Emil Posey was born in Haleyville, Alabama and joined the US Army on 1 February 1967. Private Posey started Officer Candidate School in July 1967 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Infantry on 15 January 1968. By early 1969, First Lieutenant Posey was assigned to A-322 Detachment, Company A, 5^thSpecial Forces Group in the Republic of Vietnam. On 23 April 1969 he was serving as senior advisor to a Mobile Strike Force on a reconnaissance-in-force in northwestern Tay Ninh Province. When the patrol disembarked from their helicopters in the area of operations it encountered an enemy outpost. During the brief firefight that ensued, the hostile force was quickly routed. On the morning of 24 April, the patrol moved out in pursuit of the enemy. As LT Posey and his advance element neared a bamboo wood line, the communists suddenly opened fire from a well concealed bunker complex. In an attempt  to capture an eighty-two millimeter mortar, he single-handedly assaulted an enemy bunker, killing the two North Vietnamese soldiers with grenades and capturing the mortar tube. Turning the weapon over to his men, be began moving about the bullet-swept area, administering medical aid to the wounded and redistributing ammunition. As the main body of the Mobile Strike Force arrived, LT Posey directed them into supporting positions and called in artillery and air strikes on the hostile positions. First Lieutenant Emil Posey’s gallantry in action on this day earned him the nation’s third highest award for valor, the Silver Star. LT Posey remained with the 5th Special Forces group for the remainder of his first tour in Vietnam. He stayed on for another six months with Command and Control South (CCS), Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group (MACV SOG) where now Captain Posey participated in strategic cross-border reconnaissance operations in Cambodia (operating out of Quan Loi) and a brief stint at MACV SOG headquarters in Saigon. Returning to the United States in August 1970, he was briefly assigned to 7th SFG(A) at Fort Bragg before being assigned to Special Forces Underwater Operations Committee, Specialized Training Detachment, Special Forces School in Key West, Florida. Captain Posey left Active Duty in April 1970. He completed his Army career in the Reserve Component, leaving active service in 1991.