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Stanton
Sargent
Sargent
CPL · Range · 11B10 · Infantryman
KIA · 1971-04-21
Known as "Stan"
In-Country Service
1970-12-30 – 1971-04-21
Home of Record
Grenada, Grenada County, MS
Character of Service
Honorable
Archive Status
Active
Service timeline not yet compiled. If you served with or knew Stanton Sargent, please use the contribute form to share what you remember.
1970-12-10
Married
Married Linda Harlow — December 10, 1970
Stanton and Linda Harlow were married in her parents' living room in Grenada, Mississippi. They had been high school sweethearts and became engaged during his basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana. During the months before deployment, Stan wrote in his diary that he did not expect to come home, and shared the same premonition in letters to friends — though never directly to Linda. He deployed to Vietnam twenty days later.
1970-12-30
Departed
Departed for Vietnam — Memphis airport
The night before he left, Stan told Linda: "If something happens to me, I don't want you to be alone." The family drove to Memphis to see him off. As he boarded, he turned and waved. Linda later said she knew in that moment it would be the last time she saw him alive. He arrived in-country December 30, 1970.
1970-12-30
Arrived
Arrived in Vietnam — December 30, 1970
CPL Stanton Sargent began his tour with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry (Airmobile), 1st Cavalry Division, Republic of Vietnam. According to Linda, letters home were often covered in sand or red clay — he was consistently in the field.
1971-04-20
Patrol
Air assault near Gia Ray — morning of April 20
D Company lifted approximately forty men with gear and air-assaulted into an area near Gia Ray, Long Khanh Province. The company moved out along a truck road, crossing a small stream — boots got wet. Range Platoon, with Stan serving as assistant machine gunner, set up a perimeter for lunch along the north bank of the Suoi Gia Ui. A military working dog used for booby-trap detection was running ahead of the platoon. Second squad moved down the creek and encountered a group of enemy soldiers. Stan's squad was ordered forward to investigate.
1971-04-20
Battle
Battle of Suoi Gia Ui — April 20, 1971
Moving east along the north bank of the Suoi Gia Ui, Range Platoon walked into the fortified headquarters of the 83rd NVA rear service unit and its security detachment. Two command-detonated Chicom claymore mines exploded in the tree canopy, killing CPL James Cardwell and CPL Danny Drinkard at point. Heavy automatic weapons fire erupted from bunkers with six feet of mud and log overhead cover.
SSG Stan Dillon, the platoon sergeant, was shot three times and hit by claymore shrapnel — one bullet stopped by a Bible in his shirt pocket, at 2nd Corinthians 5:7. CPL Joseph Hall moved forward from the rear of the column to help Dillon and was killed by enemy rifle fire. Stan took over the M-60 after Hall fell and sustained covering fire while his comrades were evacuated across the stream.
Company Commander CPT William Neal, on the south bank, remembered noting that "somebody on the north side was raising royal hell with an M-60 machine gun. I hoped it was one of ours." Two M-60s kept firing long enough for Range to cross back over the stream. Range suffered nearly 90% casualties — 3 KIA and approximately 18 wounded, with only 3 men uninjured. Four members of Range Platoon were awarded the Silver Star: Stan Sargent, SSG Stan Dillon, and the two men on the second M-60.
Stan was struck by shrapnel from a claymore mine. SSG Dillon later recalled flying out on the medevac helicopter alongside him — Stan was unconscious. SSG Dillon said: "Stan Sargent helped save a lot of lives that day keeping his machine gun going while the rest of us could be taken back to the rear. Stan was a true hero. He was one of the finest soldiers I ever served with."
1971-04-21
KIA
Died of wounds — April 21, 1971
CPL Stanton Gerald Sargent died of wounds received in the previous day's engagement at Suoi Gia Ui. He was 21 years old and had been in-country 112 days. SSG Dillon, who had been medevacked alongside him the night before, later said simply: "He died the next day." Stan was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
Did You Know Stanton, or Serve Alongside Stanton?
We are actively collecting photographs, letters, and memories for this profile. Submissions are reviewed before publication. If you served with Stanton — or are a family member with materials — we'd be grateful to hear from you.