Iowa XI

Red Oak, Iowa is a small town(abt 5,000) with a lovely little park. The park honors several from the town who gave all in 'Nam.

Donald E. Powles

• Donald Eugene Powles: A Sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, he died of wounds from hostile fire on September 13, 1968, in Quang Tri province, South Vietnam.
• 
  

• 

  Thomas Pollard

  
  Thomas Leroy Pollard: A Major, he died in Thua Thien on August 19, 1968.

Donald Pickering

• 
  
  Donald William Pickering: An Army PFC, he was killed in action on May 8, 1968, near Chu Lai, South Vietnam.
• It is interesting to me that all three of these men from Red Oak were lost within 3 months of each other and that all of their last names begin with the letter "P"

Odd what you notice after doing this for so long.

Rest in peace, brothers.

Next time, on December 17th. we will return to Kansas and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual  at 9:00 am. If you are following along at all, you will have, seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group. 

Indiana XII

Brazil, Indiana is not too far from Terra Haute and in 1970 the population was just a little over 8,000. 

Nine of her youth were lost in Vietnam.

Today, just a few.

Max Wayne Batchelor

Sgt Batchelor was an Artillery operator who was lost at Binh Duong to "hostile small arms fire."

Harold Dickerson

PSGT Harold Dickerson had only been in-country for a few weeks when he was lost at Kontum. He was, for a time, MIA and died of "hostile small arms fire."

His name was, for some reason, left off the Brazil, Indiana Vietnam memorial and was added in 2011 completing the honor of the nine lost in the war.

PFC. Jack Kriger was lost to us on February 23, 1968. He became ill and was transferred to a hospital ship where he died of Encephalitis and Pneumonia. He was posthumously promoted to Corporeal.       

Next time, on the 7th, we will return to Iowa to honor a few more of the heroes lost in 'Nam. So, join me there, as always, at 9:00 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join those listed above.

Illinois XIX

I have spent some time over the years telling you about Havana, Illinois. It is unique as it is the only place I've been that has a store front with framed pictures of so many of the lost from the area. The last time I checked, the store was out of business and no one could tell me what happened to the guy who created the display or what had happened to the many photos.

You can see some of those pictures here.

Today, a few of the lost actually from the town of Havana.

James Azbell

Sp4 Azbell was lost on  February 23, 1969 at Dau Tieng. Below his his Silver Star Citation:

"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Specialist Fourth Class James Allen Azbell (ASN: US-56591925), United States Army, for gallantry in action. Specialist Fourth Class Azbell distinguished himself by heroic actions on 23 February 1969, while serving as a radio-telephone operator with Company D, 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam. While Company D was established in the Dau Tieng Base Camp, the installation came under an intense attack from a numerically superior hostile force. During the initial contact, Company D sustained several casualties. Specialist Azbell immediately administered life saving first aid to several wounded men and evacuated them to a relatively secure position. When the insurgents overran and occupied one of the bunkers on the perimeter, Specialist Azbell, with complete disregard for his own safety, exposed himself to the holocaust of exploding projectiles as he assaulted the enemy held fortification. As Specialist Azbell placed devastating fire on the hostile forces, he was fatally wounded. His valorous actions were responsible for saving several lives and the eventual defeat of the hostile force. Specialist Azbell's personal bravery, aggressiveness, and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, the 25th Infantry Division, and the United States Army. General Orders: Headquarters, 25th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 2999 (March 10, 1969)"

CWO John Frederick

John Frederick was interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam after he was captured on December 7, 1965, and until he died in captivity on or about July 19, 1972. In his personnel file at NPRC, his Navy Cross citation is actually written as a Medal of Honor citation, indicating that he was originally submitted and considered for our Nation's highest award. His is one of the Marine Corps' most highly decorated Warrant Officers in history. His remains were recovered and returned on March 13, 1974.

Larry Ladd

Sp4 Larry Ladd was lost on June 19, 1970. He was lost in Cambodia setting up explosive defensive devices when attack by hostiles.

You may note that this is the second hero lost in that place we "never were..." that I have mentioned in the last couple of posts.

Next time, on December 7th. we will return to Indiana and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual  at 9:00 am. If you are following along at all, you will have, seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group. 

Thanksgiving 2025

 

And, today, while you celebrate, take a moment to remember all those who serve our country, around the world, who will not be home with their loved ones today and be thankful for them.

Idaho XI

 The small, outside, memorial in Nampa honors seven from the area.

Clustered in a natural setting it sits in The Veterans Peace Memorial Park just outside the Nampa City Hall. You can see a more complete post here.

A few of the names, and their faces.

Gerald Lee Baldwin

CPL Baldwin was lost on December 12th, 1968 at Nua Nghia. His records say that he was lost to "small arms fire" and was a "ground casualty." This is every thing I could find about him except some family information that included the names of his parents, sisters and and brothers. Nothing else.

A 20 year old man dies and just nothing. How many times have I lamented this?

Jess B. Boicourt

CPL Jess Boicourt was lost on March 11th, 1968 at Quang Tri. And, his information is even more lacking than some of the others I have mentioned.

Albaro Quezada Garcia

Sp4 Albaro Garcia was awarded, among others, two Bronze Star for for Valor and for Merit. I don't know if this means one B Star for two things or two B Stars. Help me out!! I am always happy to hear from anyone who can add to the story or straighten me out on something,

Also, he was mortally wounded in Cambodia ( you remember, that place we never were) but passed away in hospital back in 'Nam.

Next time, on December 2nd after a brief Thanksgiving wish on the 27th, we will return to Illinois and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group. 

Hawai'i VII

So, today I am a bit behind schedule due to some unforeseen circumstances. I promised, previously, to write something about Hawai'i today and will give it a shot now.

On my two visits to our 50th state, I was able to find a few memorials that are posted elsewhere on the site. to check them out, just click Hawai'i from the list of states on the left side of the page.

I may well be back in this beautiful state in mid 2026 and, just maybe, I will be able to find additional memorials, but in the meantime, today, I will feature a couple of names from the magnificent memorial in Oahu.

Gideon Picha Johnson

SFC Gideon Johnson was lost at Thua Thein on January 31, 1968. He was a Paratrooper and a Medic. Assigned to the 101st Airborne unit he left behind a wife and at least one child. Little else is available.

Robert Kiyoshi Kawamura

SSGT Kawamura was born in California but buried at the Cemetery of The Pacific, commonly known as The Punchbowl. His plane was shot down on February 15, 1968. He "died while missing."                

Donald Marshall

SP4 Donald Marshall was on a "sweep" mission when his platoon was attacked by a far superior number of heavily armed Viet Cong. He was hit several times and was lost February 19th, 1968 at Binh Thuan.

It interest me that all three of todays lost heroes died in 1968. This is pure chance for me, but '68 was the year of the greatest loss of American forces.

I complain, again, about the poor quality of some of the photographs. My recollection is that all service members were photographed by the military during basic. Is this not so? Anyone out there able to correct my thinking? 

If not, why are not better pictures of these men and women available? Just seems disrespectful to me.

Next time on November 23rd, we will return to Idaho and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Veterans Day 2025

I know that I promised a post from Hawai'i, but opted, instead, to honor Veterans Day first. This will post at 11:11 am. to honor the signing of the Armistice ending WWI. November 11th was originally called Armistice Day, honoring that momentous event.

A Means to Heal actually attempts to both honor those who served and those who were lost. Many memorials around the country honor the lost and those still MIA but, over the years more and more sites go out of their way to honor all who served. If you browse this site (and I hope you do) you will find many memorials that actually do both. 

I try each year to come up with something fitting to pay tribute to all who served. 

Each year The Department of Veterans Affairs creates a new Veterans Day honors ALL WHO SERVED no matter when or where. Confusion still seems to exist concerning this. I am not sure why but it does. So, once again, Veterans Day honors all, Memorial Day honors those who paid the highest price for their country and Armed forces Day honors all who are serving.

Below is this years rendering. It was created by a vet, Jeremy D. Carpenter. I could do no better than this.

By the way, if you go to the Department of Veterans Affairs you can see older posters.

      WWW.VA.gov

 

Next time, on November 16th, we will return to Hawai'i, as previously promised, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00 am.

To see additional memorials from any state, please click a state name on the left side of this page. Please note that Canada, Ireland, and Puerto Rico have been added to the list.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia and Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, and very soon Elli from Maryland, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. Thanks, once again, to all who have contributed.

I hope this will encourage you to join the group and get your photos up on A Means to Heal.

Georgia XXV

In New Spalding, Georgia there is a roadside park with a number of memorials present. The names of thirteen fallen from 'Nam are listed along side heroes from the Korean war. 

You can see my original past from the site here.

Today, I will highlight a few of the fallen honored here.

James Terry Coggins

PFC James Coggins was lost to hostile small arms fire om June 28th, 1968. As is so often the case, I can find nothing else about this hero. There are several sites on-line that give basic information, but in fact, they all seem to say the same thing. 

It just feels like they deserve more,  

Willie Gene Gaddy

PFC Willie Gaddy took his buddy's place as point on a patrol. He was dead within hours. The friend survived the war and remembers him daily. As usual, little detail available.

Charles Wayne Hall

PFC Charles Hall was lost at Binh Dinh on November 7, 1968. He was awarded a Meritorious Service Award from the government of South Vietnam, but I can, as always, find no details about this.

I think I realized today why I choose to only include three names in these posts. It just makes me too sad ( not to mention angry) to think that we know so little about young men and women who gave up their lives in this war.

And we just move on.

Next time on November 16th, after a Veterans Day tribute on the 11th, we will return to Hawai'i and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Florida XXVIII

It is with the utmost pleasure that I return to my original project today, writing about actual memorials. I love highlighting some of the brave men and women who are honored at these sites, but my original idea was to share actual memorials with those who might not be able to travel to see them all. So, today, back to Florida and an actual Wall of names.

The last time I posted about Florida, I featured pictures from Peg and Ray who kindly forwarded dozens of shots from a large museum.

Central Florida Vietnam Veterans created the National Vietnam War Museum not too far from Orlando in 1982 and later renamed it for Cpl. Larry Smedley.

You can see that post here.

Today, a few pics of the Wall that features the names of a number of soldiers. There is no "key" to tell if these soldiers were lost, MIA or served, but every one of the several I checked were, in fact, KIA.

There is way more material here worth presenting and I will do so as time moves on. I could probably write a dozen posts just from the material Peg and Ray sent me. Thanks again!

Next time on November 8th, we will return to Georgia and additional faces to honor, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Delaware XXX

I posted about Milford, Delaware a while back. You can see that post here. Today, the three lost from the town. 

James H. Johnson

Capt. James Johnson was killed while traveling in a convoy near the Cambodian border on October 3, 1963. The VC ambushed them and the Captain and 8 Vietnamese solders were killed. they were lost in the Quang Duc Province. 

Wayne C. Jester

PVT Wayne Jester was lost on April10, 1968 in Binh Thuan Province. He was lost to "small arms" "hostile" fire. No other information was found.

So sad how little we know or remember. 

Donald Lee Gibson

Sp4 Donald Gibson was killed on July 19, 1968 at Gia Dinh Province. His records say "hostile"..."other explosive device.." I am not clear on exactly what that means. It could be a bomb, grenade, rocket among others. the records are not clear.

Again, way too little information. 

Next time on November 3rd, we will return to Florida and an actual memorial, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

 

Connecticut XIX

I have told the story of the Connecticut Vietnam memorial in Coventry and the local Coventry memorial before. You can see those posts here and here,

Today, as I have been doing so often lately, I want to feature the names from the local Coventry memorial.

  

Roger William Heinz

Maj. Roger William Heinz was a Chaplain and a passenger on a chopper when it crashed. All but one were killed in the Quang Ngai Province on December 9, 1969. Maj Heinz is one of the thirteen Chaplains killed in Vietnam. he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

 

Michael Allen Machie

 LCPL Michael Machie was killed in battle on May 31, 1968 in the Quang Tri Province. the following, I took from a tribute on the Wall of Faces, left by a friend

"...That was the last time I saw him. I carried one of the wounded to a chopper and he told me Mike was killed. I broke down and cried. My squad leader asked me what was wrong. I told him about Mike and said that's what you get for having friends. God bless you Michael!!!..." 

Also listed on this memorial are Robert Nothrick who was an "Era" vet who died while in service in 1967. I could not find details about his death except that he was 20 years old and died in Minnesota.

In addition:

Sp4 Lawrence Archambault is listed. I can find nothing at all about him.

If you know anything about either of these two lost soldiers, both listed on the Coventry Vietnam memorial I would love to hear from you.

Next time on the 29th we will return to Delaware, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

 

Colorado XLV

I just love the memorial in Aurora Colorado. Designed to mimic the mountains, the last vets would see as they left for 'nam and the first on the way home, it honors many.

I had planned to feature some names taken directly from one of my photos. I started checking them out on the VVMF Wall of Faces site and, oddly I thought, could not find them. I thought I had discovered an error in the records keeping.

Silly me. 

Well further investigation showed me that the memorial in Aurora is not only a Vietnam memorial but one to all from the area over many, many years. Over 6,000 in all. 

A different search method uncovered quite a few from Aurora lost in 'Nam, just not those I happened to focus on during my visit. 

Today, just a representative few.

Thomas Barber

Airman Thomas Barber was a crew member on a plane searching for submarines. The plane lost contact with land and never heard from again. Some wreckage was found but the reason for the loss was never determined. All crew members were lost and presumed dead. He is still listed as MIA.

 

Sp4 Joseph Cornelison was a chopper mechanic based in Bien Hoa. On April 26, 1969 the chopper he was a crew member to was lost, shot down on a mission in Cambodia.

On April  26, 1969 Sp4 Cornelison died. He was not on the chopper. He was in Bien Hoa. His death was classified as a suicide or self inflicted injury.

This is another of those stories that is even sadder for the fact that it is even more useless than the other tragedies of that war.

Richard L. Davis

Sp4 Richard Davis was lost on June 22, 1969 when his mobile antiaircraft weapon (called a "Duster") hit a mine.

I spend a lot of time searching for photos and info about these heroes that I highlight here. It saddens me that so very little information is available and that better photos are not provided. These men and women should be better treated, remembered, honored, in my view. 

Next time on the 24th we will return to Connecticut, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

California LI

It is nice today to be back, if even briefly, to my original goal of writing about memorials. 

Today, from Westminster, California a memorial built by the large Vietnamese population there. I have posted before about the memorial honoring American and Vietnamese partners and at the site in the ensuing years several additional memorials have been added. 

You can see the first memorial honoring Americans and Vietnamese here.

This adjacent memorial honors the 74 Vietnamese lost in a sea battle with China in January of 1974.

In reading more about this Battle of the Paracel Sea, it is hard to connect it to the war in 'Nam except that the dates coincide. Also, as I will point out in a future post, there are several plaques seen in the third picture address U.S. involvement in some way or another. It is confusing, but, war always is.

Next time on the 19th we will return to Colorado, so join me there, as usual at 9:00 am. 

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Arkansas lX

I have not spent too much time in Arkansas and as a result have very few memorials in my files.

As I was searching for something interesting to share I cam across Michel Sublett's name. At first I, mistakenly, thought that perhaps I had stumbled across one of the eight nurses listed on The Wall. IN all my writings, now about 1150, this has never happened and I was a bit excited. After realizing my error, I felt it was only right and just to give Corporeal Sublett his well earned due.

Michel Kent Sublett

 

Cpl Michel Sublett was lost to small arms fire in a hostile action. 

He was from Searcy, Arkansas where this memorial honors him, his service and his heroism, forever. As it should. 

The following three are listed upon the same memorial as POWs. 

William Ward Smith

Cpt. William Smith was involved in a midair collision with a helicopter. A rescue was attempted but his remains could not be found. He is still considered MIA. He was lost on July 23, 1966 in the Quang Tri Province.

I read a report, but could not verify, that the pilot was rescued. 

Edd D. Taylor

LTJG Edd Taylor was on a rescue mission to find a sailor in the water when his aircraft was shot down. the sailor he was attempting to save was captured and spent eight years as a POW. He survived and returned home.

For 36 years he was listed as MIA. In march of 2020 remains were excavated in the La Son Province and on May24, 201 DNA lead to the identification of LTJG Taylor.

R.I.P. and Welcome Home, brother

Don Franklin Worley

SSGT Don Worley was lost on March 11th, 1968 in Laos (you know, that place we never were.) The story is recounted below in an account I found on line. I hope it is accurate.                                                                                        

"AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT TOOK PLACE AT LIMA 85 ON 11 MARCH 1968

LIMA 85
Laos, 11 March 1968


LIMA 85 was the name of a TSQ-81 radar and TACAN site located in the mountains of Laos about 12 miles west of the Laos / North Vietnam Border border.

The TSQ-81 radar was used to provide flight following and navigation assistance for US aircraft operating in Laos and North Vietnam; the TACAN was (and remains) a standard radio navigation aid.

At the time LIMA 85 was established, Laos was officially neutral under the 1962 Geneva Accords.

The North Vietnamese government simply ignored the 1962 agreement and effectively exercised military control over large parts of Laos adjacent to the North Viet Nam, South Viet Nam, and Cambodian borders.

The United States government officially observed Laotian neutrality while unofficially attempting to respond to Laotian government requests for assistance.

The 1962 Accords prevented any open U. S. military presence in Laos, so the men assigned to operate LIMA 85 couldn't be military - yet only military personnel were trained in TSC-81 operations.

The answer was both simple and sneaky: US Air Force personnel were officially assigned to the 1043rd Radar Evaluation Squadron, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington DC, temporarily released from active duty, and "employed" by Lockheed as civilians.

The TSQ-81, TACAN, generators, prefab buildings, and other necessary equipment was provided by the United States Air Force and the site established on a 5860 foot high mountain called Phou Pha Thi. The site was protected on three sides by sheer cliffs.

Once in operation, LIMA 85 developed into a real thorn in North Vietnam's side - the high-resolution TSQ-81 radar allowed precision bomb drops by aircraft otherwise incapable of effective night/bad weather ground attack, while the TACAN supported accurate aircraft navigation.

The site was protected by a combination of Thai "mercenaries" and Laotian tribesmen loyal to the government - a total force of about 1,000 irregular troops.

In January 1968 the North Vietnamese attempted to destroy LIMA 85 by air attack in one of the very rare air operations conducted outside their own borders, the Peoples' Army of Vietnam (PAVN) Air Force used AN-2 Colts to bomb and strafe the site. While the attack was unsuccessful, it clearly illustrates the importance placed on destroying LIMA 85.

(NOTE: The PAVN Air Force Museum in Hanoi reportedly has a highly visible, detailed representation of the attack complete with a mock-up of the mountain, model AN-2 Colts, photos of the aircrew, and the gun pod from one of the AN-2 Colts).

In February 1968 it became evident that the NVN government intended to conduct a massive ground operation directed at capturing and destroying LIMA 85.

Ten PAVN battalions were identified moving toward and establishing base camps at the foot of Pha Thi mountain. The US Ambassador to Laos was responsible for deciding when the Americans manning LIMA 85 would be withdrawn - unfortunately, he left the decision undone for one day too long.

On 11 March 1968 the ground attack began and ended - by day's end the PAVN troops had assaulted through the fourth side of the site, the only approach not blocked by sheer cliffs, and had overrun the site.

US rescue efforts were only partially successful as eleven Americans were lost when LIMA 85 fell into enemy hands, and a twelfth was lost when his A-1E SKYRAIDER was shot down.

As of 06 November 2002, none of the twelve US Air Force men lost at LIMA 85 have been repatriated.
 

(( Last updated on 06 Nov 2002 ))"    

Note: Since this was first published several of the men lost have been repatriated through the joint efforts of the United States government and the Vietnamese government. 

Next time, on October 14th, we will return to California, to honor others so worthy of our admiration and never ending respect. Join me there, at 9:00 am., as always.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Arizona XLII

 

As I have said before, Arizona is one of my most visited states. In looking over things to post, I realized I could spend an awful lot of time writing only about the memorials I have visited in the state.

Bisbee is one of my favorite cities in Arizona. It is quirky and interesting and beautiful and it is south of Tucson, only 12 miles from Mexico.

Last time I was there I visited Bisbee High School and saw the memorial to their 7 students who were lost in 'Nam. Between 1960 and 1970 Bisbee's population decreased from nearly 10,000 to a little more than 8,000. 7 just seems like a lot, to me, for such a small town.

Leonard Douglas Davis

Today, three of them: 

2LT Leonard Davis and his men attempted to recover the bodies of 4 of their comrades. Coming under intense machine gun fire and incoming mortars, LT Davis was lost on August 2, 1966 in the La Drang Valley.

Richard Allen Thursby

SSGT Richard Thursby was in the Gia Dinh Province when some kind of accident involving grenades took his, and two comrades, lives on April 1, 1969.

Leonard Carabeo

LCPL Leonard Carabeo was lost to small arms fire in Quang Tri Province little information is available. 

It is shocking to me that so little is available to honor these, mostly, young heroes.

He was lost on April 28, 1968

Next time, on October 9th, we will return to Arkansas, to honor others so worthy of our admiration and never ending respect. Join me there, at 9:00 am., as always.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here.

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.