Burnell “Horse” Sumpter, Squad leader 2nd Platoon

Burnell "Horse" Sumpter grew up in Jacksonville Florida. He was a five-sport standout athlete, who let gang life and a hot temper interfere with his potential for college. By the age of 25, Burnell was pretty well entrenched in the street life and knew he was walking a tightrope between prison and the grave. When he was drafted into the Army he decided he would rather fight with the Marines, and joined the Corps. Burnell served with Mike Company, 3/7 Marines in Vietnam from 1966-1968. From Operation Desoto to the Arizona Territory, Charlie Ridge, and Dodge City. Burnell’s Squad, nicknamed the “Dirty Dozen” interdicted and hunted VC and NVA in their tenaciously, even being highlighted in the Marine Corps’ Sea Tiger magazine. 2nd Platoon was stationed 2 miles east of the rest of Mike Company on a platoon patrol base called Hill 25. Burnell was a squad leader and aggressive Marine who was respected by those who served with him for being a “war-fighter“ and for his cocky attitude. Known for his trademark machete, Burnell preferred to sneak up on and attack enemy fighters quietly. For most of 1967, from April - October, 2nd Platoon’s base at Hill 25 along with Hill 52 impeded the free flow of enemy fighters coming off the Ho Chi Minh trail to their north. Hill 25 was attacked and subsequently overrun by a large NVA/VC force on 11/2/1967. 10 Marines were killed that night and many others were wounded, leaving only 10 Marines fit for duty. Burnell would go on to sign up for an additional six months of duty with Mike Co. and the attack on Nov. 2nd 1967 would not be the last time he would encounter numerically superior enemy forces.