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.