Native Sons Lost: Milledgeville's Vietnam War Dead

Jimmy Bedgood was born on May 20, 1946 in Wrightsville, Georgia to Ferman and Louise Bedgood. Jimmy grew up with his brother, Robert, and his two half-brothers, Donald and Billy. Jimmy attended East Laurens County High School where he excelled academically and on the football field. Jimmy is remembered for his extreme intelligence and strong work ethic. He was allowed to skip some courses in school. Jimmy’s mother said that she never had to worry about supporting Jimmy financially, that he was “spiffy and organized, buying everything he needed for school.”

After graduating high school in 1964, Jimmy married his high school sweetheart, Sherry Patterson, and moved to Milledgeville to begin working at the Milledgeville State Hospital, now known as Central State Hospital. He enjoyed counseling teenagers who were struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. In December 1964, Jimmy enlisted in the U.S. Army. He joined to prevent his younger brother, Robert, from having to serve. The military made the effort to prevent siblings from being sent to combat zones at the same time. 

Jimmy was sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training and attended Ranger School before being stationed at Fort Hood, Texas with the 1st Armor Division until his first tour of duty in Vietnam began in early 1966. Jimmy was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division in Lai Khê, South Vietnam, northwest of Saigon along the strategic Highway 13. During Jimmy’s first tour, he served with one of the 1st Infantry Division’s Ranger units, C Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry. During his first tour of duty, Jimmy was awarded a Bronze Star and received a Purple Heart. 

In April 1966, Jimmy and the rest of the 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry were participating in Operation Abilene when they became involved in a two-day battle on the rubber plantations near Cam My. Jimmy was on patrol when the rest of his company was ambushed and suffered 80% casualties. When Jimmy learned of the battle, he reportedly tried to highjack a helicopter to join his comrades. In early 1967, as Jimmy’s first tour came to an end, the 2nd Rangers were conducting numerous, but fruitless, search and destroy sweeps near the Cambodian Border in an attempt to find the Viet Cong (VC) command center in the area. 

Jimmy started his second tour of duty in early 1967, assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division, Recon, based in Rach Kien. In June 1967, while leading a five-man recon team, Jimmy sensed the enemy close at hand at a stream crossing. He quickly set up an ambush position and called in a helicopter gunship strike when a 10-man VC patrol came into view, pinning them down to allow his smaller patrol to escape to the safety of a landing zone (LZ) for extraction. At the LZ, the team encountered another VC patrol. Jimmy’s small band eliminated the threat without sustaining casualties. For his heroic actions, Jimmy received his second Bronze Star.

"His aggressiveness and quick thinking prevented extensive injuries to his men while driving out the enemy." - Bronze Star Medal citation for Jimmy Bedgood, 1967.

Later in 1967, Jimmy was leading a patrol that came under vicious attack. With complete disregard for his own safety, Jimmy fully exposed himself, charging and eliminating an enemy machine gun emplacement, saving the lives of his fellow patrol members. For his bravery, he was awarded his third Bronze Star for heroism.

On December 13, 1967, Jimmy received his second Purple Heart when he was wounded by a VC booby trap that killed his fellow recon team member, Douglas Johnson.

As Jimmy’s second tour of duty ended, he would extend his tour, agreeing to stay in-country for an extra six months. This practice was common for individuals who wanted a career in the military due to the promotion in rank that came with extension. Jimmy was reassigned for his third tour of duty to Company C, 52nd Infantry, 716th Military Police (MP) Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade based in Saigon. The unit was a rifle security company intended to bolster the infantry capabilities of the 716th MP Battalion, which was responsible for providing security for the U.S. military and government facilities in the Saigon area. Under an agreement between the U.S and Vietnamese governments, American combat forces were prohibited from being stationed in the city of Saigon. Only a small contingent of lightly armed MPs were allowed to remain in the city. Jimmy arrived just in time to experience Phase I of the Tet Offensive, which began on January 30, 1968. 

"I met Jimmy when I was a driver and he was the gunner on my jeep. We drove each other quite often and got to be friends. He was the type of person that once you met him, you could not help but become a ‘Brother’.” - Bruce “Flower” Cook, MP, 716th MP Battalion

North Vietnam launched the offensive in hopes that a coordinated attack in the major cities across South Vietnam would force the U.S. to negotiate an end to the war. The Tet holiday was normally a time of truce when Vietnamese would travel to spend the holiday with their families. Selecting Tet provided the North Vietnamese and VC two advantages: the ARVN forces would be depleted because soldiers would be on leave; and second, the holiday travel would mask the infiltration of fighters into the cities. Six locations in Saigon were targeted by the VC, all of which were under the protection of the 716th MP Battalion.

After the Tet, Jimmy decided to extend his tour for another six months. His platoon leader attempted to convince him to go home, that he had done enough, but Jimmy was determined. In March 1968, Jimmy was allowed to return home for a 30-day leave before his extension went into effect. This would be the last time Jimmy’s wife, Sherry, and their three-year-old son, Kevin, would see him.

"I was a platoon leader, and I had a squad leader under me, Jimmy Bedgood from Georgia. He was planning to extend, and I tried my best to get him to go home, but he had his career set. He was 22 years old, a staff sergeant already. Chest full of ribbons. He would have been an easy sergeant major.” - Joe Alexander, Jimmy Bedgood’s platoon leader, Company C, 52nd Infantry, 1968. News & Record, Greensboro, NC, April 19, 1998

In April of 1968, at the conclusion of his 30-day leave, Jimmy returned to Company C, 52nd Infantry to continue the mission of providing security in Saigon. It would not be long before Phase II of the Tet Offensive began, throwing him in harm’s way one last time. Although Phase II, which is known as “Mini-Tet,” is less remembered, it is considered a bloodier battle than the attacks staged earlier in the year. The VC began launching attacks on Saigon on the morning of May 5, 1968. 

On the night of May 5, Bruce Cook asked Jimmy to ride shotgun with him on his jeep checkpoint duty. Bruce did not trust the man originally scheduled to be his jeep mate, so Jimmy agreed to take the man’s place. On the morning of May 6, Jimmy was informed another jeep team was pinned down by enemy machine gun fire. Bruce and Jimmy responded to the call for help along with three other jeep teams and succeeded in rescuing their teammates while under heavy fire. Bruce Cook remembered what happened next.

I was standing beside Jimmy and he said, “Cookie, you’re hit.” I told him that I was not. He said, “Look down at your leg.” When I did, I saw that I was bleeding. Jimmy said, “Go sit down in the ditch and I'll have one of the other guys come and put a dressing on you.” I sat down about five feet from Jimmy in a ditch when I heard a loud explosion about two seconds after I walked away from Jimmy and the Jeep. I turned around and saw Jimmy and grabbed him by the collar and asked him if he was alright. He replied, “No, they got me Bruce.” - Bruce “Flower” Cook, MP, 716th MP Battalion

Jimmy’s jeep had been struck by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG), destroying it and mortally wounding him. Jimmy was one of nine Company C soldiers who lost their lives defending Saigon during both phases of Tet. The company’s extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy earned them a Presidential Unit Citation. 

To this day, Bruce thinks of Jimmy daily. Bruce searched for Jimmy’s sons, Kevin, who was three at the time of his Jimmy’s death, and Greg, who was born after Jimmy’s death, for 20 years and finally was able to contact them in order to share the impact their dad had on his life.

Jimmy Bedgood is interned at Andersonville National Cemetery, Andersonville National Historic Site, Andersonville, Georgia, Section P, Site 243. His location on the Vietnam Memorial is Panel 55E, Line 39. 

Student research on Jimmy Bedgood, conducted by Bailey Ballard, Christiana Bugg, and Jordan Stewart, is available in the Georgia College  Knowledge Box