faces from the wall...July 1969

FACES FROM THE WALL

VIETNAM WAR

JULY 1969

Charles Odean HAMILTON

Birth	06MAY48	Rank	SGT	Date of Death	01JUL69
P. of birth	Everett	Service	Army (Draft)	Place	Tay Ninh, S. Vietnam
Town of Record	Lake Stevens	Unit	1st Cav Div, C Co, 2nd Bn, 7th Cav	Death Code	Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Gun, Small Arms Fire
Hometown		service #	534449020	Panel	21WEST - 41
married	Single	MIA -		Medals
Tour Date	24FEB69	Comment		Cemetery

Sgt. Charles Odean Hamilton,... of Lake Stevens died 1 Jul (1969) from injuries received in Vietnam. Sgt. Hamilton was born 6 May 1948 in Everett and had lived here all his life. He attended grade schools in Everett and Lake Stevens and was graduated from Lake Stevens High School with the class of 1966. He attended Everett Community College for 1 1/2 years. He was a basketball letterman in high school. He was an assistant coach for the Everett Girls softball Team. He had worked for the Everett Gardens at Lake Stevens for five years and was a member of the Building Laborers Union, Local 292 of Everett. Sgt. Hamilton entered the U.S. Army 15 months ago and during basic training was awarded a Tops in Physical Training plaque. Following basic training he attended NCO School at Fort Benning GA. At the time of his death he was attached to the 1st Air Cavalry, 7th Divison U. S. Army. He had been stationed in Vietnam for four months. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John O. Hamilton of Lake Stevens; two brothers, Gary S. Hamilton of Lake Stevens and Vernon A. Hamilton in the U.S. Navy stationed on the USS Ingersoll (DD652); two sisters Mrs. Sharon A. Walker of 924 Walnut St. and Miss Karen M. Hamilton of Lake Stevens; a nephew, Stanley Charles Walker of 924 Walnut St.; his grandmother, Mrs. John Hamilton of 2501 1/2 Walnut St., and several aunts and uncles. (rest of article missing) Everett Herald 1969)

Lance Wilfred ST LAURENT

Birth 19NOV49 Rank SP5 Date of Death 04JUL69
P. of birth Service Army Place Phuoc Long, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Seattle Unit 1st Cav Div Trp B 1st Sqd 9th Cav Death Code Hostile, Died; Helicopter - Crew; Air Loss, Crash - Land
Hometown service # 539525250 Panel 21WEST - 63
married Single MIA - Medals Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal and Purple Heart
Tour Date 20JAN68 Comment Cemetery

Seattleites Get Sons' Medals Fort Lewis - Parents of two Seattle soldiers received posthumous awards for their sons here today. Mrs. Nuriel Voss received the Bronze Star, Air Medal and Purple Heart for her son Sgt Raymond Voss . He was killed in June when his aircraft was shot down by enemy artillery fire. The Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal and Purple Heart were present to Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred St. Laurent for their son, Specialist 5 Lance St. Laurent. He was a door gunner aboard a helicopter shot down in May. (Times, Seattle WA, Wednesday, 5 Nov 1969)

John August WELSFORD Jr.

Birth 23JUL49 Rank PFC Date of Death 05JUL69
P. of birth Service Marines Place Quang Nam, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Spokane Unit M Co, 3d Bn, 26th 1st Mar Div Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Misadventure
Hometown service # 536486539 Panel 21WEST - 67
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date A6JAN69 Comment Cemetery

Darrell Lee TUCKER

Birth 29APR47 Rank RD2 Date of Death 06JUL69
P. of birth Service Navy Place Gia Dinh, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Connell Unit RIV DIV 593 Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Hometown service # 536427491 Panel 21WEST - 72
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 26APR69 Comment River Section-544/ River Div-593 Cemetery

Daniel Leonard WAGENAAR

Birth 19DEC48 Rank PFC Date of Death 12JUL69
P. of birth Pasco Service Army Place Tay Ninh, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Richland Unit 1st Inf Div, A Co, 2nd Bn, 2nd Inf Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Gun, Small Arms Fire
Hometown service # 534488261 Panel 21WEST - 110
married Single MIA - Medals Silver Star & Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster for valor.
Tour Date 03MAY69 Comment Cemetery
Sunset Cemetery, Richland WA

A remembrance for our son

Center to Be Named for Richland Hero
by Bob Woehler
Four generals will dedicate a new Army Reserve Center in Pasco March 29 to a Richland soldier cited for heroism for saving wounded conrades before he was killed in Vietnam;
The New $500,000 center will be named after Daniel L. Wagenaar, 20-year-old Richland Private First Class who was killed in combat 12 Jul 1969.
Special guests at the dedication will be Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert L. Wagenaar of 50 Proton Lane, Richland, parents of the much-decorated machine-gunner who was killed in a battle near the Cambodian border.
For his heroism Wagenaar was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the Army's third highest award for valor. He also received the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal for heroism with oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart, the Republic of Vietnam Miliary Merit Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm.
Wagenaar's company was pinned down by a crossfire. He managed to escape unharmed. A few minutes later he noticed several fellow soldiers lying wounded in the area under fire.
"Pfc. Wagenaar with complete disregard for his own safety went back to administer aid to the wounded and provide cover fire for their escape. He was killed while providing the cover fire." the Silver Star citation reads.
Taking part in the dedication at 1011 East Ainsworth St. at 4:20 p.m. will be Lt. Gen. E. B. Roberts. Commander of the Sixth Army, and Maj. Gen J. Milnor Roberts, chief of the Army Reserve. Also attending will be Maj. Gen. A. E. Milloy, commander of the Army Readiness Region IX, and Maj. Gen. Orville K. Fletcher, commander of the 104th Div. of Washington state.
Wagenaar, who was an Eagle Scout, and had studied to be a forester before joining the Army, was described by his former scoutmaster, Ernie Wegener, "as a youngster who had the ability to succeed at almost anything he attempted."
He was the only son of the Wagenaars who have two daughters. He was born in Pasco 19 Sep 1948, and lived in Richland until he went to the University of Montana in Missoula in 1967.
He was a Tri-City Herald paperboy for five years and a member of Explorer Scout Post 237 in Richland sponsored by the Westside United Protestant Church.
He had been in the Army for 9 months when he was killed.
Wagenaar was chosen from a list of 20 former servicemen killed in Vietnam. The list was narrowed to five who had received the Silver Star, said Robert Gregson, Pasco, chairman of the selection committee. Others on the committee were Leon Chapman, Kennewick, Billy Kerslake, Pasco, Walter Kirpatrick, Richland, and John Walker, Kennewick.
The selection was based on the nature of balorous acts and other awards and accomplishments," Gregson said.
The new facility will be open to the public from noon to 6 p.m. The center is the headquarters for the Second Brigade, 104th Division for the Army Reserve commanded by Col. Ray Reynolds of Pasco.
Reynolds said 165 reservists drill at the facility and it serves as headquarters for about 400 more drilling in Spokane, Yakima and Walla Walla.

When I was still young
I became a Boy Scout,
to try and discover
what life was about.

I then met a boy
who stood like a man
and soon found my idol,
a hero named Dan.

He let me come with him
and join his new gang,
we worked and we played,
we laughed and we sang.

We all helped each other,
no one was left out,
the way Danny taught us,
the way of a Scout.

The Husky Patrol --
the name of our group,
was dubbed "Wagenaar's Raiders"
the pride of the troop.

Oh, we were proud
and happy and great.
We shared and we gave,
no greed and no hate.

We loved our ol' Dan,
and I think that he knew,
So that was the reason
our brotherhood grew.

We were obedient,
loyal, and kind.
Where Dan led the way
we followed behind.

Now we have news
and we hear people say
that our leader has fallen
in lands far away.

Now when I think
of the ways of ol' Dan,
I gaze at the stars
and think of God's plan.

We wanted all people
to live like our band.
When men love each other,
together they'll stand.

So, Dan is not lost,
he still leads the way,
Where all "Wagenaar's Raiders"
will follow . . . someday . . .

One of Wagenaar's Raiders read at the funeral services for Dan Wagenaar

A short interview I had the honor of meeting Mr. and Mrs. Wagenaar at the Moving Wall Event in Richland WA on 10 Jun 2005. A gentle couple who still smiled about childhood achievements of their son. Daniel Wagenaar was an eagle scout and as a junior or senior in high school became a leader for Husky Patrol, boy scouts who otherwise would have had no leader.
We could have gone to Washington DC, Fort Lewis, or recieve his medals at home. We chose to receive them at home and invited his Boy Scouts Troop, they said. It was fitting. The Boys he affected were there at his funeral and at the Wall here today.
Daniel wanted to be a writer and his Mother had saved his letters. After his death she and her husband put them together in a hardcover book which they mostly gave away. They had to make another printing, softbound, to accommodate requests for the book. I hope to see that book placed online some time...
I said it was an honor to meet the parents and it truly was and I hope their grandchildren and greatgrandchildren continue to hear more stories about their Uncle.

LETTERS FROM NAM
by Pfc. Dan Wagenaar
March 26, 1969: "It's funny but usually when writing home I think about a dozen things I never put on paper: dumb, everyday things that are part of home and usually associated with the summer season . . . I like to remember, and I say : Someday I'll go home again. But don't count the days, the weeks, or the months -- that makes time go slow. Keep your mind on the present as much as possible, I tell myself. And when I think of home, think of what it's like this exact moment, I know it will be the same when I finally get home, Someday . . . "
"Someday" never came for Pfc. Dan Wagenaar, because some four months later he was killed in Vietnam while in the service of the United States Army. But for those four months prior to his fatal confrontation at a deceptively lush area called Black Virgin Mountain, he found time to write letters to his family and to keep a diary. Dan's mother was able to collect his writings and put them into chronological order. The result is LETTERS FROM NAM, and if ever a book detailed the day to day life of a private in the army, this is it. Alternately sad and funny, but ultimately tragic, Pfc. Wagenaar's journal is an immensely moving document, filled with his youthful dreams and innocense, but just as often filled with striking examples of a courage far beyond his years.
Out of these writings emerges the portrait of a very admirable and sensitive young man, a young man who acknowledges the creulty of war but never once questions his country's right to be there, or his oblication to his country. He writes: "My views towards the war are as red, white and blue as ever . . . Whether the price to be paid for Vietnamese freedon (?) is worth it or not, I don't know. I can merely hope that it is." Whatever history's verdict will prove to be on this subject, Pfc. Dan Wagenaar fought and died for a cause. No man can do more and his LETTERS FROM NAM will stand as a lasting memorial to that bravery. (directly taken from the cover ends of his book. LETTERS FROM NAM

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Wagenaar lived and went to school in Washington, and later attended University of Montana. The following summer he worked for the U.S. Forest Service and in September, 1968 he enlisted in the army. After completing his basic training and advanced infantry training, he left for Vietnam. The period of service in Vietnam is covered in LETTERS FROM NAM, from his letters and diary which came into the possession of his parents. These letters and excerpts were written while he was stationed with the 1st Infantry Division near the Cambodian border. While serving on a clearing operation, Mr. Wagenaar was killed. In addition to the Silver Star, he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Vietnamese Military Medal and Gallantry Cross with Palm.

John Edward "Eddie" BLINER

Birth 04FEB45 Rank PFC Date of Death 15JUL69
P. of birth Puyallup Service Army (Draft) Place Quang Tri, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Santa Clara CA Unit 5th Inf Div, C Co, 1st Bn, 11th Infantry Death Code Hostile, Died of wounds; Ground Casualty; Other Explosive Device
Hometown Shelton service # 536400307 Panel 21WEST - 123
married single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 16NOV68 Comment Native American Cemetery

War Victim Valley-Born Pfc. John Edward Bliner, 24, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Pulsifer, of Aloha, Grays Harbor County, who died Tuesday of wounds received in action in Vietnam, was born in Puyallup and graduated from Shelton High School. He lived in Santa Clara CA for four years prior to entering the Army. Besides his parents, survivors, include two brothers, Horace A., of Seattle, and Stephen C., of Santa Clara; and two sisters, Mrs. Frankie Mork, of Santa Clara, and Mrs. Viola A. Rouse Jr., of Puyallup. Services will be announced by Batstone Funeral Home, Shelton. (Tacoma News Tribune, Tacoma WA, 21 Jul 1969)

John Spaulding KRAABEL

Queen Anne High School
Seattle WA
1968

Birth 27DEC49 Rank LCPL Date of Death 18JUL69
P. of birth Service Marines Place Quang Nam, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Seattle Unit Co I, 3 Bn, 1 Mars, 1 Mar Div Death Code gun
Hometown service # 532506372 Panel 20WEST - 15
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 06JUN69 Comment Cemetery

Michael Allen HAWK

Birth 24AUG49 Rank CPL Date of Death 19JUL69
P. of birth Service Army Place Thua Thien, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Black Diamond Unit Battery Recorder of Battery B, 2/11th FA, 101st Abne Div Death Code Non-Hostile, Ground Casualty - Other accident
Hometown service # 536524013 Panel 20WEST - 20
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 20JAN69 Comment Cemetery

Remembrance I attended basic training with Mike and I know that all he wanted to do was to go to jump school, go Airborne, and go to Nam. He was a good guy, a good soldier. It's hard to get to know anyone in 9 weeks but we had a menigitis scare in training - a hundred guys died before we arrived. So we had an extra patch above our name tag that had our unit designation. We were marched out of the area and weren't allowed to go anywhere without an escort. We got extra blanket, each window was open ten pole length. We had plenty of time to get to know each other. I looked up his name first when I visited the wall.
Tom Cole, Tulalip Wall, August 2005

Robert Ray SANFORD

Birth 08AUG49 Rank PFC Date of Death 20JUL69
P. of birth Service Army Place Quang Tin, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Kent Unit 101st Abn Div, D Co, 1st Bn, 501st Inf Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Gun, Small Arms Fire
Hometown service # 534524895 Panel 20WEST - 26
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 09JUN69 Comment Cemetery

Archie Hugh Mc DANIEL Jr.

Birth 09JUN50 Rank CPL Date of Death 24JUL69
P. of birth Service Army (Draft) Place Binh Duong, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Kirkland Unit 1st Cav Div, H Co, 75th Inf Ranger Death Code Non-Hostile Died; Ground Casualty; Accidental Self-Destruction
Hometown service # 534524730 Panel 20WEST - 41
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 23APR69 Comment Cemetery

Daunt Brunell SANDERS
Birth 08JUL43 Rank 1LT Date of Death 27JUL69
P. of birth Service Marines (Reserve) Place Quang Nam, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Seattle Unit HMM-364, MAG-16, 1ST MAW Death Code Hostile Died; Helicopter - Crew; Air Loss, Crash - Land
Hometown service # 532424159 Panel 20WEST - 60
married Married Link Popasmoke
and Helicopter Medals
Tour Date 24JUN69 Comment Cemetery
Seattle University, Seattle WA, 1966

Marines who died in Medevac helicopter crash
CREW 1stLt Robert William Armenio, Pilot; GySgt Raymond Gibel, Gunner; LCpl Michael F Gramlick, Gunner; HM1 Charles Lehman Hackworth, Corpsman-Crew; Cpl John Henry Harris Jr., Gunner; Cpl John Thomas McDaniel, Crew Chief; 1stLt Daunt Brunell Sanders, Co-Pilot
&nbps; PASSENGERS LCpl Leon Ross Barickman, Passenger L/3/5 3rdMarDiv; PFC Ronald James Scharf, Passenger BattF/2/11 1stMarDiv
This was a Medevac operation. More information available at Pop A Smoke.com

Brian Gregory PARROTT

Birth 04NOV49 Rank PFC Date of Death 28JUL69
P. of birth Service Army Place Binh Duong, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Seattle Unit 1st Inf Div, A Co, 2nd Bn, 28th Inf Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Gun, Small Arms Fire
Hometown service # 538506440 Panel 20WEST - 66
married Single MIA - Medals
Tour Date 02JUL69 Comment Cemetery
Ingraham High School, Seattle WA, Sophomore: yearbook 1966

John Francis MURPHY

Birth 14DEC28 Rank SFC Date of Death 29JUL69
P. of birth Service Army Place Hua Nghia, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record Wenatchee Unit Special Forces, A-326 Death Code Hostile, Died; Ground Casualty; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds
Hometown service # 329242711 Panel 22WEST - 73
married Single Link Virtual Wall Medals
Tour Date 27SEP68 Comment Cemetery

John F. Murphy, Army Sergeant, Dies in War
Sergeant First Class John F. Murphy, 40, U.S. Army, son of Mrs. Esther Murphy, 1309 McKittrick St., Wenatchee, was killed in action in Vietnam on 29 Jul (1969). He was on a combat operation when a hostile force was encountered. Sgt. Murphy was born in Peoria IL, 14 Dec 1928. He lived in the Midwest until coming to Wenatchee in 1947. In 1948 he enlisted in the Army and made that service his career. A member of the Green Berets, he was due to return home in September after his second tour of duty in Vietnam. Earlier he served in the uprising in Santo Domingo. He was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Surviving are: his mother, three brothers, William A. Murphy in the U. S. Air Force in Italy, Eugene Murphy, Chicago IL and Joseph Murphy, Society of Jesus, Oakland Ca. two sisters, Mrs. Rita Isringhaus, Wenatchee, and Mrs. Rose-Marie Keys, Oakland. He was preceded in death by a brother, James Murphy and by his father, William Murphy.... (Wenatchee Daily World, Wenatchee 13 Aug 1969)

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