We called him “The King.” John E. Gross was a 24-year-old first lieutenant when he took command of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Division, in late 1967. It was an awesome responsibility for someone so young. He commanded some 160 troops, 20 armored personnel carriers, 22 .50-caliber machine guns, three 81mm mortars and more than 40 7.62mm M60 machine guns. It was a powerful force with more firepower than a standard infantry battalion of World War II.
Young as Gross was, many of us were even younger. He was a great officer and combat leader, but he was a lucky one too. Gross, who started out as platoon leader in Company C, was fortunate to have inherited a good company from a good officer, Captain John Ionoff,…
