CPT Alvin K. Broyles, Jr
A.K. Broyles Jr. was born in Limestone, Tennessee on August 8, 1934 and grew up in Johnson City, Tennessee. He attended school in Johnson City and graduated from Science Hill High School, Class of 1952. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).
A.K. then attended East Tennessee State College (ETSC) and was a member of two fraternities: Alpha Phi Omega and Mu Epsilon Nu. Like at Science Hill, he was also an ROTC Cadet and on January 7, 1954 entered the United States Army Reserves as a Second Lieutenant and as an Armor Officer while continuing his education at ETSC. Upon graduation, Class of 1956, he was released from the Reserves on May 31, 1956 and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army on June 25, 1956 as an Infantry Officer with service number 074105.
He was promoted to First Lieutenant on June 26, 1959. Following training and service in Germany, California, Kentucky, and Texas, now Captain Broyles completed the U.S. Army Ranger Course and the Defense Language Institute's Foreign Language Center where he learned to read, write, and speak French in preparation for his volunteer duty in Vietnam. In January 1965, A.K. was dispatched to Vietnam to be a Military Advisor to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN).
Once there, he was assigned to SD 5891, Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV). He was teamed up with a non-commissioned officer and together they went into the field to help train, assist, and advise a regiment of the ARVN. A.K. was selected as the "Outstanding Advisor in the Field" by MACV in March 1965.
On April 28, 1965, A.K. was killed in action by small arms fire in the Vinh Long Province. He was 30 years old and became the first Washington County service member to give his life in Vietnam.
A.K. was awarded the Silver Star, Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Vietnam Campaign Medal, as well as the Combat Infantryman's Badge.
He was the son and only child of Alvin Klason "Chalkie" Broyles, Sr. and Ruth Marie Copp Broyles. He was married to Marjorie Blanche "Margie" Creech and they had three children: Al, Libby and Sherry.