Montana IX

Montana is one of the first states that I visited back in October of 2009. I visited my friend John in Missoula and visited the magnificent memorial in 'Rose Park. It has always been one of my favorite sites. You can see that post here.

It feels as if I have come full circle and it feels as if this is a never-ending journey.

I don't have many sites from Montana, and I believe that is because of the enormous size of the state. It is actually 15 times larger than the state I live in: so much territory to cross.

Today's heroes are honored on the memorial in the Capitol, Helena.

David J. Allison

Col. Allison was lost on August 12, 1966. He was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam. It is believed that he survived ejection from his plane. He has been listed as MIA, but I have also read that he was awarded some decorations posthumously. I could not find out if he was actually lost or is presumed . VVMF's Wall of Faces still has him listed as MIA.

George R. Anderson

SSGT Anderson is listed on the VVMF site as lost on October 6, 1968, to "non-hostile illness or accident," but on other sites as "mortally wounded" at Tua Thien. I have no way to verify one or the other. Regardless he is among our lost heroes. 

Bruce B. Backeberg

The following is taken directly from his Silver Star citation:

"...Private First Class Backeberg, while serving as the point for the company, discovered an enemy ambush. Immediately and without regard for his own safety, he rushed forward and engaged the first of the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. His instantaneous appraisal of the situation and immediate action pinpointed the enemy force and allowed the company to deliver effective artillery and air strikes on the enemy position. Later the same day, still serving as the company point, Private First Class Backeberg again discovered an enemy ambush. In the ensuing exchange of fire, he was felled, mortally wounded, by enemy rifle fire. His heroic actions in the early identification and attack on the enemy ambushes was directly responsible for the success of the company's mission and saving the lives of many of his fellow Marines. Private First Class Backeberg's inspiring initiative, courage and dedication to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."

Next time, on March 5th, we will return to Nebraska to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Missouri XII

So, as is happening far too often lately I am late with this post. Without trying to make excuses, I just have not felt very well since around New Years. Nothing major, just seemingly run down. Advancing age perhaps.

Anyway, today we return to Missouri to honor a few of her lost heroes.

Kirkland has two memorials. One to those who served and one to those lost. They differentiate on the one to the lost as to whether it was in combat or by other means. Not the details, per se, but grouped separately. In addition, MIAs are listed in a third grouping.

Today, a few of the lost from combat.

John W. Goeglen

Maj. Goeglen was a pilot on one of the several "Jolly Green Giants" famous throughout 'Nam. (IYKYK)

His chopper was shot down on a rescue mission in Laos. No remains were ever recovered. He was awarded the "Distinguished Flying Cross."

Martin Biondi

Sp4 Biond was lost on March 19, 1968, at Gia Dinh to "fragmentation" wounds. This is the sum total of what I can find. If you have further information or resources, I would love to know.

Jerome Rawlings

SP4 Jerome Rawlings and SP5 Manuel Moore were military policemen serving with the 4th MP Company. On April 30, 1968, they and two other MP’s were ambushed with small arms fire while conducting civil affairs duties in a supposedly friendly Montagnard village outside of Camp Enari in Pleiku Province, RVN. The following is a personal account of the incident by Michael P. May: On April 30, 1968, three months after the Tet Offensive, the NVA shelled Camp Enari. As usual, we grabbed our weapons, flak jackets, and steel pots and ran to the DTOC (Division Tactical Operations Center). Sometime after that, someone gave the all clear. As we walked toward the Company area, Jerome commented that even if we got hit again, he had made his last dash from there to the DTOC. He explained that he was going on his last civil affairs mission that day. He would then spend the next couple of days processing out of the MP Company and out of Vietnam which he was scheduled to leave for good on May 5, 1968. He never made it. That morning, April 30, Jerome left Camp Enari through its south gate accompanied by SP5 Manuel (Sweetpea) Moore and Curtis Spivey. They never made it to their destination, the Montagnard village whose people they were trying to help. They encountered an ambush. In the course of trying to help his Montagnards, Jerome Rawlings died. So did Sweetpea, with whom I traveled to Vietnam from Oakland Army Base. (Narrative by Michael P. May) [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and thewall-usa.com]

I reprint this story because, as many of you know, I bitch all the time about the lack of information available about these fallen heroes, so when I actually find something, I want to tell their story.

Next time, on March 5th, we will return to Montana to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Mississippi XI

.I apologize for this being posted late

Every time I come around to write something from/about Mississippi, I feel as if a circle has completed. If you follow along here, you know that Mississippi was the very first state I visited back in 2009. It was not intentional at the time, but I happened to accompany my wife on a business trip she had for her work

We stayed in Biloxi and on her way to her destination she drove through Ocean Springs and saw the Mississippi state memorial and that was the beginning of a journey I had talked about for years.

I had hoped to get about three years out of the project and here I am 17 years later still trying to honor those who served.

If you click on Mississippi on the left side of this page you will see many pictures of those who were lost, but who are not properly identified. Now, with further research and new resources I can change that.

Today, I will feature a few heroes from Armory, MS and will be able to give them the honor they deserve,

Clyde Garth

PFC Garth, like so many, has very little info available. I have raged about this on many other posts, so will spare you today. He was lost to "small arms fire" in the Tay Ninh Province on October 26, 1968.

Roger Guest

SGT Guest was lost at Long An on August 26, 1969, to " hostile small arms fire."

David H. Harlow

Sgt Harlow was lost in the Quang Ngai Province on March 31, 1970.

while reading the very little I could find, I ran across a quote from a friend of Sgt Harlow's. She said, " My blind Americanism was never the same..." 

This struck a chord with me and made me wonder for how many of us is this a truth?

R.I.P to these and the 58,284 listed on The Wall.

Next time, on February 22nd, we will return to Missouri to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Minnesota XI

My heart just aches tonight as I try to honor some lost souls from Minnesota. Because as is all too often the case, I can find almost nothing about them. Young men, in this case, who put everything on the line, because our country asked then too. Made a bet that they could see it through and lost that bet.

I get very tired of what is probably not really disrespect, but only lack of respect.

All of the following are from the Stillwater, Minnesota area. You can see my post from Stillwater here.

Brian C. Brown

CPL Brown was lost to "non-hostile.... ground casualty...air crash..." That it is it. That is what I can find. He was lost on February 19, 1967. CPL Brown's place of loss was "unknown" WTF!

Gary D Graber

PFC Graber was lost on August 20, 1967, in the Quang Nam Province to "hostile... small arms fire..."

James Russell Hicks

This was taken directly from the VVMF's Wall of Faces. If I wasn't saddened already tonight, this would have done the trick.

SSgt James R. Hicks was a security policeman serving with the 366th Security Police Squadron, 366th Combat Support Group, 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force, at Da Nang Air Base in Quang Nam Province, RVN. Hicks, who arrived in December 1970, provided security and base defense with other Air Force security police, protecting aircraft, the POL (fuel & oil) sites, ordnance storage areas, runways, and base perimeter. On March 6, 1971, he died at mortar station at Da Nang where it was reported he took his own life. A postmortem examination and subsequent death certificate confirmed Hicks died by his own hand; however, when the Air Force provided a final report on his loss, it was inexplicably coded an accidental homicide. Hicks was 21 years old. [Sourced at coffeltdatabase.org]

Rest in Peace to all. You are not forgotten.

Next time, on February 16th, we will return to Mississippi to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Michigan XVIII

Sorry about today's post time delay, sometimes things just don't go as planned. Hope to better next time!

Michigan, as previously mentioned, is one of several states with, at least, two major "Official" memorials. One is located in Ann Arbor near the Capitol and the other is in Mt. Pleasant. Each is worthy of a visit. 

You can preview them here, here, and here.

Today, however, I am going to highlight some of Michigan's heroes from a smaller site: Freedom Hill County Park in Macomb County.

Leonard Michael Ackerman

EO3 Ackerman was transporting Marines between sites in Quang Nam Province when the truck he was driving hit a 100lb land mine. He was lost on March 20, 1970, and all 13 of his passengers were wounded.

 

 

Charles Leroy Baldwin

Capt. Baldwin was lost on August 27, 1969 at Phouc Long. His loss is attributed to "Hostile small arms fire." Once again, I decry the lack of information available about these men and women who gave their lives to this war. They deserve more and the lack of information just seems disrespectful to me. Just for one example, I have spent a couple of hours today trying to track down this story and you see above everything I have found.

 

Robert Charles Benoit

 

SGT Benoit was lost in the Binh Long Province on September 7, 1969. He was lost to"explosive device" as is all too often the case this is all I can find about ANOTHER who gave all for very little remembrance.

 

And, while I am whining about this stuff, what is with so many of the photos? Many are not good. Don't I remember the Army marching us all over for "Official" photos ? Surely, they are available.

 

Next time, on February 10th, we will return to Minnesota to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Massachusetts XXXVII

The last time I posted from Massachusetts, I featured a memorial in Boston that I had spent many years trying to track down, only to discover that my nephew lived directly across the street from the park in which it stands. Less than a five-minute walk from his home. You can see that post here.

Today, I return there to honor just a couple of the many who are honored here.

Frederick V. Arens

FN Frederick Arens was lost on May 24th, 1968 in Go Cong Province. He was considered MIA and was suspected of having drowned. His body was recovered.

Linwood L. Baker

SSGT Baker was killed by small arms fire. His record says "accidental homicide" with no further information. He was lost on July 26, 1971 after being injured several days previous and is listed as a "Ground casualty." He was lost in Vinh Long Province.

Thomas Evans Bennett

WO Bennett was about to land his chopper, about 20 feet off the ground, when a small explosion was heard and the chopper dropped straight down. All seven on board were lost. The reason seems to have never been determined. He and the crew were lost on February 24, 1971 in the Binh Long Province.

These men are among the many from Boston listed on this and various other memorial throughout the area.

Next time, on February 5th, we will return to Michigan to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.

Maryland XLVII

Something just a little bit different today.

Today, I want to honor three of the lost from Maryland, this is not unusual.

The fact that I went to school with all three of them is.

I went to elementary school with all three and high school one of them.

Frank Morris Streeks

PFC Frank Streeks was known by his schoolmates as "Trippy." There are a couple of stories as to why, but I cannot confirm any of these. He attended Northwood for High School.

He was lost on September 22, 1967, in Quang Tri Province. Rest in Peace, he was lost to artillery, explosive device, or rocket fire during a combat mission.

John C. Liverman

LCPL Liverman was the brother of my classmate Bob. I did not know him well, but I certainly knew who he was as he was only one year behind us.

The following was related to me many years later, so I cannot verify its veracity or if I have the facts exactly right. Here goes, anyway.

Johnny was lost on December 11th, 1968, at Quang Tri. His brother, my classmate Bob was in 'Nam at the same time and was assigned to escort him home. Their plane stopped somewhere in country to refuel and when Bob attempted to reboard the plane, he had misplaced his orders. Sent back to get them, he returned to the waiting area and in the meantime the plane took off without him. 

The plane was shot down: all were lost.

One more thing that I know is true: John and Frank Streeks, honored above, were next door neighbors as kids.

To John's brother Bob. We spoke by email a couple of years back regarding the Montgomery County Vietnam memorial, if you happen to ever see this, I would appreciate knowing if I have done John's story justice? I have lost track of your email.

Kevin Mark Coyne

LCPL Coyne and I shared 12 years in the same schools. I remember him as smart, serious, and quiet.

He was lost at Quang Tri on June 7th, 1968 along with 22 other Marines and 2 Navy personnel.

We all lived within walking distance of each other.

In preparing this post I found a memorial plaque at my High School that honors Kevin and three others who were lost. I did not know the other three.

Listed below their names were listed quite a number of other grads who served. I was surprised to find my name listed as I have had zero contact with the school since I graduated in 1965. I wonder how they knew.

Next time, on January 31st, we will return to Massachusetts to honor a few who were lost from the state, 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.