FACES FROM THE WALL

OREGON and the VIETNAM WAR

OCTOBER 1967

LAWRENCE 'Pineapple' GALLEGO
Birth 30DEC43 Rank 1LT Date of Death 04OCT67
P. of birth   Service Army Place   S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Papaaloa HI Unit USARV 254th Medical DetDeath Code Non-Hostile Air Loss, Crash on Land Helicopter - Crew
Hometown   service # OF107067Panel 27EAST - 49
Married Married In Service 1 yr Medals  
Tour Date 06JUN67 Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

ROLAND ALBERT NIELSEN
Birth 04SEP44 Rank SP5 Date of Death 04OCT67
P. of birth LaGrange, Texas,  Service US Army PlaceS. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Monohans TX Unit USARV 254th Medical DetDeath Code Non-Hostile, Air Loss, Crash on Land Helicopter - Medic
Hometown Monahans TX.   service # 19705622Panel 27EAST - 49
Married Single In Service 4 yrs Medals Air Crewman Wings, Combat Medic Badge, Bronze Star with OLC, Purple Heart, Army Commendation’s Medal, Air Medal with "V" device, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal  
Tour Date 24SEP66 Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

RONALD JOSEPH CARTWRIGHT
Birth 15APR43 Rank PFC Date of Death 07OCT67
P. of birth   Service Army (Draft) Place Binh Dinh S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Eugene Unit 1st Cav Div A Co 1st Bn 5th Cav Death Code Hostile, Died Missing; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 56932003Panel 27EAST - 63
Married Single In Service   Medals Purple Heart 
Tour Date 24AUG67 Comment   Cemetery  

ALDWIN ARDEAN 'Sparky' ELLIS


Birth 15DEC48 Rank CPL Date of Death 07OCT67
P. of birth   Service Army Place Quang Nam S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Portland Unit 101st Abn Div A Co 2nd Bn 502nd InfDeath Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 18959673Panel 27EAST - 64
Married Single Link Virtual Wall Medals Silver Star Bronze Star Purple Heart  
Tour Date 21JUL67 Comment   Cemetery  

Thank you Virtual Wall for the use of the picture.

Medals Earned by Hero "Sparky" Ellis Given to Parents By John Painter Jr., Staff Writer, The Oregonian
    In a small, crowded room in Vancouver Barracks, an ocean away from the shell-mutilated jungles of Vietnam, American Saturday posthumously honored "Sparky" Ellis.
    The 18-year-old died with bravery 7 Oct (1967) as Cpl Aldwin A. Ellis Jr., of the 101st (Screaming Eagles) Airborne Division.
    In a short ceremony, a Silver Star, Bronze Star and a Purple Heart were presented to Mr. and Mrs. Aldwin A. Ellis Sr., 2006 SE 56th Ave., the youth's parents.
    The presentation took place in the Vancouver WA office of Col. Raymond C. Ball, commanding officer, Oregon Sector Command, X Corps.
    The small room, decorated by flags, the Army chain-of-command and drawings of historical Army uniforms, was jammed with relatives and friends.
    Ellis earned his decoration for valor the hardest way possible.
    While on night patrol in central Vietnam, his platoon was attacked by an enemy force. Wounded in the initial assault, Ellis abandoned his cover and ran through hostile fire to a machinegun position about to be overrun.
    According to the award citation, Ellis "placed himself between the wounded machine-gunner and the onrushing enemy," killing three of them and wounding several others.
    He continued his fire until he was killed
    Even before his final act of bravery, Ellis had demonstrated more than ordinary valor.
    Last July, less than a month after he arrived in Vietnam, Ellis received a Purple Heart after being wounded by shrapnel in combat.
    After a short convalescence, he returned to combat duty, winning the Bronze Star for heroism in September.
    Under orders, Ellis set out to retrieve some ammunition from a helicopter under heavy fire. At one point, he was pinned downed in the open by heavy machinegun fire, but still managed to get the ammunition and crawl back to his unit.
Ellis Confident
    Despite his close scrapes, Ellis seemed sure he would make it home alive.
    In his last letter to his parents, dated 15 Sep (1967), the young paratrooper wrote he had a lot of close calls, but, "God was with me."
    "There's not anything in hell going to keep me from coming back into the world," he wrote in his final letter.
    A native of Portland, Ellis attended Franklin High School, joining the Army in January, 1967. He volunteered for airborne training and was (rest of article missing) (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 18 Feb 1968)

JOHN RAYMOND LEE
Birth 15NOV47 Rank CPL Date of Death 12OCT67
P. of birth   Service Marines Place Quang Tri S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Creswell Unit C Co. 1st BN 1st Marines Death Code Hostile, Died; Other Explosive Devices Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 2153518Panel 27EAST - 96
Married Single Link C/1/1Medals Purple Heart 
Tour Date 02AUG66 Comment   Cemetery  

Picture of John Raymond Lee provided by C/1/1

Grenade Kills Local Marine Marine Cpl John R. Lee, 19, a 1965 graduate of Cottage Grove High School, was killed in Vietnam on 12 Oct (1967), according to Marine spokesmen. Lee was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lavon W. Lee, Rt 1, Box 505, Creswell. He was with C Company, First Battalion of the First Marines. Lee was killed in the vicinity of Quang Tri, according to the Marines. He died from a grenade wound while engaged in action against enemy forces. In addition to his parents, Lee is survived by three young brothers; Gaylen and Dennis, both students at Cottage Grove High School, and Hugh, a student at Lincoln Junior High School. Funeral arrangements are pending. (Eugene Register-Guard, Eugene OR, 19 Oct 1967)
Thank you Oregon Genealogical Society

ANTHONY BLAKE CADWELL
Birth 09APR45 Rank PVT Date of Death 17OCT67
P. of birth   Service Army Place Quang Tin S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Missoula MT Unit   Death Code Non-Hostile, died missing Drowned, Suffocated Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 19880763Panel 28EAST - 19
Married Single In Service 1 yr Medals  
Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

MELVIN BRUCE COOK
Birth 29MAR47 Rank SP4 Date of Death 17OCT67
P. of birth   Service Army (Draft) Place Binh Long S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Salem Unit 1st Inf Div D Co 2nd Bn 28th Inf Death Code Hostile, Died; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 56410927Panel 28EAST - 20
Married Single In Service 1 yr Medals Purple Heart  
Tour Date 18JUN67 Comment   Cemetery  

DAVID MARION LEWIS
Birth 19DEC47 Rank FN Date of Death 22OCT67
P. of birth   Service Navy Place Quang Nam S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Tiller Unit   Death Code Non Hostile, Died Missing; Other Accident Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # B823830Panel 28EAST - 52
Married Single In Service 1 yr Medals  
Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery  

STEVEN ADRIAN SMITH
Birth 31OCT47 Rank LCPL Date of Death 26OCT67
P. of birth   Service Marines Place Quang Tri S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		West Linn Unit  Death Code Hostile, Died; Artillery, Rocket, Mortar; Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 2325665Panel 28EAST - 76
Married Single In Service 1 yr Medals Purple Heart  
Tour Date 24JAN67 Comment   Cemetery Lebanon IOOF Cem., Lebanon OR

MERRICK ROBERT PIERCE
Birth 01NOV47 Rank LCPL Date of Death 27OCT67
P. of birth   Service Marines Place Thua Thien S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Portland Unit C CO 1ST BN 4TH MARS Death Code Hostile, Died; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 2275146Panel 28EAST - 85
Married Single In Service Purple Heart  Medals Purple Heart  
Tour Date 14APR67 Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

VICTOR ROBERT WOODEN
Birth 20DEC46 Rank AO3 Date of Death 30OCT67
P. of birth   Service Navy Place Off Shore S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		White City Unit   Death Code Non Hostile, Died Illness, Disease; Burns Sea Casualty
Hometown   service # 9150482Panel 28EAST - 95
Married Single In Service 2 yrs Medals  
Tour Date   Comment   Cemetery  

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


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