A Tribute to Dan Severson
by Dave Thornton

A REMARKABLE MAN

In addition to being a hero in the Vietnam War (see my interview below), he returned to his home community with wife and family, where he made a remarkable difference.  As fate would have it, I was on the CHS school board at the time Dan retired from the US  Army and came home. When I learned that he was looking for a teaching job I was one (among many, I am sure) who went to the relatively new local school superintendent and suggested that he hire Dan. It was the best hire Dr. Howard Bennett ever made. Dan went to work as a science teacher. He became active in support of the school football team, started a strength program for the young players, as well as otherwise assisting. When the position became open, Dan became the high school principal. It was an inspired selection. The "hippie" residue from the 1960s was shortly shaped up or shipped out.  School standards (in all areas; not just in sports) improved. Dan finished his "second career" by becoming one of the best superintendents Cambridge Central ever had.

DAN SEVERSON

(Author’s Note:. This interview ran in the August 23 and August 30 issues of The Eagle in the year 1995  This is his story.)

            They were the Commanding General's "fire brigade", an elite, all-volunteer unit, developed as the U.S. Army's "quick reaction" force in the Pacific Theatre.

            Where the fighting in Vietnam was hottest, that is where Gen. Westmoreland sent the 173rd Airborne Brigade.

            The legendary "Iron Mike" Healey was commander. One of his combat leaders was Capt. Daniel Severson.

            Dan had come to combat command by way of Cambridge High School and the University of Maine ROTC program.

            He is one of dozens of Old Cambridge boys whose fathers and uncles served heroically in World War II, and who found themselves at the right age to serve in the ten year ordeal of blood, sweat and frustration in Southeast Asia.

            Dan grew up in Cambridge, graduating in 1960. While at Cambridge Central, he developed into one of those superb athletes this community can turn out.

            He played varsity football, basketball and track. After 35

(now “45”) years his shot put throw of 50 ft., 1/2 inch is still the school record.

            But more important, he grew up with a strong sense of "community". It was this sense that sustained him during those deadly months in Vietnam. And it was this that brought him back to Old Cambridge to raise his family.

PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT

            Before Dan graduated, Charlie Bowler, then CCS principal, drove him 400 miles to the University of Maine campus.

            "I'll never forget that," Dan says. "Mr. Bowler drove me in his own car and arranged interviews with the coaches and the director of admissions.

            This resulted in an athletic scholarship.

            Dan still credits his success, whether it be in the front lines of combat or in the science classroom where he now teaches, to the personal involvement of the teachers and coaches he had at CCS. It is against this standard that he measures his own service to the students of the community.

             "The feeling that the town wholeheartedly supported us was always there, especially on the football field. We represented Cambridge and we knew it," he said. "This same feeling of support continued through my college and the military years. It has always been a sustaining force for me."

SENSE OF COMMUNITY

            "I had spent 23 years in the US Army, traveling all over the world, many times uprooting my family to move with me. So when it came time to retire, I guess it's no surprise that we looked to Cambridge first.

            "My early years in Cambridge were incomparable; and frankly, I wanted a similar life experience for my children. I never lost the feeling of being FROM Cambridge, no matter where I was."

            He didn't let his hometown down at the U. of Maine, where he was co-captain of the 1963 football team and an All-Yankee Conference tackle. Dan Severson would have to be listed on any roster of great CHS athletes.

            And he didn't let them down when his Country decided to fight a strange, jungle war halfway around the World from Home. In 1964, when Dan graduated from the U of Maine, Vietnam was about to heat up.  The ROTC Cadet was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant.

            Dan Severson has always wanted to be among the very best at whatever he did. He has never dodged a physical or mental challenge, nor side-stepped a test against which his character might be measured.

            He found both when he volunteered for Airborne and Ranger training. He was accepted into the 101st Airborne and was soon selected for General Westmoreland's "fire brigade", the 173rd Btn.

             When in June of 1966, "Iron Mike" brought the Battalion to South Vietnam, Dan came as executive officer of Charlie Company.

            He was already marked as career soldier material and a natural leader.

            On 16 January 1967, he demonstrated that he also possessed a degree of valor found in very few men.

            It was during Operation Cedar Falls in the "Iron Triangle".

Dan was a 1st Lt. As was his nature, he was traveling through the jungle with the point platoon.

            Dan Severson already knew that a good officer led "from the front", not from the back. Further, that a good officer did not ask his men to do something that he himself would not do.

            The platoon encountered enemy fire and was badly shot up.

            When the platoon leader went down, Severson assumed command. They were ordered to withdraw a ways so that air strikes could be brought in. But as the platoon pulled back, they took "murderous fire from a hidden machine gun on the right flank".

            "I knew I had two men on the right flank," Severson recalled. "I remember thinking for an instant that I had to send them after that machine-gun. Then it hit me that maybe that was asking too much."

            According to the official record of the incident, what Lt. Severson did was "dauntlessly advance toward the Viet Cong position, until he was knocked unconscious by an exploding grenade, which killed his radio operator and disabled his weapon.

            "Regaining consciousness, and armed only with grenades, he singlehandedly assaulted the emplacement, but was painfully wounded in the leg.

            "With complete disregard for his own safety, he continued to crawl forward and silenced the weapon".

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE

            For this heroic action, the proud holder of the 35 year old shot put record at Cambridge Central School added to his laurels one of this Nation's highest awards for Valorous conduct on the battlefield: The Distinguished Service Cross.

            Of the millions of Americans who have served in this Nation's armed forces, only something like one tenth of one percent are ever so highly honored.

            Needless to say, as soon as he recovered from his wounds, Dan Severson was promoted to Captain and placed in charge of one of the four companies that made up the 503rd Btn.

            The single-handed grenade attack on the VC bunker is but one of the acts of heroism that characterized his months of service in Vietnam, as attested by the fact that Dan was awarded numerous medals for Valor, as well as the two Purple Hearts, awards given only for wounds received honorably in combat.

            On one occasion, Bravo Company was helicoptoring out of a lift zone from deep within the jungle. A large contingent of Viet Cong suddenly attacked with grenades, rifles and automatic weapons.

            B Company was rapidly running out of smoke grenades, used to mark their positions from incoming friendly fire. Severson grabbed an empty crate and began collecting grenades from soldiers as they leaped aboard the hovering helicopters.

            Then he ran 100 meters through heavy enemy fire to a large fallen tree in the middle of the Landing Zone. For an hour, he held this exposed position, while setting off smoke grenades and directing the extraction of six helicopter loads of his fellow soldiers. 

             His display of aggressiveness and personal bravery calmed the panic that had threatened to overcome B Company, and saved dozens of American lives.

            For these actions, Dan Severson was awarded one of the four Bronze Stars he received for valorous service in Southeast Asia.

            He also received the Army Commendation Medal for valor, bringing to five the number of medals awarded him for valorous actions in battle.

            American policy at the time called for the rotation of troops annually. This meant that at the end of his year, Dan would be leaving behind new troops to a highly hostile battle-field. He volunteered to stay for another year and teach them how to fight and survive.

            But the odds caught up with him. Pushed into a bad situation by a ranking officer who had no combat experience, Dan's Company came under attack from a large, entrenched force of NVA Regulars. Bravo Company suffered thirty percent casualties, including 9 killed in action.

            One of these was the "green" major.

            Dan survived the night in the jungle with a map case taped across his gaping stomach wound before he was lifted through the jungle canopy and into a hovering med-evac "chopper".

            His war was over.

BATTLE: HILL 830

            By early 1967, Ho Chi Minh and his senior general, Vo Nguyen Giap, the commander of the North Vietnamese Army and conqueror of the French Army at Dien Bien Phu, had secretly decided on a plan to win the war. 

            It would be a surprise, "all-out attack" on the South Vietnamese and their U.S. allies during the Vietnamese New Year holiday called Tet.  Neil Sheehan, in his book, A Bright Shining Lie, John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam, described the plan: "The goal was to collapse the Saigon regime with these military blows and ....[a] revolt fomented by Viet Cong cadres among the population." 

            To do this, North Vietnamese troops had to be in position well in advance.  This pre-positioning was what Dan Severson's Company of Airborne Soldiers encountered when they were sent to the Central Highlands of South Vietnam at a place called Dak To.

            The NVA 24th Infantry Regimental Headquarters had been located and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Commander wanted it.  But as was often the case in Vietnam, the "intel" wasn't' quite right: it wasn't just the headquarters that was located on Hill 830, but most of the Regiment's infantrymen as well! 

Although described in detail in Edward F. Murphy's book Dak To, it was just a footnote in this Country's most unpopular war.  But for the men on the ground there like Severson, the action was no footnote.

            Severson's B Company was ordered to attack "on line", up a steep slope near the crest of Hill 830. The NVA were waiting in protected bunkers. Their mortars were already zeroed in.

            And while the Airborne prevailed, it was at a terrible price. The Major who had ordered the ill-conceived attack died out-right. Capt. Severson was so grievously wounded that he would have died before morning. Only a heroic, helicopter lift through the jungle canopy got him to a hospital in time.

COMING HOME

            Only hours later, a State Trooper delivered the dreaded Telegram to Dan's parents:

            "The Secretary of the Army has asked me to express his deep regret that your son... was placed on the seriously ill list on 10 Jul 1967 as the result of gunshot wounds of the abdomen, chest and both legs. 

            "He was on combat operation when hit by hostile automatic weapons fire.  In the judgement of the attending physician, his condition is of such severity that there is cause for concern...."

            For just less than a year Dan struggled to recover from his wounds.  Slowly he passed through hospitals in Vietnam, The Philippines, Japan and the United States.  His wounds required seven major operations to mend. He was released from Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington D.C. fit for duty in the summer of 1968. 

            Dan turned down a job to be a General's aide and went instead to be an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Ranger Camp, in Dahlonega, Georgia. 

            This was a momentous decision, not just health reasons; for it was there that he met and in 1969 married Polly Penland of Ellijay, Georgia.

            Dan's post-Vietnam career was distinguished.

            In 1971, the Army selected Captain Severson for enrollment in its' advanced degree program.  A new Army policy required each officer have two areas of specialization. 

            Dan chose Administration in Education as his secondary career field. He returned to the Univ. of Maine and spent two years in graduate study there.

            Walter Abbott, his old line coach, had been elevated to head coach of the Maine "Black Bear" football team. He asked Dan to help out.  For Dan, serving as an assistant football coach while getting a Masters Degree at Maine was a dream come true. 

            Following were assignments in Korea, Panama, England, Germany, Honduras, Alaska, Washington State, Kansas, Georgia, Kentucky and Rhode Island.

  Particularly rewarding was his assignment to be the Exchange Officer to the British School of Infantry in Warminster, England. As the only American family on the British Army post, the Seversons learned a great deal about the people and customs of their host country. 

            Daughter, Jennifer and son, Eric attended British Primary Schools, while their Dad taught Infantry tactics and leadership techniques to young British Army Officers.         

            Returning to The 101st Airborne Division in 1977, Dan served in a variety of positions: Battalecutive Officer, Secretary of the General Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Division and finally as the Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 501st Infantry. 

            Later, he also commanded the 2nd of the 75th Ranger Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington.  His last assignment before retiring was a three year tour of duty at Providence College, Providence RI as the Professor of Military Science, where then LTC Severson was responsible for the ROTC programs of 11 colleges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

            When he finally hung up his helmet and jump boots that summer of 1988, Dan, Polly and the kids came to Cambridge for an extended visit with his parents, uncles, cousins and old friends.              At the time, the Supt. at Cambridge Central was looking to hire an Earth Science teacher.

            It so happened that a pair of Dan's old schoolmates, John Tully and Howard Romack, taught in the CCS science dept.  Knowing that Dan was exceptionally well qualified for a public school teaching assignment, they called the supt's attention to the obvious possibilities.

            This Fall marks Dan's 7th year as earth science teacher at CCS.

            In addition, he is a volunteer football and wrestling coach

and the faculty advisor of the Student Council.  As the Advisor of the Weight-Lifting Club, he usually arrives at school about 7 a.m. to open the Universal Gym and Weight Room so that young athletes of all sports can train.

            And like fellow teachers Romack and Tully, Dan worked very hard to convince the community that District officers could be trusted to properly spend money on a Science Complex.

DISCIPLINE SUPER

            During his second year, the Supt. asked Dan to become his Supervisor of Student Discipline, and assignment he still carries, along with his classroom teaching.

            Dan's philosophy of education is straight forward: "My role as a public school teacher is to help my students reach their full potential.  Without 'order' in the classroom, little in the way of real learning will occur....  A few unruly students cannot be allowed to cheat the rest of the class out of their opportunity to learn. 

            "A good school discipline program is essential and it's got to be based on mutual respect.  The teacher's respect for the student and the student's respect for the teacher. But the 'bottom line' is we cannot allow the educational process to be disrupted."

            (After I wrote this piece, Dan went on with his work at Cambridge Central, becoming high school principal and finally Superintendent. His career in his home town is in its own way the equal of his career in service of his country. School discipline --- for teachers as well as students --- improved. Test scores went up. The sports program flourished. I can't find a single "hometown hero" who has done more for his country and for his community than has done Dan Severson. dt)

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