Arizona XLIII

Arizona, as you know if you follow along, is a place I visit often. It is rich with memorials. 

Today, I will feature three from Willcox, deep in the southern part of the state.

Memorial at Willcox

Six were lost from Willcox, one is MIA.

Joe Robert Lawrence

PFC Joe Lawrence was on patrol with his Marine unit when he was lost to "small arms fire..." He died in the Quang Nam Province on October 1, 1968. He had moved from Texas to Willcox when he was four and lived there with his family for fourteen years.

William Clint Dickerson

SSGT. William Dickerson was lost in the Binh Dinh Province. His death was considered an accident as a hand grenade exploded killing him. He was lost on May 13, 1969.

SP5 Armando Ramirez was lost on May 23, 1969.  As far as I can tell, he is still MIA. He was a door gunner on a chopper in Cambodia and is credited with saving American soldiers. His chopper was lost and his body has not been recovered.

All of these men were from Willcox, Arizona.

Next time, on August 1st, we will return to Arkansas, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

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

Alaska XV

Alaska Vietnam memorial, Anchorage.

It is always difficult for me to choose just which pictures of the Alaska Vietnam Memorial to feature. It is such a magnificent site that no one pic can come close to doing it justice. to see additional pictures, please go here and here. A magnificent tribute to the 57 Alaskans who "gave all" in 'Nam.

Today, a little more honor for a couple of them.

Michael Dean Banta

PFC Michael Banta died in combat three days before his 21st birthday. In his brief, heroic live he was awarded two Bronze stars: One for Valor and one for Merit. He was lost on October2, 1970 to "small arms fire..." at Phouc Long.

David Henry Elisovsky

SGT David Elisovsky was on a mission to "check out" a village for V. C during the 1966 Tet cease fire. While there, they were ambushed by the Viet Cong. David was lost on January 23, 1966, near Tuy Hoa.

David Alan Lape

WO1 David Lape was lost while attempting to reach his helicopter at Sok Trang. He was killed by a mortar round explosion on November 27, 1967.

All of these men were from Cordova, Alaska.

Next time, on July 27th, we will return to Arizona, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

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

Alabama XXIX

 

Alabama memorial at Anniston

The memorial at Anniston honors the 741 (other sites say up to 1224)  lost or MIA.

Today, as usual, a few.

Jimmy Earl Darby

PFC Jimmy Darby was among 25 lost (50 wounded) in a search and destroy mission near Dak To in the Kontum Province. The result of the effort seems to be 9 NVA killed, two captured and 3 weapons recovered.

Max Duane Kelsey

SP$ Max Kersey was lost to "non-hostile...other accident..." at Long khanh on January 5, 1970. He was awarded a Bronze Star but I could not find out if his death and the award are in anyway connected.

As always, if you have any information, I would love to see it.

James Steven Stanley

SP4 James Stanley was lost at Thua Thien on March 16, 1970. He was said to have been the victim of "hostile action...multiple fragmentation wounds..."

All of these fallen were from Opp, Alabama.

Next time, on July 22nd, we will return to Alaska, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

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

Wyoming V

Wyoming Vietnam memorial: Cody, WY.

Elton Gene Anderson

PFC Elton G. Anderson was lost to "hostile action...small arms fire..." at Quang Nam Province on November 4, 1968.

Pedro Rodriguez Montanez

PFC Pedro R. Montanez was lost in the Kontum Province.  He was considered MIA but his body was eventually recovered . He, too, was a victim of "hostile action... small arms fire." He was lost on November 19, 1967.

Joseph Benson Walker

SP4 Joseph B. Walker was lost on June 12, 1969, in Binh Duong Province. He is listed as a "Non-hostile...injury or disease..." loss. As is almost always the case, I could verify no other information. 

Again, as always, if you know anything about Joseph or any other listed here, I would love to hear about it and perhaps be able to update the information about any of the 58, 284 men and women who gave their all for our efforts in Vietnam. 

All of the men listed above were from Lovell, Wyoming. 

Next time, on July 17th, we will return to Alabama, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

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

Wisconsin XXV

Wisconsin's remarkable memorial is located in Neillsville, a site chosen because any citizen could drive there in a day. Read more about it here.

Numbers vary by differing counts, but Neillsville says 1244, so that is what we'll agree to use.

Today, a few from the state.

Phillip Henry Clark

PFC Phillip Clark was lost to "small arms fire" at Phu Yen Province on March 3, 1966.

Gary Lee Folz

CPL Gary Folz was caught in an ambush. As his fellow soldiers were crying out for help, he tended to then as best he could. While doing so he was hit by gunfire and died instantly.

John Albert Luke

SP4 John Luke was lost to a booby trap tripped by a fellow soldier in his group. 2 others were killed and an additional 3 wounded at Quang Ngai Province on March 3, 1971.

All three of these heroes were from Wisconsin Rapids.

Next time, on July 12th, we will return to Wyoming, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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 ed in Neillsville. The site was chosen because the and I will gladly share them here. 

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

West Virginia XXIII

West Virginia as I am sure I have mentioned before has the distinction of being the state that lost more of its young men, per capita, than any other state.

Today, just a few representatives of these brave warriors.

John B. Durst

SP4 John Durst was killed by an RPG in the Binh Duong Province on May 31, 1968.

Dennis Elwood McDonald

PFC Dennis McDonald was lost on May 14, 1968, in Binh Duong province.

Rex Marcel Sherman

CPL Rex Sherman was lost on November 19, 1969, during a confrontation with enemy forces. His actions and bravery resulted in his being awarded The Silver Star for valor. The citation read as follows:

"AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Silver Star

Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Corporal [then Private First Class] Rex Marcel Sherman, United States Army, for gallantry in action. Private First Class Sherman distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions while engaged in military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam on 19 November 1969, while serving as a senior observer for a Ranger patrol with Company C (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate). On that date; Private Sherman's team effected an ambush of approximately thirty enemy soldiers, killing eight of them out right. The remaining enemy began delivering a hail of small arms and automatic fire on the team, threatening to overrun the friendly position. At one point during the contact, the enemy attempted to overrun the patrol from the rear by utilizing a human wave attack. Private Sherman, with complete disregard for his own safety, exposed himself to the assault, enabling the team to thwart the charge. He then maneuvered his team into a position where they could lay down an effective base of fire on enemy positions while Private Sherman unhesitatingly left the relative security of his team to recover enemy weapons and documents from the dead enemy soldiers in the area, withstanding withering hostile fire as he proceeded. As supporting elements began arriving, Private Sherman dashed across a nearby clearing attempting to deliver the captured documents and weapons to a waiting helicopter but was mortally wounded by enemy fire. Private First-Class Sherman's heroic devotion to duty unswerving determination in the face of a numerically superior enemy force were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and United States Army.

General Orders: Headquarters, I Field Force Vietnam, General Orders No. 15 (January 7, 1970)

Action Date: November 19, 1969"

He was lost at Bien Thuan

Next time, on July 7th, we will return to Wisconsin, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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.

Washington XIV

 The 1047 from Washington lost in Vietnam are remembered and honored here, in Olympia, forever. You can read a little more about this beautiful site here.

.

As I have been doing of later, today, I will add some knowledge and honor to a few.

Jerry Wayne McGlothlan

SP4 McGlothlan was aboard a chopper on a mission. The weather was so bad that they were ordered back to base. That was the last that was heard from them. Some days later the crash site was located and McGlothlan was positively identified. He "died while missing" presumably on the day of the crash, June 9, 1970, in the Tay Ninh Province.

As an aside, his Purple Heart was stolen from of a car and ended up some years later in a pawn shop. A Marine vet saw it, paid over 200 bucks for it and tracked down McGlothlan family to return it to them. In 1916 they were trying to locate his son who had been adopted, to give it to him. I cannot track down if this effort weas successful.

Ronald Edgar Playford

LCPL Ronald Playford was lost on March 24, 1969, at Quang Tri Province. He was lost to "other explosive device..."

Lonnie Melroe Swinson

MSGT Lonnie Swinson was lost when his vehicle hit a mine on September 11, 1970, in the Tay Ninh Province. He was awarded several medals for his gallant service.

All three of the above heroes were from Yelm, Washington.

Next time, on July 2nd, we will return to West Virginia, so join me, as always, at 9 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 (now three) 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.