Ted was 42 when he was killed in Vietnam. He also served in WW2 and enlisted in 1943. Then he was in the WV National guard until 1963 and went back to Active duty.

Ted Belcher was born on July 21, 1924, in Accoville, West Virginia, to Lee and Roxie Belcher. Belcher grew up in Logan County and lived in a sizeable family with seven siblings, including Nellie and Virgil Belcher. His grandparents were George Washington Belcher and Amanda A. Thompson, both also living in Logan County. He was raised a Baptist, and regularly attended church. Belcher attended grammar school and worked on a farm with his parents for most of his youth, experiencing the Great Depression first hand at a young age. Logan County�??s main economic activity was coal mining, and it was the site of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, just three years before Belcher was born. The Great Depression damaged the local economy, forcing many to move out or lose their jobs due to the troubles they faced. Belcher wanted to serve in World War II and enlisted in 1943 in the Army, seeing service during that war. He stayed in the National Guard after the war and, in 1949, married Helen Johnson, a young divorcee. Belcher was 24 at the time and would later have multiple children. Belcher rose through the ranks as an infantryman to become a sergeant in the 25th Infantry Division.

Ted Belcher had himself transferred from the National Guard back to active duty in 1963. In 1966, he was deployed to Vietnam as a part of 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division stationed at Plei Djereng Camp in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. While Belcher was leading a unit in Charlie Company, the 14th Infantry Regiment was tasked with attacking and routing a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force that was consolidating near the border of Cambodia, which threatened to split the highlands in half. This was a part of Operation Paul Revere IV, which saw the 1st Battalion engage two battalions of North Vietnamese Army troops. While leading his squad during a reconnaissance mission with the rest of Charlie and Bravo Companies on November 19, 1966, the platoon Sgt. Belcher was in started to receive heavy fire from camouflaged North Vietnamese snipers. Sgt. Belcher led his squad in a push to engage the enemy and directed fire on the opposing side. While advancing, a grenade was thrown in the middle of his squad and Sgt. Belcher unhesitatingly smothered the grenade with his own body, sacrificing his own life in order to save the men under his command. For his courageous actions during this operation, Sgt. Ted Belcher received both the Purple Heart and the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously. His Medal of Honor citation reads:

Ted Belcher�??s name lives on today, in the form of a memorial bridge dedicated in 1999 by the West Virginia Legislature on the Robert C. Byrd Freeway, Corridor G, Highway 119, in Logan County, West Virginia.

Article prepared by Benjamin Woods and Brandon Taylor, George Washington High School JROTC January 2019

MEN OF MEN.WARRIORS TO THE END. As you fought in WW2.Vietnam called.From the south Pacific to where you met your your end.You died the soldiars death.I remember the German Shepard you stole at fort Bragg and gave to me and my brother Mark.Poco.Months later I was four at your funeral.Mom left dad and left us with him to keep him from rejoining the army.I understand.I believe.I know.You and Oscar (dad)Are the backbone of freedom.Hope you and dad are prepared to regroup.Proud of you.And honored to be your nephew.

Belcher, Ted, SGT