TO MY FALLEN BROTHERS:
LCPL CARROLL FANKHAUSER, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 8/24/65
PFC ROBERT FERNANDEZ, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 6/20/65
CPL BRIAN GAUTHIER, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/11/65
LCPL REYNALDO GUZMAN, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. 1/25/66
1STLT WALTER LEVY, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. 9/18/65
PFC CURTIS LOCKHART, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/30/65
PFC PATRICK MANNING, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/30/65
LTCOL JOSEPH MUIR, 3d Battalion, 3d Marines. 9/11/65
PFC STEVEN PAGE, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. 1/25/66
2DLT JAMES PARMALEE, 2d Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/14/65
1STLT FRANK REASONER,3d Reconnaissance Battalion. 7/12/65
LCPL KENNETH SEISSER, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/11/65
1STLT ADAM SIMPSON, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. 10/3/65
PFC LONNIE SNOW, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 7/30/65
SGT HUGH SULLIVAN, 1st Battalion, 3d Marines. 6/5/65
1STLT BRUCE WARNER, 3d Tank Battalion. 2/3/66
SGT WILLIAM WEST, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. 3/28/66.
I re-read ,A Rumor of War, then found this page. My best friend , Dan Gunn ,HM3 served in Charlie 1/1 , i (also HM3) was in Bravo 1/1–1966. He was killed July , I got an infection in April and ended up at Alpha Med, Phu Bai for 7 months. Thank you for the book(s) very good stuff. Although not a Marine, I consider myself in a small part one with them . Semper Fi
I was a U.S. Army Infantry Platoon Leader with the 4ID in the Central Highlands in 1969. Fifty-one long years ago. I just reread A Rumor of War for the 3rd time since it was published. I came out of retirement and volunteered to return to active duty the day after 9/11. It took the Army six years to bring me back on active duty. I was 59 years old when I got to Iraq as a Military Intelligence Officer in 2007. A year later I served in Afghanistan as a DoD contractor. Total of 55 months there. I have served as a volunteer in three wars that did not need to be fought. All three were lost. I truly thought when when I volunteered to return to active duty that if I did my job very well I might save the life of an American soldier. I sure hope that I did. Strangely the defining moment of my life was Nam. I miss the members of my platoon, B Co, 1/12IN so very much. They are the bravest and most honorable men I have ever known.
These historical images of the Vietnam memorial brought back tearful memories friends who served, and who’s names are also inscribed in its stone.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/gabrielsanchez/emotional-pictures-show-vietnam-memorial?ref=bfnsplash
My heart aches with yours today, Phil.
You know it has been over 50 years since I served in Vietnam. I can’t believe I was every there.
My brother Cpl Paul William Upthegrove served in your outfit in 1965, but survived until the Agent Orange killed him in 2011.
Very sorry to hear that. I was diagnosed with Agent Orange exposure several years ago. It played a role in the bladder cancer I developed in 2014. Luckily, I’m cancer free now. Back in ’65-66, we didn’t even know that Agent Orange was being used in Vietnam.
I grieve for your loss and welcome you home.
May God bless you all.
God bless them, and you too, Mr. Caputo.