Daily Wall: November 30

There are 58,307 people who's names are currently listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I plan on listing them all, day by day, until I have gone through each and every one of them.

I am not cut/pasting these names, I feel a responsibility to type each of them individually. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know so I can promptly correct them.

I encourage you to read them aloud, or at least read them all, each day.

We will never forget.

Robert T Abina  1967

Eleanor G Alexander  1967

George B Alger  1968

Richard D Ambruso  1968

Peter N Anderson  1967

Arthur E Bader Jr.  1968

Clarence E Baker  1970

Thomas L Ball  1967

Lester E Becker  1965

Griffith B Bedworth  1967

Raymond Bernal Jr.  1966

Edward O Bilsie  1967

George A Bird III  1967

Robert A Blissett  1967

Robert A Bojanek  1970

John A Bossom  1969

Douglas S Bridgers  1970

Bobby G Brown  1967

Larry G Buford  1967

Jimmy R Burk  1969

Frank W Chadwick Jr.  1966

James E Cherry  1968

William J Clark III  1967

Charles R Coiley  1970

Robert L Culbreath Jr.  1967

William T Damron  1968

Donnie L Darrow  1967

Daryl L Davis  1967

Arturo Delgado-Marin  1967

Donald A Demond  1969

Rafael A Diaz  1970

Eugene Edwards  1970

Thomas J Ekwell  1967

Frederick L Fields  1970

Richard A Fitts  1968

Robert L Fox Jr.  1968

Gene Freeman  1968

Lawrence C Garrett  1968

Donald W Gebhart  1967

Robert S Geer  1970

James E Glisson  1968

William R Godwin  1967

Donald L Golden  1970

William E Groves  1967

Gary L Grow  1967

Tom Habada  1969

James H Hall  1968

John W Hartman  1967

William B Hays  1967

Sherlin A Heiman  1968

Jeffrey D Hounshell  1968

Ronald E James  1968

Jerry W Jefferson  1968

James D Jones  1970

Thomas H Jones  1969

Russell Jones Jr.  1969

Sterling M Jones Jr.  1967

Whyley E Josh  1967

Roger G Justus  1967

James Kennedy  1968

Roger R Kerns  1968

Donald L Kingery  1969

Anthony E Kisucky  1967

Joseph Kresick Jr.  1968

Gary R LaBohn  1968

Bert O Lawrence  1971

Donald C Lepak  1968

Bobby D Likens  1967

Norman F Loeffler Jr.  1967

Lonnie G Martin  1968

Thomas J McElynn  1967

Kenneth D McKee  1967

Nelson W McKenna  1967

John J McNabb  1967

Michael H Mein  1968

Leon P Miller  1967

Jose L Miranda-Ortiz  1967

Robert G Moore  1970

Thomas D Moore Jr.  1967

Felipe Morales  1970

Bruce J Mori  1968

Herbert J Nece  1966

Benjamin R Nelson Jr.  1970

David L Nicholson  1969

Phillip A Ogas  1967

Jerome E Olmsted  1967

Hedwig D Orlowski  1967

James K Oxley  1967

Clarence L Palmer  1967

Tyrone S Pannell  1965

Donald D Panno  1968

Larry T Parker  1967

Robert K Parker  1969

Patrick J Paulich  1970

Dale C Pehrson  1967

Stephen R Porcella  1967

Lee V Porden Jr.  1968

Stephen G Richardson  1965

Kenneth L Robertson  1970

Claude B Rogers  1969

Jack Rogers  1967

Lloyd H Rohde  1966

James N Royal  1969

Klaus D Scholz  1968

Dean R Shilling  1969

Kenneth R Shoemaker Jr.  1967

Clifton B Smith  1970

Dennis M Smith  1970

Dennis Smith Jr.  1969

Lawrence D Snyder  1967

Raymond C Stacks  1968

James D Stokes  1967

Laffey F Strait  1967

George S Straszewski  1968

John C Stringer II  1970

Samuel K Toomey III  1968

Robert E Vandergriff  1969

Harry C Vanderkloot  1967

Harry M Vandiver Jr.  1971

Jimmy L Ward  1967

Sam D Warlick  1967

King D Washington  1968

Wilmer Watson  1967

Teddy Waxman  1967

Libert J Weldon Jr.  1967

Vernon E Whetham  1967

Allen E White  1968

Edward L Williamson  1967

Willaim D Wilson  1967

Richard O Wolfe  1969

Calvin E Young  1968

Stanley J Yurewicz  1967

Joseph B Ziel  1971

listed alphabetically by day of casualty

SGT Ward Gunard Walter

Ward Gunard Walter was born October 13, 1917 in Minot, North Dakota. He joined The Army in 1950. By November of 1967, he had risen to the rank of Sergeant in C Company, 720th MP Battalion, 89th MP Group, 18th MP Brigade. Those around him knew him as "Pop". 

On the 29th of November, 1967, Walter was working as part of an ambush team. The following account of what happened was taken from Together We Served:

The Military Assistance Command Vietnam/Army Of The Republic Of Vietnam (MACV/ARVN) outpost at Phuoc Cang on Highway QL-15 was coming under heavy enemy fire and the combined (A, B, and C company) ambush team was tasked with attempting to take the pressure off by flanking the Viet Cong (VC) positions. They were working their way south from the Finger of Land along Highway QL-15 several hundred yards or so away from the outpost. For some time they had been able to see headlights lights approaching north from the direction of Bear Cat.

      
The ambush team hunkered down alongside the roadway berm preparing to move to their left and engage the VC who had no idea they were there. They waited for the vehicle to pass so its headlights would not expose their position. The vehicle turned out to be a gun jeep from the 9th Infantry Division. The men in the jeep must have spotted movement because they opened fire as they passed by the ambush teams location, then continued down the highway towards Long Binh Post.

      
Three rounds from the jeep machine gun passed through the M-16 magazines that were hung in bandoleers across SGT Walter's chest.

      
SGT Walter age 50, was transported to the 24th Evacuation Hospital but died from the wounds before he arrived. SGT Walter had thirty days in country when he died.

SGT Walter was 50 years old at the time of his death. He had never married. Still, he family that was touched by his loss in a way that many will never know. We will never forget his many years of service and sacrifice. Looking at his ribbon bar, it quickly becomes obvious that he was a special man who served with distinction. Silver Star and Bronze Star with Valor device among the many that set him apart.

We'll never forget you Pop! Thank you for the way you lived your life!

Daily Wall: November 29

There are 58,307 people who's names are currently listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I plan on listing them all, day by day, until I have gone through each and every one of them.

I am not cut/pasting these names, I feel a responsibility to type each of them individually. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know so I can promptly correct them.

I encourage you to read them aloud, or at least read them all, each day.

We will never forget.

Gary Anderson  1970

Lawrence J Babyak  1969

Morris L Bargy  1965

Michael A Baronowski  1966

Harold L Basham  1968

John R Bean  1970

George Beedy  1970

Dwight F Bennett Jr.  1967

Paul B Benoit  1969

Joseph C Blackwell  1970

Heriberto Blanco  1968

Dennis D Bogle  1969

Richard H Boise  1969

Roderick W Breault  1967

Dale C Brewer  1967

Evangelos K Caranasios  1968

Gary L Carlson  1968

Elmon C Caudill  II  1970

John L Chase  1968

Linus G Chock  1966

Robert S Clements  1969

Theodore R Conley Jr.  1968

Victor L Crump  1967

Franklin D Defenbaugh  1970

Vestie T Driggers  1968

Lawrence R Duffy  1967

Robert O Eder  1969

Roy A Epperson  1969

Wilson N Flowers  1967

George A Foster III  1968

Steven F Freeman  1967

James M Garrett  1969

John R Gaston Jr.  1968

Jack R Gibbs  1970

Johnie R Godwin Jr.  1968

Jesus E Gomez Jr.  1968

Raymond H Gray  1970

Samuel A Grayson III  1970

Melvin R Green  1968

Phelbon M Green  1970

Thomas O Green  1965

Ronald R Greenhouse  1970

Virgil D Griffy  1965

Ralph S Guck  1970

Ralph G Hamlin Jr.  1965

Peter M Hansen  1967

Ervin E Harris  1968

Carroll J Hebert  1966

Henry N Heide II  1969

Donald L Hettich  1967

Billy Hogan Jr.  1970

Dennis W Holtorf  1969

Billy E Hughes II  1968

Joseph A Jaques  1970

Robert B Johnson  1970

Charles A Johnson III  1970

Howard L Jones  1966

Louis F JOnes  1967

Jerry E Kekel  1969

William D Kennedy III  1970

William A Ketchum Jr.  1970

Jon M King  1970

Jack D Knepp  1969

Charles L Kollenberg  1970

John M Kovanda  1967

Kenneth B Kozai  1969

John P Kurz  1967

Gerald L Latini  1967

Melvin Lederman  1969

Richard J Leffler  1969

Lee R Linton  1970

Clarence Logwood  1969

Ray F Long  1969

Sammie J Long  1970

David C Louthan  1966

James W Lunsford Jr.  1969

Kenneth A Luse  1969

Calvin B Matthews  1969

John E Mattingly  1969

/Herman a McBride  1967

Alfred F McCants  1968

James I McCarthy Jr.  1969

Michael G McManus  1965

Arthur J Menn  1970

Jesus Q Meno  1968

Homer R Middleton  1967

Donald J Miller  1966

Michael Millner  1967

Jose L Moreno  1967

Theodore  Morgan Jr.  1967

Cecil G Moyer Jr.  1970

Grayson H Newberry  1970

Kenneth H Nore  1967

Michael A O'Keefe Jr.  1969

Douglas H Parris  1970

Henry B Parsons III  1969

Terryl G Partsafas  1968

Charles V Penn  1969

John M Piasecki  1969

 Terry R Pierce  1966

Norbert A Podhajsky  1970

Robert J Polniak  1970

John S Pooler  1968

Gary D Prince  1968

Dennis J Reardon  1969

Kenneth A Roe  1967

Henry L Rogers  1968

John W Roles  1969

John M Roper  1966

Stephen C Ruby  1971

Ted J Rule  1968

James F Saxby  1970

Robert D Schneider  1970

Bobby D Seay  1970

Stephen C Sharp  1966

Willie L Shegog  1967

Larry E Shepherd  1967

Donald A Slate  1970

James R Smith  1969

James A Snook  1967

Richard G Stamper Jr.  1967

James C Starnes  1970

Daniel S Steele  1967

Thomas R Stienbach  1968

George L Stoltzman  1965

James E Stubblefield 1970

Robert J Taranto  1968

Ronnie C Teschendorf  1970

Clyde E Thomas  1969

Clarence J Tiffany  1967

Gary L Trujillo  1967

William M Vitale  1968

Ward G Walter  1967

Douglas L Warner  1968

Harry A Watson  1970

Larry E Watson  1969

Richard A Weaver  1968

John R Williams  1968

Hurston E Worrell  1968

James B Young  1970

Robert E Young  1970

Listed alphabetically by day of casualty

Daily Wall: November 28

There are 58,307 people who's names are currently listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I plan on listing them all, day by day, until I have gone through each and every one of them.

I am not cut/pasting these names, I feel a responsibility to type each of them individually. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know so I can promptly correct them.

I encourage you to read them aloud, or at least read them all, each day.

We will never forget.

Angel L Acevedo-Millan  1969

Robert W Andreasen  1965

Thomas E Askew  1969

Joseph A Aubain  1971

Vincent Bernal  1971

Charles E Bestmann  1968

David R Blackburn  1967

Robert C Boelzner  1966

Thomas L Brattain  1968

Franklin U Breckenridge  1970

Thomas G Caraway  1967

Ronald D Carleton  1971

Jerald W Carter  1971

Larry F Castle  1966

Billy R Coffey  1971

Howard L Colbaugh  1971

Michael A Crawford  1971

Charles F Creamer III  1970

Will R Dantzler  1971

Carl E Dean Jr.  1969

Richard C Devins  1968

William R DeVore  1966

Robert W Donahue Jr.  1969

Donald J Drake  1968

Charles M Earnest  1972

Michael L Ferguson  1969

Roy E Fickling  1969

Gary E Field  1970

Richard E Garretson  1971

Bill E Gault  1967

Michael T Gibson  1969

Merced H Gonzales  1966

Dennis A Greeley  1969

Albert Hall  1970

William G Hall  1967

  John H Hare  1971

Jack R Harvey  1972

John H Hoeffs  1966

Daniel T Hunt  1969

Marshall P Ivey  1969

Joel S Ivey Jr.  1971

David C Jauregui  1970

Kenneth Johnson  1968

Bobby M Jones  1967

Gary B Jones  1967

Donald W Kemble IV  1967

Kenneth R Kiener  1969

Robert J Koly  1970

Robert B Kostich Jr.  1969

Terry G Kugler  1971

Jimmy J LaCosse  1968

Robert J Ladensack  1971

Paul A Leonard  1967

Edward J Lopez  1971

Archie T Lucy  1971

Donail Martin  1966

George P Martin  1971

Johnny S Martinez  1968

Delvin C Martinson  1969

Alphonza  Mason  1971

Michael O Maybee  1971

Don A Mayhue  1967

Robert D Maynard  1971

Steven J McDonald  1971

James B Meek  1967

Dennis L Merrill  1967

Darrell H Morey  1967

John Moulden  1968

Edward R Naylor Jr.  1967

Martin K Niskanen  1971

Daniel E Nye  1971

Willie J Oaks  1971

James E Palmer  1971

James K Parks  1968

Oscar Paulley Jr.  1971

William T Poston  1967

Paul P Potter  1968

James B Powell Jr.  1970

Eugene Prince Jr.  1970

Brinsley B Ramos  1971

Lonnie M Reeves  1968

John H Roach  1968

Carroll L Rodges  1966

Thomas F Sandoval  1967

Joseph J Savick Jr.  1971

Dennis R Schmidt  1967

Nathaniel Scott  1969

David L Siverly  1966

Arthur Sloan Jr.  1967

Bennie A Smith  1967

Ronald E Smith  1970

Russell L Smith  1968

Ronald L Spence  1969

 Roy K Stewart  1971

Ferdinand Stroye  1968

Walter Stuckey  1968

Ronald K Sweetland  1971

Minoru Tanaka  1967

Sam Tenorio  1967

William D Thompson  1971

Carl L Thornton  1971

Andrew Toporcer Jr.  1968

Gerald O Toy  1966

Raymond A Trujillo  1971

Michael D Turner  1968
Craig N Ward  1970

Sammie L Watson Jr. 1968

Dwayne J Whorton  1968

James R Willeford  1966

Earnest Williams  1970

Hillard E Williams  1967

Laurence E Williams  1968

Wilbert Williams Jr.  1966

Gary D Wilson  1971

John E Windfelder  1971

Robert L Wynn  1971

Johnny L Young  1968

Edward F Zackowski  1967

Listed alphabetically by day of casualty

Colonel Edward Barry Vogel

Edward Barry Vogel was born November 13, 1929 at Interlaken, New Jersey. At the time of his death, this day, November 27, 1968, he had risen through the Army to the rank of Colonel after serving for 18 years, and was married with six children.

According to one who served under Col Vogel, he was very respected by those who served under him. He also respected, not only his men, but also valued their input in matters most in his position would have either trusted their own judgement or sought input from those who, like him, held higher rank. This was referred to as the "ground truth".

He was said to rarely speak, outside of necessity, to those higher than First Lieutenant for more than a few seconds. Prior to operations, he would seek out the men in the trenches to find out what they needed or what they thought of impending actions. This gave him a real sense of what was going on in real time, not dependent upon sometimes weeks old intelligence reports. It is not that he would ignore such reports or the input of other officers, but unlike many, he did not discount what he heard from them men in and closest to the actual fighting.

As he sought out the experiences from those in the heat of battle, he would place himself right in the middle of things. It was during one such event that he lost his life along with four others on board a HU-1C Iroquois, a "huey". The others were from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery (HHB), 4th Battalion, 77th Aerial Rocket Artillery Unit, 101st Airborne Division. They were on an ARA(Airial Rocket Artillery) mission near Fire Base Tomahawk in the Thua Thien Province, home of Hue, made infamous during the Tet offensive of 1968. Operating in a very hostile area, the chopper came under very heavy small arms fire, likely killing or mortally wounding all on board before the chopper crashed. Vogel had been visiting the unit and decided to tag along to get the perspective of the huey guys.

A Lt Col at the time, already approved for promotion, he achieved the rank of Colonel posthumously.
Comments from at no less than five who served under him all paint the same picture of this man who placed the ultimate trust in his men and respected them with the very fiber of his being. He was loved, trusted, respected, and deserved every ounce of honor bestowed upon him. He was not only a great leader, he saw himself and others shared the view, that he was every bit as much of an integral part of a greater unit than he was an individual who could affect change on his own. 

All these years later, those he served with leave comments on the many places they gather to remember one another. He is dearly missed by his men. I can only imagine that his family misses him and has felt a great loss for all of these years. 

You will surely not be forgotten Colonel Vogel. Your spirit lives on in the men and the units.

Sadly, that day we also lost four other men aboard that huey. Colonel Vogel would certainly not be pleased if I had left any of them out. The crew members included aircraft commander WO1 John W. Brinkmeyer, pilot LTC Roger J. Bartholomew, gunner SP4 Ernest L. Barber, and crew chief SP5 Loren D. Martinsen. 

 COL Vogel

Daily Wall: November 27

There are 58,307 people who's names are currently listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I plan on listing them all, day by day, until I have gone through each and every one of them.

I am not cut/pasting these names, I feel a responsibility to type each of them individually. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know so I can promptly correct them.

I encourage you to read them aloud, or at least read them all, each day.

We will never forget.

James C Adams  1968

Nicholas R Alexander  1968

Dennis F amato  1965

Jeffrey D Annable  1967

William c Arias Jr.  1970

Marvin S Arthington  1970

Henry F Asuncion  1968

Robert L Baker  1970

Ernest L Barber  1968

Alfonso P Bartalotti  1967

Roger J Bartholomew  1968

John R Berrios  1967

Rodger A Blatnick  1968

Allen J Bodin  1970

David F Bowman  1967

James G Brady  1968

William O Brantley Jr.  1969

John W Brinkmeyer  1968

John C Brown  1968

Larry A Brown  1969

David A Bryant  1968

Richard W Casey  1968

Jerome D Chandler  1968

Rudolfo Chavez  1967

David D Creel  1968

William H Crisman  1965

Ronald C Cunningham  1968

Jerry M Dauber  1968

Gordon E DeGarmo  1968

Charles R DeWindt  1969

Allen E Duneman  1968

Oliver E Durham  1968

Alvin Echols  1966

Dennis J Fett  1968

Daniel P Flores  1968

Larry L Fowler  1969

Fredrick H Frazer  1968

Joe H Furch  1967

William Gibbs Jr.  1968

Paul T Gillaspie  1970

Ronald Gilmore  1967 

Thomas W Goszewski  1970

John M Grasso Jr.  1965

Carl A Gray  1965

Robert L Gray  1967

Jimmie R Green  1968

Wilson F Halley  1968

Richard L Hammett  1968

Ramon A Hernandez  1970

Edward C Hughes III  1967

William R Hunt  1967

Billy C Hunter  1968

Linwood E Hyman  1969

Eric D Jenkins  1968

Anthony E Johnson  1968

Joe A Johnson  1968

Johnny C Jones  1969

Jorge L Jourdan-Font  1970

Lester J Kersten  1965

James I King  1967

Wylie C King  1969

David A Lape  1967

Leslie H LaRocque  1968

Samuel Leglue  1967

Booker T Lofton Jr,  1968

Malcolm M Lomax  1968

Vincent L Mager  1968

Myron W Magnon  1968

Loren D Martinsen  1968

Joel A Matusek  1967

Edward E McBride  1968

Guy H McCarey Jr.  1965

Raymond McCumber  1968

William W McGrew III  1967

James W McNeely  1965

Jackie M Medlin  1968

Donald S Mihordin  1968

Merle B Morrow  1967

Frederick R Neff  1970

William B O'Kieff  1970

Greig R Parkhurst  1967

Michael C Parr  1968

Salvatore J Piscitello  1968

Frederick M Rader III  1970

Jose Ramos Jr.  1967

WilliIam D Ray  1968

August K Ritzau  1968

Wayne J Rogers  1968

Henry W Rust Jr.  1966

John R Ryan Jr.  1968

James Samuels  1967

Hector L Sanchez  1967

Macario Sanchez Jr.  1970

Billie E Sandefur  1967

Dwight C Sarjeant  1968

Charles F Scott  1973

Robert J Silva  1969

William J Simpson  1968

William S Slocum  1967

David W Smith  1968

John M Smith  1969

Kenneth J Smolarek  1969

John J Stewart  1966

Gene P Stuifbergen  1968

Theodore A Sweatt  1968

Daniel C Tedrow  1968

Samuel S Theriault  1967

William R Thiem  1968

Walter H Trisko  1972

John B Ulfers  1968

Tony Vale  1965

Phillip J VanderWeg  1965

Carlos Vega-Lopez  1968

Edward B Vogel  1968

Randall W Wagner  1968

Johnnie M Wahl  1969

Ulysse Wallace  1969

Blaine H Walsh  1969

Lonnie Williams  1968

David Wisniewski  1966

Joel D Wolfe  1968

Joe I Wood  1968

David W Wooden  1967

Rodney B Yardley  1968

Listed alphabetically by date of casualty

Daily Wall: November 26

There are 58,307 people who's names are currently listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I plan on listing them all, day by day, until I have gone through each and every one of them.

I am not cut/pasting these names, I feel a responsibility to type each of them individually. If you see any mistakes or omissions, please let me know so I can promptly correct them.

I encourage you to read them aloud, or at least read them all, each day.

We will never forget.

Kenney M Adams Jr.  1968

Woodrow D Adler  1967

Raymond J Ahern Jr.  1968

Roger D Algire 1968

John B Allen  1967

Jon A Allen  1969

John S Alling Jr.  1968

Frank L Allred Jr.  1967

Timothy E Badostain  1969

Lawrence A Barcklow  1968

Donald A Basalla  1967

Troy Bealin  1966

Stephen C Beals 1968

William D Beeson  1968

Hardy L Bell  1966

Dale P Berthoux  1967

Robert D Beutel  1971  

Jonathon Blue Jr.  1967

Donald R Bonko  1965

James T Bowens  1966

Herbert O Brennan  1967

Michael P Brown  1967

Gary W Buchanan  1969

James J Buonaiuto  1968

Edward D Burkett  1970

Earl K Burns  Jr.  1966

Lloyd A Chess  1968

Douglas C Condit  1967

Steven M Connell  1968

Jerry W Corkern  1966

Thomas L Daugherty  1969

Porter T Davis  1965

Edwrad T Davis Jr.  1969

Wesley D Day  1967

Hank J DeHommel  1967

Michael D Deeson  1967

Darwin J Delano  1968

Gerald S Demundo  1967

Charles Dennis  1968

Dieter W Dietz  1966

Harold A Doman  1967

James A Doran  1968

Paul M Dumin  1967

William M Ebel  1968

Charles L Faulkner  1966

Monico Flores Jr.  1968

Danny L Frye  1967

Marvin J Gaines  1968

Samuel L Gantt 1970

Clive Garcia Jr.  1969

Stanley R Gleisinger  1966

Harold L Graves  1966

Jerry L Greene  1969

Johnny G Gregg  1968

Joseph W Harrison  1966

Gregg Hartness  1968

Lyle D Hayes  1970

Richard E Hayes  1967

Gerald R Hendrickson  1967

Manuel Hernandez  1967

James W Hickey  1967

Edwrd C Higgens III  1967

Carroll G Hogeman  1966

Albert H Horton  1967

Harold D Housker  1968

Richard P Houston  1967

Ralph Howell  1970

John R Humphrey  1966

Garry L Ihrig  1967

Robert E Jones  1968

Edward L Kerr  1966

David E Killian  1970

Lawrence G Koch  1968

William A Kuhnke  1969

Ronald L LaTelle  1966

Cecil D Lamm  1967

Michael G Landkamer  1968

Marchella R Lanzone  1966

Duane A Likkel  1968

Charles P Lirot  1967

Dennis L Long  1965

Ronald R Lowry  1968

William A Lynch Jr.  1966

Baltazar A Maldanado  1966

Jimmy C Mathis  1967

Norman W McRobie  1966

James L Melvin  1967

John A Mercurio  1967

William F Merrill  1969

Donald H Mikulecky  1967

Ronald D Miles  1966

Charles D Miller  1968

Ronald J Moe  1968

Miguel F Montanez  1968

Leroy Nesmith  1969

James H Newcomer  1971

James E Oxley  1966

Evangelis Pagan-Rodriguez  1966

Michael J Passafume  1968

Bobby J Perkins  1968

Pietro Piconi  1968

Douglas J Pierce  1971

Charles R Pitts  1967

James R Plate  1969

Jerry Potts  1966

William H Prothero  1967

Adrian F Purnell  1966

Curtis H Rainer  1968

Arthur J Rambo  1969

Diego Ramirez Jr.  1967

Terry L Rexroat  1969

Philip E Richard  1970

Arthur W Riegel Jr.  1967

Alden L Riley  1966

David G Ritz  1969

Hollie B Russell  1966

Barry F Scott  1969

Rayford N Sewell  1967

George A Shavies  1968

Lonnie L Silver  1967

Lawrence C Smith  1971

Marshall R Smith  1968

Patrick E Smith Jr.  1968

Karl D Sobolik  1966

James H Spann  1971

David J Stansbury  1968

James E Steadman  1971

Alan R Steffen  1966

Charles B Stigall  1967

Walter Suhar  1966

David L Tasker  1967

Robert D Taylor  1967

Michael J Thirkettle  1967

Oscar L Thomas  1967

Joe H Trickey Jr.  1966

William F VanCleave  1969

Jesse L Waltman  1966

James E Webb  1966

Richard E Welch  1966

Paul R West  1966

Bobby L Williams  1966

Dennis P Wright  1966

Listed alphabetically by day of casualty

Thanksgiving Thought

Thank you to all who sacrifice(d) the holidays in service to our country and in honor and support of the freedoms we enjoy. Thank you, as well,  to the often overlooked families of those who serve.  They are asked to  sacrifice a part of their lives during the deployment of their loved ones. I pray that those empty chairs are filled with the love and gratitude that we have for all of our serving men and women. Also for those who never came home. Let us be ever mindful and always grateful.

The Men of the B-26 Marauder

On November 25. 1940, 75 years ago today, the Glenn L. Martin Company out of Santa Ana, California put an airplane in the sky. It was a Martin B-26 Marauder. During the course of World War Two, they produced 5,288 Marauders. Today, only seven remain. Out of those, only one is flight worthy.

While Martin was producing the planes, a nation was producing the pilots and crews that would use them to help bring down the Axis powers that were trying to remove freedom from the face of the Earth. When the United States Army Air Force called, men answered. The men took the machines and became some of the most successful units of the war. The Marauder went on to record the lowest attrition rate per sortie of any aircraft used by the USAAF in Europe, the primary theater of operation. From the first mission flown by the 22nd Bomb Group on April 5, 1942 to attack a Japanese base at Rabaul, New Britian, to the last bombing  mission flown by the 17th Bomb Group, 1st tactical Air Force when they attacked gun positions on the Isle d'Orelon, France, the men of the Marauders served with distinction and honor, participating in 129,943 missions, dropping 169,382 tons of bombs. The Marauder achieved these records with the loss rate of less than one percent.

There is an outstanding website, originally created in 1998 by the nephew of a Marauder Pilot, Robert Brockett, who flew with the 387th BG, 558th BS on 65 missions. It has since turned into a wonderful place where many crew and their descendants have shared an extraordinary amount of photos and history. I highly suggest you check out b26.com/. I warn you though, if you enjoy wartime photos, set aside some time, because you will be there for a while.

Thank you to all of the men and women who were pilots, gunners, engineers, and crew on this storied aircraft that played such an important role during World War Two. To those who were lost, we are forever grateful for your sacrifices. We will never forget the price you paid for the freedoms we enjoy to this day. To those who made it home, your service is no less appreciated. You fought over the skies of the Pacific and Europe not only for one another, but for your very lives. Back home, the WASPs played an often overlooked or forgotten role. Their contribution was integral in the war effort. All who played a part will forever stand in the history of this great nation on a well deserved but never asked for pinnacle. 

 "Fightin' Cock" of the 450th BS 322nd BG 9th AF

"A Kay Pro's Dream"

"Dee Feater"

596th BS, 397th BG, 98th BW, 9th BC, 9th AF

With D-Day Markings

Pilot, Robert Brockett