Oregon Marine Killed in Action Eugene - Marine Cpl. Michael Ray Webb, Springfield, was killed by enemy gunfire Friday in Viet Nam, his parents were notified Saturday. Webb, 19, was killed by a sniper while on patrol in the Da Nang area. He graduated from Springfield High School in June and joined the Marines immediately. He was shipped to Okinawa in March and to Viet Nam in May. Webb was the third victim of the Viet Nam action from Lane County. He is survived by his parents, a brother and a sister at home. (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 9 Jan 1966)

Michael R. Webb's Letter Home
    On 4 Jan (1966), Marine Lance Corporal Michael R. Webb, fighting in Vietnam, wrote a letter he hoped to send to his Hometown newspaper, the Springfield News. In it, he expressed his feelings on the war and the men fighting in it.
    He was concerned, he wrote, "about the controversy in the U.S." regarding the war and statements that had been made in the U.S. calling American fighting men " mad dogs" and " murderers of women and children." The statements were not true, he wrote, because he had seen young fighting men give their last cans of C-rations to starving Vietnamese women and children and had seen these same men use up the last of their iodine and bandages to cover the open sores of small children wandering in the jungles.
    "You Know Me" "Far more Viet Cong mortars and machine guns make innocent villagers their targets than they make targets of Marines and soldiers of Viet Nam," he wrote.
    "Many of you know me personally," the young Marine wrote. "I have worked in and around Springfield for various business men of the community. I graduated from your high school and I played golf for several years at your country club, You know me well."
    And he knew full well, he wrote, why he was in Viet Nam. As an American, he was fighting for the United States because the government had elected to fight a war against "terror and treachery."
    A cowardly and self- concerned nation soon becomes a hypocritical nation and would let " still another nation fall to communism," he wrote.
    He ended his letter with a plea that citizens of the U.S. stand behind the government and the fighting men. "We are willing in fight for freedom. Will you stand with us?" he asked.
    The Marine's letter found its way to the front page of his Hometown newspaper but it was sent by his first sergeant, John P. Murray.
    On 7 Jan (1966) , while on patrol in South Viet Nam, young Webb, son of Mr. and Mrs. Chester R. Webb, 2177 Fireside Ct., was killed in action, becoming Springfield's first war casualty. Springfield (Special), (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 20 Jan 1966)

     DAVID JOHN BYSTEDT

Birth 15FEB46 Rank LCPL Date of Death 11JAN66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place Quang Nam S. Vietnam Town of Record Portland Unit F CO 2NDBN 9THMAR 3DMARDIV FMF Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 2087303 Panel 04EAST - 64 Married Single In Service 1 yr Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

Marine Dies To Save 'Best Things in U.S.'
    "Ever since he was in grade school, David believed strongly in teamwork, in showing love for his friends. He was always loyal, Absolutely loyal."
    So spoke Mrs. Herbert Bystedt, 1442 SE 141st Ave., about her son, Lance Cpl. David Bystedt, 19, killed in Viet Nam 11 Jan (1966) and to be buried at Willamette National Cemetery Monday.
    David's grandparents came to the United States from Sweden and Finland "to seek new opportunities in America" and David, Mrs. Bystedt said, died "to save some of the things that are beautiful about this country."
Youth Enlisted at 18
    The young Marine's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Savage Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1740 SE 139th Ave., with the Rev. Charles E. Poling of Reedville Presbyterian Chruch officiating. Burial at Willamette National Cemetery will be with full military honors including uniformed pall bearers and a firing squad composed of local Marine Corps reservists.
    David attended Menlo Park Elementary School and graduated from David Douglas High School in 1964. He enlisted in the Marines on his 18th birthday and was inducted some five months later.
    "David never made the first string on the football team in high school. He was small - 5-foot-9. But he was always in there trying. He believed in giving his all to anything he attempted." his mother said.
    In letters he wrote home from the fighting front, David told his parents of "having his heart torn' between stopping to aid wounded men crying out for help and pushing ahead on his commanding officer's orders.
    "He wanted to stop and help the wounded, he wrote, but he realized that he had to neglect them in order to save others," his mother said.
    The parents received a final letter from him this week, written, apparently, on the day he died. He ended it by saying "I am going on patrol now. God be with you all."
    I feel strongly that his death was not in vain. It was not in vain because in Viet Nam the dignity of man is at stake," Mrs. Bystedt said.
    In the days since the family received the news of David's death, Mrs. Bystedt said, "God has given us much strength. I feel that David died helping others and that we should live our lives helping others if we want to find real peace."
    The mother's last words from her son, who had light brown hair and blue eyes, was "I think of him now as he looked when he was a little boy." (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 22 Jan 1966)

     RAYMOND EARL BROWN

Birth 07NOV44 Rank LCPL Date of Death 12JAN66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place Quang Nam S. Vietnam Town of Record Portland Unit C CO. 1STBN3DMAR 3DMARDIV FMF Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 2130578 Panel 04EAST - 66 Married Single In Service   Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

Brown - Corporal Raymond Earl; son of Mrs. Jessie McCoy; newphew of Johnnie Smith and Bessie Coleman. Service 12 noon Friday at Vann's Mortuary, 5211 N. Williams. Military ceremony Willamette National cemetery. Oregonia, Portland OR, 21 Jan 1966)

     SELWIN DEROY WISDOM

Birth 01SEP22 Rank LTC Date of Death 17JAN66 P. of birth Florence Service Army Place S. Vietnam Town of Record Eugene Unit 1st Cav Div HHC 2nd Bn 8th Cav Death Code Hostile, Died; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Ground Casualty Hometown Junction City service # O62856 Panel 04EAST - 78 Married Married In Service 18 yrs Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date 18AUG65 Comment   Cemetery

Soldier's Kin Told of Death Eugene (AP) Major Selwin Wisdom, 43, formerly of Lane County, died Monday in Viet Nam action, according to relatives in Eugene. A telegram from the secretary of the Army to Wisdom's wife in Colorado Springs CO said he was killed in action near the Cambodian border. He was serving with the First Cavalry Division. Wisdom was born near Florence and attended schools there and in Junction City, where he graduated from high school in 1940. He served in Europe during World War II and graduated from the University of Oregon in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. A sister, Mrs. Frank Caddy of Eugene, learned of her brother's death from a telephone call from Wisdon's wife. Another sister, Mrs. Clyde Deal, lives in Coos Bay, and a brother, S. L. Wisdom lives in Bend. Three children survive. (Oregonian, Portland OR, 19 Jan 1966)

Lane Army Officer Killed in Vietnam Action
    A 43-year-old Army major has become the fourth Emerald Empire resident to die in Vietnam military action.
    Maj. Selwin Wisdom was reported killed in action Monday near the Cambodian border.
    He is survived by his wife, three children, two sisters and a brother.
    Wisdom was born in Glendad -- across the Siuslaw River from Florence -- and attended high school in Florence. While still in high school, his family moved to Junction City, and it was there that he graduated from high school in 1940.
    Wisdom started his studies at the University of Oregon but after two years he left school to join the Army. He served in Europe during World War ((, taking time out during the war to attend some special training at Princeton University. He was later wounded in Europe.
    He returned to the University of Oregon after the war and graduated in 1948 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
    Wisdom ... graduated from the Army ROTC Program at the University as a ... Military Graduate accepting a commission in the Regular Army and returning to active duty prior to the Korean War.
    He trained with the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Benning GA, prior to going to Vietnam. Before going to Fort Benning, he was assigned to Fort Carson, near Colorado Springs CO.
    Word of her brother's death reached Mrs. Frank Caddy, of 1827 Lawrence Street, Eugene, by telephone Monday night ... (missing rest of paragraph...)
    Wisdom's other sister, Mrs. Clyde Deal lives in Coos Bay. He also has a brother, S. L. Wisdom, in Bend. Both of Wisdom's parents were Eugene residents, and both died in Eugene in 1963.
    Wisdom's immediate family includes a 12-year-old daughter, four-year-old son and a stepson who is currently a sophomore at the University of Oregon.
    Three other Emerald Empire residents have been reported killed in Vietnam action.
    Marine Corporal Robert Collins, 21-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Collins, Eugene, was reported killed early in December near the town of Que Son.
    Pfc. Robert Shriver, Jr., 20-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Shriver, Eugene, was reported killed 17 Nov (1965) while on a search and destroy mission with the 1st Cavalry Division.
    Marine Corp. Michael Webb, 19-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Chester Webb, Springfield, was killed the first week of January while on patrol near Da Nang. (Eugene Register Guard, Eugene WA, 18 Jan 1966)

     DONALD LEROY COATES

Birth 19JAN37 Rank SSG Date of Death O1FEB66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place North Vietnam Town of Record TIGARD Unit VMGR-152 1STMAW FMFPAC Death Code Hostile, Died; Air Loss, Crash - Sea Fixed Wing - Pilot Hometown   service # 1598298 Panel 04EAST - 128 Married Married In Service 10 yrs Medals Purple Heart   MIA BNR Comment   Cemetery

Extracted information from the POWNetwork) On 1 Feb 1966 a Lockheed C130 Hercules tanker headed out over the Gulf of Tonkin on a refueling mission. The mission was scrubbed and the tanker headed back to base with a full load of jet fuel (60,000 to 70,000 gallons). There are conflicting thoughts where the plane went down. Either near the island of Hon Co or near the island of Tigre, a deserted island later to be discovered secretly stocked with radar controlled anti-aircraft 37MM guns. It is thought that the plane was shot down by ground fire, exploded in mid air and crashed into the sea. No wreckage was found at the Hon Co Island site. More information about this incident is available at PowNetWork.Org/Coates or at PowNetWork.Org/Humphrey

     JAMES LEE GARDNER

Birth 09NOV45 Rank CPL Date of Death 02FEB66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place Quang Ngai S. Vietnam Town of Record Portland Unit M CO 3RD BN 1ST MARS Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 2049281 Panel 04EAST - 133 Married Single In Service 2 yrs Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

Cpl. James L. Gardner Funeral services will be Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Bennett Chapel Methodist Church, 13047 SE Ramona St., for Cpl. James Lee Gardner, USMC. Cpl. Gardner was killed in action in Quano Ndai Rhu, Viet Nam, 2 Feb (1966). Born 9 Nov 1945 in Portland, he lived at 13211 SE Claybourne St., and was a graduate of David Douglas High School. While attending David Douglas he played in the band and was a member of the wrestling team, receiving a letter in both activities. Survivors are his parents, r. and Mrs. James H. Gardner; three brothers, Donn, Jerry and Mark; and three sisters, Barbara Kay, Eileen and Lorraine, twins; grandparents, Mrs. Edan Petree, Mr. and Mrs. Claude Barley, and Mr. and Mrs. Howard Gardner. Military honors will be presented at Willamette National Cemetery by the USMC with Chaplain Charles Poling officiating. The family suggests remembrances be for the Bennett Chapel for the James Garnder Song Books Memorial. (The Oregonian, Portland OR, Tuesday 15 Feb 1966)

    GAYLORD NATHA KLINEFELTER

Birth 08DEC44 Rank PFC Date of Death 12FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army (Draft) Place S. Vietnam Town of Record Harbor Unit 1st Inf Div C Co 2nd Bn 18th Inf Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 56366366 Panel 05EAST - 27 Married Single In Service   Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date 24JAN66 Comment   Cemetery

War Claims Oregon Man Brookings
    The death in Vietnam of PFC Gaylord N. Klinefelter 21, of Harbor was reported by the Defense Department Monday. He was the 19th Oregon man killed in action since 1 Jan 1961.
    He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Klinefelter. According to a telegram received by the family from the Defense Department Klienfelder was killed by enemy fire.
    The elder Klienfelder said his son had been stationed in the area of Saigon with the 18th Regiment of the 18th Infantry.
    Gaylord was a graduate of Brookings High School, and was a commercial fisherman prior to his induction last August. He had been in Viet Nam 13 days, recently having been transferred from a mortar to an infantry unit, his father said. The Oregonian, Portland OR, 15 Feb 1966

     LEWIS RAY DIETZ

Birth 28APR45 Rank PVT Date of Death 14FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam Town of Record Portland Unit 1st Inf Div B Trp 1st Sqdr 4th Cav Death Code Hostile, Died; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 19758722 Panel 05EAST - 32 Married Single In Service 2 yrs Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date 21SEP65 Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

     ALLEN LINN PIERCE

Birth 28APR41 Rank HM3 Date of Death 24FEB66 P. of birth   Service Navy Place Quang Tin S. Vietnam Town of Record North Bend Unit 3RD MARDIV 1ST BN 12TH MARINES Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty Hometown   service # 6860427 Panel 05EAST - 27 Married Single In Service   Medals Purple Heart   Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery