L-105 retiree Roscoe Cartwright
Veterans group inducts Roscoe Cartwright into hall of fame
RETIRED LOCAL 105 (Chillicothe, Ohio) member Roscoe Cartwright Jr., 66, was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame for Valor for his service during the war in Vietnam. The induction ceremony took place May 1 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus.
Cartwright worked for 27 years as a Boilermaker, retiring in 1999. He served two combat tours in Vietnam between 1965 and 1970, first as a helicopter door gunner and later as a captain commanding F Troop, 17th Cavalry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade. His decorations include two Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts, the Combat Infantry Badge, 14 Air Medals, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Cross of Gallantry.
While leading F Troop in 1970, Capt. Cartwright earned a Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device (for valor) for removing wounded crewmen from a tank hit by a rocket-propelled grenade while under hostile fire. Cartwright suffered serious wounds when the tank exploded but still led his men in a successful assault on North Vietnamese Army positions.
“The induction brought back some memories, and it put me in touch with guys that I had served with,” said Cartwright, who has traveled back to Vietnam twice, in 1998 and 2007, to make peace with the past. “The first trip was rough,” he said. “We went back to the village where my unit was nearly overrun.” Cartwright and his wife, Deborah, who reside in New Richmond, Ohio, send money to the village each year to help care for its residents.
“That’s the kind of guy Roscoe is,” said L-105 BM-ST Van Stephens. “I’ve known him for over 30 years and was aware that he served in the military, but it wasn’t until he was inducted into the Military Hall of Fame for Valor that I learned of his heroism. The leadership qualities he showed in the military were also apparent in his work as a Boilermaker and his involvement with the union. He is an outstanding person and an outstanding member. Whether he was serving as a union steward, a general foreman, or a supervisor, he always treated people very well.”
