Oklahoma City Soldier Laid To Rest In Edmond

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Four decades after he was killed on a mountaintop in south Vietnam, the remains of an Oklahoma soldier were laid to rest Saturday.<br/> <br/>Funeral services were held for Maj. Fredrick

Saturday, January 13th 2007, 4:31 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Four decades after he was killed on a mountaintop in south Vietnam, the remains of an Oklahoma soldier were laid to rest Saturday.

Funeral services were held for Maj. Fredrick Ransbottom at Henderson Hills Baptist Church in Edmond. Burial followed at the Memorial Park Cemetery, where Ransbottom was buried next to his father.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ransbottom, 22, of Oklahoma City, died in May 1968 when his platoon was overrun by enemy troops. He was posthumously awarded a Silver Star and promoted to major.

His remains were unearthed last year by a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command mission sent to Kham Duc, Vietnam. The group discovered remains and artifacts, including dog tags and a Putnam City High School class ring, from the outpost where Ransbottom and other men in his unit were last known to be.

Among those who attended the funeral was Allen "Doc" Hoe of Honolulu, Hawaii, who was a medic with the "Snoopy" Recon Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, 23rd Infantry Division.

Hoe said the platoon was composed of battle-tested soldiers who were skeptical at first when the young lieutenant arrived to command them.

"We did as well without a lieutenant as we did with one, but he quickly became part of a well-oiled machine," Hoe said. "He would be best described as a breath of fresh air.

"Our team had gone through several lieutenants. Our mission was quite strenuous and it took a special breed of young officer to coach a group of seasoned combat soldiers."

Over the years, Hoe developed a close bond with Ransbottom's family in Edmond and other soldiers from the platoon. He said that close relationship with Ransbottom's mother, Laverne, gave him strength when his own son, 1st Lt. Nainoe Hoe, was killed by a sniper in Mosul, Iraq, in January 2005.

"Laverne has always been, for me, the best example of courage and what it means to be a hero," Hoe said. "Knowing them all these years has really brought me extra strength and comfort."

Ransbottom's brother, Donnie Ransbottom, said burying his brother closes a chapter of his life, and said he hopes the discovery of his remains will renew efforts to search for the remains of other soldiers missing in Vietnam.

"The bottom line is that this effort has really instigated more digs than ever before," he said. "We've still got guys over there that we need to find."