101st Airborne Division Vietnam Photo's

On 30 September 1968, at the dedication of Pohl Bridge across the Huong River in Nam Hoa District, Thieu Thein, South Vietnam, close to where Rich was killed, Major General Melvin Zais, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, said: "Colonel Pohl was an extremely able, sincere, and dedicated Army Officer. His twenty-two years of military service reflect his dedication to his country, his high sense of honor, and his complete devotion to his soldierly duties. This remarkable and brilliant officer was truly destined for very high positions of responsibility in the Army. "His loss has been deeply felt by the 101st Airborne Division, the Army and his Vietnamese comrades. He loved the people and soldiers of the Vietnamese province in which he worked. It was his belief that we must free the people from aggression so that they may press ahead with the task of building their nation. "His service in Vietnam impressed upon the minds and hearts of all the men who knew him, that he was brave, honest, and gallant. Colonel Pohl will always be remembered as an outstanding American soldier, a gentleman, and a friend of the Vietnamese people. This bridge will help his memory to live." Those of us who knew Rich Pohl will always remember him as calm, imperturbable, self-contained, and happy. He was unselfish, a sincere friend, a devoted husband, a deeply dedicated father, and a truly outstanding Army Officer. On the day of his death in Vietnam he was doing what he was trained to do - doing what he wanted to do. General Andrew P. O'Meara, who was Rich's boss for three years, best expressed the feelings of all of us who knew him when in writing to Anne last July he said of Rich: "He was at the height of his powers, doing a job for which he was superbly equipped, and doing it in a fashion which was recognized as magnificent both by his superiors and his subordinates. The future was bright indeed and the present was full of satisfaction."