Reburial of an
American hero

By Jon Campisi
Times Staff Writer

The date was Nov. 20, 1968.
The location, the Quang Nam region of South Vietnam.
Philadelphia native Michael Crescenz was more than 8,000 miles from home. But he didn’t let that get to him.
He was away from family and friends. Again, something he put in the back of his mind.
Michael Crescenz was there to do a job. Unfortunately, on this date, that job cost the soldier his life.
Crescenz, a Cardinal Dougherty High School graduate who was born and raised in West Oak Lane, was just shy of a two-month tour of duty with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War when he was killed by enemy fire. He was 19.
Crescenz’s remains were shipped home, and he was laid to rest at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham at the request of his parents.
But there still was a slight difference of opinion among his family about where he should be buried. His parents wanted him close to home; his brothers felt he should spend eternity next to his fallen countrymen.
Now, after almost 40 years, his brothers’ wishes will soon be fulfilled.
On May 2, Crescenz’s body will be exhumed from the Philadelphia cemetery, and 10 days later he will be reburied at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
"Me and my brothers felt he belongs with his comrades-in-arms," Crescenz’s brother, Joe Crescenz, said during a recent interview in Chester County, where he now makes his home.
Michael Crescenz’s heroic efforts on Nov. 20, 1968, in addition to his distinguished military service, earned him a special honor. He is the only Philadelphian who served in Vietnam to have been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Crescenz’s medal was bestowed posthumously, presented to his parents, Charles and Mary Ann, during a ceremony at the White House on April 7, 1970. Also in attendance were two of his five brothers, Charles, the oldest, and a fellow Vietnam veteran, and Peter, who served in the Marines from 1970 to 1972 but never fought in Vietnam.
Peter actually was called out of Parris Island, S.C., where he was stationed, on orders of President Nixon so that he could attend the medal ceremony.
Fast-forward almost 40 years and you have Joe Crescenz flipping through a homemade scrapbook that he guards with his life. At 51, Joe, the third-youngest brother, was just a kid when his brother Michael was killed in action, but he will never forget the mark that his sibling left on the world.
The scrapbook is a testament to this, filled with an array of photos, newspaper clippings and hand-written letters that speak volumes of Michael, a mere teenager, who never made it to 20, and whose efforts on the battlefield enabled others in his unit to grow up, make lives for themselves and have families of their own.
Charlie Becker, another Vietnam veteran and fellow Cardinal Dougherty graduate, grew up around the corner from Michael. Now 65, Becker still recalls how Michael didn’t think twice about being fired on; he had a disregard for his own safety to save others. And save others is just what he did, Becker said.
According to a bio on the official Congressional Medal of Honor Web site, on the day he died, Cpl. Michael Crescenz, who served with Company A, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Infantry Brigade, Americal Division of the U.S. Army, was with his unit when the men were attacked by a well-entrenched force of the North Vietnamese Army, whose gunfire had killed the two point men and stopped Company A’s advance.
As soon as the unit was ambushed, Crescenz, a rifleman, grabbed a machine gun and charged about 300 feet up a slope toward two enemy bunkers, killing the two occupants of each.
He then moved on to a third bunker, killing two more North Vietnamese soldiers. His actions enabled the rest of his unit to advance. It was then that gunfire erupted from a camouflaged bunker. Crescenz pressed on, returning fire. He was just feet from that bunker when he was fatally shot.
"The fire was intense, and when Michael moved up to silence another bunker, he stepped in front of me and was killed with automatic fire."
Those were the words of William Stafford of Long Island, N.Y. They were posted on The Wall-USA.com, a Web site dedicated to Vietnam casualties.
Stafford wrote that he was the medic with Crescenz’s company. He said he has always lived with the fact that he’s probably alive today because of Crescenz’s actions.
There are many other examples of how Crescenz’s heroism touched fellow soldiers. In his scrapbook, Joe Crescenz has a letter dated 2002 from a man who identified himself as Joe Gravens of Ohio. In the letter, Gravens speaks of how he will never forget Michael Crescenz. He also talks about how the soldiers were simply doing their duty, and viewed the war in apolitical terms.
The soldiers were really there to protect their buddies, wrote Gravens, who died less than a year and a half ago.
"He (Gravens) would have been loving this. I think it means a lot to these men," Joe Crescenz said of the expected reaction to his brother’s reburial at Arlington.
Crescenz said the camaraderie among all members of the military is strong, but especially so for Vietnam veterans, since many were scorned and cursed by war protesters upon their return home.
The idea for the reburial, Crescenz explained, arose about a year and a half ago, during a college graduation/going-away party for his daughter Melanie. It was something that just came to him, he joked, while partying a little too hard.
Other family members liked the plan. Crescenz started by contacting Arlington National Cemetery, although he initially got no response. After having some difficulty with his inquiries, Crescenz contacted his congressman, U.S. Rep. Joe Pitts, a Vietnam veteran himself. Pitts was able to get a response from cemetery administrators.
Arlington representatives told Crescenz that as long as he had the proper paperwork and documentation regarding his brother’s service, they would approve his burial on the sacred grounds.
Holy Sepulchre, on the other hand, was a different story. During his initial phone call to the cemetery, Crescenz said, he essentially was told by a secretary that his desire to move his brother’s body from the cemetery was akin to sacrilege. But he wasn’t deterred.
"I said, ‘Ma’am, thank you, but I don’t need a lecture,’" Crescenz recalled.
Eventually, he was able to convince the Archdiocese of Philadelphia that his intention was pure, and he received permission to have his brother’s body exhumed.
Funeral home will help
The exhumation will be conducted by the Terry Funeral Home in Downingtown, Pa. Crescenz had contacted Dennis Luminella, one of the partners in the business, who lost a good friend in Vietnam and was eager to help. Luminella was out of the country and could not be reached last week, but his partner, Jim Terry, said all is going according to plan, although there are still some unanswered questions.
For one thing, Terry has to make sure the vault, or concrete container, that the casket is placed in is in good enough condition to be reused. If not, the casket, which is the same one that brought home Michael Crescenz’s body, may have to be placed in a new vault upon arrival at Arlington.
As the big day draws near, Joe Crescenz said he is grateful to everyone who has been, and will be, involved in the process. That includes the various law-enforcement agencies across state lines that will assist with making the procession as smooth as possible, as well as the military veteran motorcycle groups expected to participate.
"I can’t imagine the outpouring of support and camaraderie among these men," Crescenz said. ••
Reporter Jon Campisi can be reached at 215-354-3038 or jcampisi@phillynews.com