Kansas XV

As we enter the holiday season, I would like to submit a few more heroes for our remembrance and respect.

I, once again, will call on the submissions from Molly Macdonald's visit to Kansas. Molly as you know, if you are a regular here, is among the group who have so generously contributed sites they have visited to this effort. My gratitude to Molly, and everyone else who has sent me pics, knows no bounds. Molly, and all the rest, have added greatly to the knowledge and completeness of these efforts.

I hope many more of you will join her in honoring the men and women who served and those who were lost.

These three are honored on a small memorial stone in Pratt, Kansas. Several other posts from this site may be seen elsewhere on this site.

Forrest Dean Hoeme

PFC Forrest "Frosty" Hoeme was lost on March 11, 1967. He was lost in an fierce fire fight that drove the VC from their compound. He was from Preston which is not far from Pratt.

Donald E. Moore

SFC Moore was lost on February 7, 1968 to rifle fire at Gia Dinh. His family consisting of his wife and seven children lived in Lancaster, PA. As a long time Army vet the family had lived in several places, but SFC Moore was a native of Pratt, KS. 

Next time on the 22nd we will return to my annual break from memorials, and as usual, I will post a few pics from other places about other things and hope that you enjoy them (I like to remind myself, and others, each year that I am more than just a memorial photographer!) These will post, as usual, at 9:00 am. 

I wish those who celebrate any of the many, many celebrations that occur this time of year a happy and joyous celebration.

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.

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.
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  Thomas Pollard

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

Donald Pickering

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  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.