FACES FROM THE WALL

OREGON and the VIETNAM WAR

OCTOBER 1968

    MELVIN DERWARD HEBERT Jr
Birth 16MAR48 Rank PFC Date of Death 04OCT68
P. of birth   Service Army (Draft) Place Binh Long S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Seaside Unit 1st Inf Div Trp A 1st Sqdr 4th CavDeath Code Hostile, Died; Other Explosive Devices Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 56933970Panel 41WEST - 05
Married MarriedIn Service   Medals Purple Heart 
Tour Date19APR68Comment   Cemetery  

Seaside GI Dies In War Seaside The parents of Army Pfc. Melvin Durwald Hebert Jr., 20, Seaside, have reported he was killed in Vietnam. Hebert was with the 1st Infantry Division and had been in Vietnam for five months. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin D. Hebert Sr. He was the 371st Oregon serviceman to die in the war since 1961 and the 172nd of this year. (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 12 Oct 1968)

    ROBERT DEAN NEASHAM

Birth 26DEC49 Rank SP4 Date of Death 13OCT68
P. of birth   Service Army Place Binh Dinh S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Canby Unit 18th Engineer Bde 70th Eng Co 19th Eng Bn 937th Eng Grp Death Code Non Hostile, Died Other; Suicide Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 18962114Panel 41WEST - 60
Married SingleIn Service 1 yrMedals  
Tour Date23APR68Comment   Cemetery  

Canby Soldiers Dies In War The Defense Department said Army Spec. 4 Robert D. Neasham of Canby OR, has died in Vietnam. On Wednesday the department said Neasham, the son of Mrs. Myrna Vincenz Canby, was not killed in action. He was the 373rd Oregon serviceman to die in the war since 1961 and the 174th this year. (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 17 Oct 1968)

    LESTER ALLAN DOAN

Birth 05MAY49 Rank SP4 Date of Death 21OCT68
P. of birth Butte MTService Army Place Tay Ninh S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Butte MT Unit 1st Inf Div.Death Code Hostile, Died; Air Loss, Crash on Land; Helicopter - NonCrew
Hometown   service # 18807890Panel 40WEST - 11
Married SingleIn Service 1 yrMedals Purple Heart
Tour Date09MAY68Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

Portlander Dies In War Sgt. Lester Allan Doan, 19, of Portland, was killed in Vietnam, 21 Oct (1968), when military aircraft he was in was hit by enemy groundfire. The plane crashed and burned. Location of the combat was not released by Army officials. Sgt. Doan was with the 101st Airborne but since arriving in Vietnam last spring he had been attached to Company F, 52nd Infantry, Long Range Reconnaisance Patrol, 1st Infantry Division. Young Doan, a native of Butte MT, born 5 May 1949, had lived off and on in Oregon since first coming to Medford as a first grader. Part of his high school years were spent in Montana and for two years he was a student at Cleveland High School in Portland. He was graduated from Non-Commissioned Officers School at Ft. Benning GA, last March. He is the son of Mrs. Virginia Doan, 1320 SE Clatsop St., and Lester A. Doan, 7822 NE Everett St. Other survivors include two brothers, PFC Thomas A. Doan, U.S. Marine Corps, stationed in Portland, and Mark Doan, a student at Sellwood School. (The Oregonian, Portland OR, 30 Oct 1968)

    RODNEY RENE CHASTANT

Birth 13AUG43 Rank CAPT Date of Death 22OCT68
P. of birth Fort Worth TXService Marines PlaceQuang Nam, S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Mobile AL Unit VMO-2 Death Code Hostile, Fixed Wing; Crew Air Loss; Crash on Land
Hometown   service # 091261 Panel 40WEST - 18
Married Single In Service 3 yrs Medals Purple Heart  
Tour Date 26JUL67 Local Lake Oswego CemeteryPort Hudson National Cemetery, Zachary LA

Marine Capt. Rodney R. Chastant, son of Mr. and Mrs. Waldo J. Chastant, 2311 Southwest Park Road, Lake Oswego was listed by the Defense Department Thursday as having been killed in Vietnam. Capt. Chastant had completed one tour of duty in Vietnam and had recently vounteered for a second tour. He was killed while flying as forward aerial observer for his battalion. He went directly into the Marine Corps on his graduation from Tulane University in 1965, which he attended on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He was born 3 Aug 1943 at Fort Worth TX, and attended high school in Pine Bluff AR. Survivors besides the parents, are three brothers, Thomas of Baton Rouge LA, Robert, a student at U of O, Eugene; and David of the home. (Oregonian, Portland OR, 25 Oct 1968)

    DAVID LYNN EVANS

Birth 21DEC48 Rank SP4 Date of Death 24OCT68
P. of birth Great Falls, MT Service Army Place Long An S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Klamath Falls Unit 1st Avn Bde 117th Aviation Co 214th Avn Bn 12th Avn Grp Death Code Hostile, Died; Air Loss, Crash - Land Helicopter - Crew
Hometown   service # 18962269Panel 40WEST - 28
Married SingleIn Service 1 yrMedals Purple Heart  
Tour Date15MAY68Comment   Cemetery  

KF Man Killed in Vietnam
      A Klamath Falls man, Spec. 4 David L. Evans, 20, has been killed in action in Vietnam, according to word received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James E. Evans.
      Spec. Evans was serving as a door gunner with the U.S. Army's 191st Assault Helicopter Co when he received fatal wounds from enemy gunfire.
      The serviceman was born 21 Dec 1947, in Great Falls MT and graduated from Henley High School in 1967. He volunteered in the U.S. Army shortly after graduation and received basic training in Fort Lewis WA. He had served in Vietnam since 8 May (1968).
      In addition to his parents, Spec. Evans is survived by three brothers, Robert, with the Army in Fort Sam Houston TX, Norman, serving with the Army in Vietnam, and Johnny, who has finished his Army service and resides in Olympia WA; also grandmother, Mrs. Alice Patrick, Portland OR
(Herald and News, Klamath Falls OR, 29 Oct 1968)

'WE'RE VERY PROUD, VERY SAD'
      by Jerry Mattoon
      "We are very sad - and very proud," said Mr. and Mrs. James E. Evans in quiet, well-controlled tones while talking about the loss of a second son in Vietnam.
      The Defense Department in Washington announced the death of Army Spec. 6 Norman F. Evans, 23, of Klamath Falls Monday. He was killed 24 Nov (1970) in an aircraft crash on returning from a mission and was one of 16 to die in the wreckage. His brother, David L. Evans, 19, was killed 24 Oct 1968, while on an aircraft rescue mission to pick up wounded soldiers.
      "The Army has a regulation that when one member of a family is killed in war a second member is not required to fight," the elder Evans said this morning. "But Norman wanted to go. He felt it was his duty," Evans added.
      David Evans was not married at the time of his death two years ago. Norman Evans is survived by his widow, Lana, two sons, Jeffery Scott, age 2 1/2; and David Linn, 15 months; and both brothers are survived by a half-brother, Robert Molohon; and by their parents.
      The total time served in Vietnam for all the three brothers adds up to more than four years.
      "Yes, you might say we are a 'service' family," the elder Evans remarked this morning. " was in the Navy during World War II, and I retired from the Air Force here in Klamath Falls after 20 years. Military service comes natural to us. The boys believed in what they were doing and trusted the government in making right decisions,, we all do," Evans said quietly.
      Norman and David Evans were both Henley High School graduates, one in 1965 and the other in 1967. Both were born in Great Falls, MT. The third surviving half-brother is stationed in Hawaii in the Army. He and his wife, Corine, have two children, Robert James, 6, and Lisa Juanita, 5. The family is in Klamath Falls for funeral of Norman Evans Thursday, 10:30 p.m. at O'Hair's Funeral Chapel.
      During the four years of their marriage Mrs. Lana Evans estimated she and her husband had spent a total of 16 months together.
(Herald and News, Klamath Falls OR, Wednesday, 2 Dec 1970 )

    PAUL MARTIN MOORE

Birth 20FEB48 Rank SP4 Date of Death 25OCT68
P. of birth   Service Army (Draft) Place Hua Nghia S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Sandy Unit 25th Inf Div C Co 4th Bn 9th Inf Death Code Hostile, Died Wounds; Guns, Small Arms Fire; Ground Casualty
Hometown   service # 56933432Panel 40WEST - 34
Married SingleIn Service 1 yrMedals Purple Heart  
Tour Date21FEB68Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

    WILLIAM ERNEST RICKER
Birth 01JUN33 Rank LCDR Date of Event 28OCT68
P. of birth  Quincy, MA Service Navy (Reserve) Place Quang Tri S. Vietnam
Town of
Record 		Portland Unit Marine Air Group 13,1st Marine Air Wing,Chu Lai Airbase, South Vietnam Death Code Hostile, Died Missing; Air Loss, Crash - Land Fixed Wing - Crew
Hometown   service # 2224654 Panel 40WEST - 50
Married SingleDeclared Dead 29JUN77 Medals Purple Heart  
MIA BNR Comment Portlands MIA's Cemetery  

  • Photo & Bio Source: http://www.taskforceomegainc.org/r018.htm

        JAMES MELVIN GHEER

    Birth 10OCT48 Rank SP5 Date of Death 31OCT68
    P. of birth   Service Army Place Long An S. Vietnam
    Town of
    Record     		Springfield Unit 1st Avn Bde A Trp 17th Cav Death Code Non Hostile, Died Other; Air Loss, Crash - Land Helicopter - NonCrew
    Hometown   service # 18962924Panel 40WEST - 64
    Married SingleIn Service   Medals  
    Tour Date27JUN68Comment   Cemetery Willamette National Cem., Portland OR

    Springfield Soldier Killed in Vietnam Plane Explosion
        A 20-year-old Springfield soldier has become the 42nd Emerald Empire man to die in Vietnam.
        Spec. 5 James M. Gheer, son of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Gheer, 313 W. Centennial Blvd., died "not as a result of hostile action," the Defense Department announced Tuesday night.
        Gheer's parents said that he died 31 Oct (1968) of injuries received as a passenger in a military aircraft which exploded in mid-air while on a military mission.
        He had been in Vietnam since June, stationed at Long Bien with the 317th Air Cavalry. Gheer was a 1967 graduate of Thurston High School who joined the Army in November, 1967. Besides his parents, he is survived by a sister, Linda, of Salem.
        Funeral services are pending at Buell Chapel, Springfield.
        Gheer was the 378th Oregon serviceman to die in Vietnam since 1961 and 179 have died this year. (Eugene Register-Guard, Eugene OR, 6 Nov 1968)

    Thank you Oregon Genealogical Society

    THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!


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