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.