Memorial Day Tribute
By Ellen Gause
I personally do not know any veterans who lost their lives in service to our country. However, I would like to pay tribute to 47 veterans who served in my husband’s unit in Vietnam who were killed in action. These men served in the Americal Division, Alpha Company, 5th/46th Infantry Battalion, 198th Light Infantry Brigade.
Veteran Hometown Date of Death
FIRST PLATOON
Thomas Blanks Riverdale, Georgia January 4, 1970
Everett Brauberger Soda Springs, Idaho July 24, 1969
Garryl Cardinal Montrose, Minnesota November 9, 1968
Wayne Decker Elkhart, Indiana June 13, 1968
Marvin Erickson Ashland, Wisconsin January 20, 1969
Lee Hamilton Harra Owatonna, Minnesota January 30, 1969
Robert Huddleston LaFollette, Tennessee May 12, 1970
Patrick Kihl Milwaukee, Wisconsin January 8, 1971
Joel LaRoche Huntington Beach, California August 23, 1968
William McFarland Lancaster, Pennsylvania March 14, 1969
Ray Murphy Connersville, Indiana March 17, 1970
Gerald Parmeter Cazadero, California May 24, 1968
Gary Payne Tucker, Georgia January 22, 1969
Irvin Prosser Saquoit, New York January 31, 1969
James Randall Addison, New York March 10, 1971
Myron Renne Glasgow, Missouri July 23, 1969
Robert Salter Parrish, Alabama August 23, 1968
Thomas Schiess Edgewater, New Jersey October 10, 1970
Joseph Stone Desert Hot Springs, California February 3, 1971
Steven Vinter Sacramento, California August 23, 1968
Tyrone Wright Philadelphia, Pennsylvania January 22, 1969
SECOND PLATOON
Roosevelt Abraham Wilmington, North Carolina August 7, 1969
Michael Bastian Sewell, New Jersey January 2, 1969
Douglas Robert Bittle Arkansas, Kansas May 9, 1969
Michael Glenn Smyrna, Georgia February 11, 1970
Gordon McMillan East Meadow, New York May 9, 1969
John Martin Lamesa, Texas July 13, 1969
Roger McElhaney Jamestown, Pennsylvania July 16, 1969
Robert Peterson Jacksonville, Florida July 8, 1969
Monroe Powers Newport News, Virginia November 13, 1970
Charles Reefer Jamestown, Pennsylvania August 7, 1969
Richard Seely Berwick, Pennsylvania January 2, 1969
THIRD PLATOON
Leo Adakai Blackfoot, Idaho August 7, 1969
Daniel Aguilera Cutler, California March 3, 1970
Roy Arnold Holden, Missouri May 3, 1969
Grayson Craft Magee, Mississippi December 17, 1968
John Gaston Washington, D. C. November 29, 1968
Billy Johnston Ruston, Louisana August 16, 1970
Richard Knight Ormond Beach, Florida March 27, 1971
Thomas Markunas Brooklyn, New York May 9, 1969
Alvin Merricks Orlando, Florida May 9, 1969
Bruce Poulson Carona Del Mar, California August 18, 1968
Abelardo Rodreguiz-Guzman Hato Ray, Puerto Rico August 10, 1969
FOURTH PLATOON
Charles Bennett Calhoun, Georgia July 7, 1968
Stephen, Richards Burlington, North Carolina July 28, 1968
William Weber Denville, New Jersey July 7, 1968
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