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Tonight's Ollie North show on Fox News Channel to feature Stafford County war hero Ernie Wallace Date published: 4/10/2005 By MICHAEL ZITZ Before that day, Marine Lance Cpl. Ernie Wallace had to hold his breath, keep his head down and hope the enemy didn't see him. Now he could shoot first. And in August 1965, as part of the first large-scale offensive operation conducted by the Marines, he killed 25 Viet Cong with a machine gun in intense fighting during a pre-emptive strike near Chu Lai, for which he received the Navy Cross. It was a search-and-destroy mission designed to prevent an attack on an American position at Chu Lai. The Marines found almost an entire Viet Cong battalion waiting to fight. Wallace, a Stafford County resident, will talk about Operation Starlite tonight at 8 on "Flashpoint Vietnam: The Road to War," an episode of "War Stories with Oliver North" on the Fox News Channel. Wallace will be one of three Marines interviewed. He was 21 years old and had been stationed in South Vietnam since May 7, 1965, but that August 18, 1965, firefight was the first offensive operation he'd experienced. "We stepped into quite a donnybrook," Wallace said. In spite of his youth and inexperience, his cool and courage led to his being awarded the Navy Cross. The fight was so bloody that it reportedly became the basis for a portion of the super-violent war video game "Men of Valor." He had previously been in a few defensive exchanges of fire with the enemy. "You could see them out there, but you couldn't do anything," Wallace said. "Once we received fire, then we could return fire." Christina Lycke, a spokeswoman for Fox News Channel, said tonight's program "looks at the beginnings of the Vietnam War and mistakes that were made from the beginning that ultimately undermined the U.S.'s strategic position." Wallace, 61, has lived in the Ferry Farms area of Stafford since 1983, but served three separate stints as a Marine assigned to Quantico. He retired from the Marines as a master sergeant in 1985 after 22 years of service. "War Stories" host North lived in North Stafford for a time when he was a Marine. Wallace's stepson Bret Curtis, a senior at the University of Mary Washington, said his admiration for his stepfather goes far beyond anything that transpired on the battlefield. "What Ernie did in Vietnam was heroic, but being a great father takes more guts," he said. "Without him, I wouldn't have had that kick in the butt needed to get where I am in life right now. I'm proud to be his son." To reach MICHAEL ZITZ: 540/374-5408 mikez@freelancestar.com
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