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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.
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| John B. Durst |
SP4 John Durst was killed by an RPG in the Binh Duong Province on May 31, 1968.
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| Dennis Elwood McDonald |
PFC Dennis McDonald was lost on May 14, 1968, in Binh Duong province.
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| 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"
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.
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