blue ribbon... like you win at the fair

It's been 35 years, but retired Lieutenant Colonel Clark Welch says, it's not to late. On April 25th, he'll recieve the distinguished Service Cross, at the Pentagon, for the job he did in Vietnam.

Welch, who now live in Florissant, is being honored with the second highest honor given to a soldier, in recognition of a devastating battle.

On October 17, 1967 led a group of 142 men, known as The Delta Company in the 1st Infantry Division into what he calls a hopeless battle. The group walked into an underground village, populated by 1,400 Viet Cong soldiers. Welch's men were outnumbered ten to one. Nearly half of his men were killed, and the rest were seriously injured.

He says Service Cross award validates their courage on that terrible day.

Welch says at the time of the incident, those in charge said it would be better if it hadn't happened. That is why it's been more than three decades leading up to the honor. The Delta Company's story remained untold until three years ago when two authors discovered the difference between the eye witness accounts and the official story.

Lieutenant Welch says he has also been nominated for the Congressional Medal of Honor.