Russell Bennett |
 Cedar Grove Veterans Memorial. Courtesy Randy Parmley, Charlie Company webmaster (Charlie Co./2nd Bn/506th Inf/101st Airborne Div., Tour of Duty: South Vietnam 1970-1971, 2009, accessed 3 April 2020, http://www.company-c--2nd-bn--506th-inf.com/index.html.) |
Spc. 4 Carl Bradford Goodson is also remembered at the Cedar Grove Veterans Memorial, which has honored the men in the surrounding community who gave the ultimate sacrifice in protecting our nation's freedom. According to Gary Gilliam, who said in 2018, "We have many stories of how families got to hear their loved one was surrounded by friends in that distant war and were loved as a brother by soldiers who fought by their side. Where we came from or ethnicity meant nothing; we were bound by a friendship forged in the mountain jungles of Vietnam. I think it is so meaningful to know they were not alone and most important is they are never forgotten. After 48 years, their name is still called out at our memorial dinner every year. We are doing this because we want others to never forget their ultimate sacrifice." (Clint Thomas, "Fallen Vietnam Veteran To Be Honored by Fellow Soldiers in Cedar Grove," Kanawha Metro, 12 September 2018.) |
Article prepared by Cade Graham, Noah Spence, and MAJ (Ret) T. Brad McGee, George Washington High School JROTC
April 2020
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.
