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In Memory of U.S. Army Private First Class

Blair William Two Crow

Pine Ridge, South Dakota, Shannon County

November 12, 1948 -- December 4, 1968

Died of Wounds Received in Action in Vietnam

    

Blair William Two Crow was born on November 12, 1948, in Pine Ridge, South Dakota to Joseph and Lucy Two Crow. Blair’s sisters include Carole, Sherline, and Adrienne; he also had two younger brothers, Jerry and Richard. Blair attended the Little Wound School in Kyle and graduated 8th grade. Blair liked the idea of being a cowboy. He liked going horseback riding and being with his friends and family, whom he loved to joke with a lot. Blair also loved to break horses for he was quite good at it. When he was called out to Vietnam, he had to say goodbye to all his friends, family, and his girlfriend, Annabelle.

Blair entered the active service on May 22, 1968, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Just a few months later on October 19, 1968, Private First Class Two Crow went overseas to Vietnam with Company B, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, Americal Division.

Private First Class Blair W. Two Crow died of wounds received in action in Vietnam on December 4, 1968. According to an eye witness and a fellow soldier, Ken Quale, the soldiers came down from the mountains around dusk and had just dug their fox holes for the night when suddenly PFC Two Crow and a few other soldiers were hit with the fragments of a friendly mortar round fired at hostile forces. Ken Quale reported that Blair Two Crow stayed calm throughout the whole time while medics put the tourniquet on and was the last one loaded into the helicopter. Quale recalls Two Crow just sitting there with a very calm look on his face, gazing into the distance. Ken later sketched a helicopter and the following remembrance of Blair’s final moments:

I look into your vacant gaze as you stare off. The chopper takes you and the wounded and the dead. Two Crow, you sit there with no legs and stare quietly. Did your eyes see what there was or were you back on the reservation in Dakota or were you already with the Creator and your relations? I know your body died on your way. Months later I saw your name tag, “Two Crow.” I want to know you, my brother.

Blair’s parents were working in Gordon, Nebraska, when an airman came from a local base to tell them that Blair had been killed. It was very hard on the family and “broke” their father. Although Blair died on the 3rd, his body wasn’t returned until much later in the month in a glass-topped casket with Blair’s cousin as escort who had also been in Vietnam—five miles apart from Blair. After the funeral at St. Barnabus’ Episcopal Church, Blair was buried with military honors at the Church’s cemetery in Kyle. Among his awards, Army Private First Class Blair Two Crow received the Sharpshooter Badge with Rifle and Automatic Rifle Bars, the Vietnam Campaign Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart. His citation for the Bronze Star reads as follows:

…distinguished himself by outstanding meritorious service in connection with military operations against a hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. During the period October 1968 to December 1968 he consistently manifested exemplary professionalism and initiative in obtaining outstanding results. His rapid assessment and solution to numerous problems greatly enhanced the allied effectiveness against a determined and aggressive enemy. Despite many adversities , he invariably performed his duties in a resolute and efficient manner. Energetically applying his sound judgment and extensive knowledge, he has contributed materially to the successful accomplishment of the United States mission in the Republic of Vietnam. His loyalty, diligence, and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

In the summer of 2005, Ken Quale decided he wanted to get to know this amazing man’s family and tell them about Blair’s last moments on the helicopter. Quale traveled hundreds of miles to talk with Blair’s older sister, Sherline, and she told him of their family history and special memories they had of Blair. Although Sherline lost her younger brother whom she was very close to, by Ken’s coming out to talk, she felt somewhat that she had gotten her brother back in Ken. He wrote later that he was very thankful for his newfound discoveries of this amazing family and his new sister. Ken wrote of his experience, “Thank you, Blair Two Crow, for showing me your life. Thank you God for love.”

Blair is currently survived by his oldest sister, Sherline Two Crow of Kyle; his brother Richard of Rapid City, and his younger sister, Carole Two Crow, also of Rapid City.

    
Left: Blair Two Crow's wake service at St. Barnabus; right: Blair’s parents, Joseph and Lucy with Blair’s posthumous awards

This entry was respectfully submitted by LeeSah Banley, 8th grade student, Spearfish Middle School, March 29, 2006. Information for this entry was provided by the Vietnam Veterans Application, Ken Quale, and the Two Crow family via Sherline Two Crow. Approval for this entry by Sherline Two Crow and Richard Two Crow.