Joseph Ovila Frigault was born on October 12, 1926, in Saint-Louis, Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada. He was the husband of Joan Virginia Harris Steele.
Joseph served as a Staff Sergeant in the 173rd Engineer Company, 173rd Airborne Brigade, United States Army Vietnam.
Shortly after 8:15 AM on May 17, 1967, armored personnel carriers (APCs) from D Company, 16th Armor, 173rd Airborne Division, were returning from a combat operation when they approached a concrete bridge located on Highway QL-1, five miles southeast of Suoi Cat in Long Khanh Province, RVN. An Engineer minesweeper team examined the bridge for wires and mines, and negative results were obtained. The first APC was ordered to move across the bridge which it did without incident. Immediately thereafter, a second APC, D-13, commanded by SFC Charlie G. Lewis, moved onto the bridge. As D-13 reached the center of the bridge, its left track detonated a pressure-type mine. The explosion ruptured the fuel tank, thereby setting fire to the APC and enveloping it in flames. The explosion caused the personnel aboard the APC to be thrown inside the vehicle and the APC to turn over and land sideways on the road. The APC continued to burn and the ammunition inside ignited, which resulted in subsequent explosions accompanied by shrapnel. Defensive security measures were immediately established and other D Company crewmen began removing the men from D-13 and administering first aid to the wounded. All the men that were inside the burning APC were extracted. An attempt was also made to rescue SFC Lewis, who was pinned beneath the burning wreckage. All efforts to remove his body from beneath the flaming wreck were futile. A headcount revealed that 11 men had been riding on D-13. Identifying the remains was made difficult due to several of the bodies being burned beyond recognition while others had been dismembered in the explosion. A total of ten bodies had been recovered from the APC, eight dead and two wounded. After approximately two hours, the flames of the APC still could not be extinguished. As the heat subsided, attempts to locate SFC Lewis’ remains amidst the residue and ashes were unsuccessful, and none were recovered. The other lost personnel included PFC Winfred Alderman, PFC Edward O. Claeys, SP5 George R. Edwards, SSG Joseph O. Frigault, SSG Johnnie C. Fuller, SGT Wilson T. Gerald, PFC Steven M. Haniotes, PFC Norman P. Howie Jr., PFC David J. Johnson, and SP4 William C. Turner. Three of the troopers had survived the blast, only to succumb to their injuries days later. Fuller died May 18th from 3rd degree burns over his entire body. Howie and Johnson died on the 20th, Howie the result of 2nd and 3rd-degree burns over 90% of his body and the traumatic amputation of his left foot, and Johnson from 2nd-degree burns over 90% of his body.
Source of information: www.vvmf.org, coffeltdatabase.org