Bridget Barnes, UKRAINA, Ukraina (2025)

23/10/2025

Private First Class Gary Eugene Elford
United States Marine Corps – 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division (FMF)
Born 14 October 1947 – Newport, Oregon
Killed in Action 30 October 1965 – Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam
Panel 3E, Line 5 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, D.C.

He was a small-town Marine from the Oregon coast — a young man from Newport, Lincoln County, who answered his country’s call in the early, uncertain days of the Vietnam War. Private First Class Gary Eugene Elford, born October 14, 1947, served with the United States Marine Corps, attached to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force.

In the fall of 1965, U.S. ground combat operations in Vietnam were still new. The Marines had landed only months earlier, pushing into Quang Nam Province to secure the area around Da Nang and drive out entrenched Viet Cong forces. Patrols moved daily through rice paddies, jungle-covered ridges, and hostile villages where ambushes and hidden mines waited at every turn.

On October 30, 1965, during one of those operations, PFC Elford was killed in action. He was just eighteen years old, among the first generation of Marines to give their lives in a war that was only beginning.

His name is carved into Panel 3E, Line 5 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, one of the earliest etched there — a testament to the youth and courage of those who went first. For his hometown of Newport, his loss came early, but his memory endures — a son of Oregon who stood his ground far from the Pacific shores where he was born.

Private First Class Gary Eugene Elford served with the same unshakable resolve that has long defined the United States Marine Corps. Though his time was brief, his sacrifice helped mark the opening chapter of America’s longest war of that era.

23/10/2025

Burning the Shi**ers” – Vietnam, 1968

It wasn’t glamorous, but somebody had to do it. In the heat of Vietnam, waste barrels from field latrines were pulled out, filled with diesel, and set alight. The smoke was thick, the stench unforgettable — a job that tested the stomach more than combat ever could.

For many GIs, this was the real smell of war.

23/10/2025

Corporal Steven Wayne Olsen
United States Marine Corps
Motor Vehicle Operator, III Marine Amphibious Force, 2nd Civil Affairs Group, CAP 2-3
Born: October 14, 1947 – Sunset Beach, California
KIA: May 23, 1968 – Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam

Steven Wayne Olsen answered his nation’s call with the courage of youth and the resolve of a Marine. Enlisting through the Regular Marine Corps, he began his Vietnam tour on April 26, 1966, serving as a Motor Vehicle Operator with the 2nd Civil Affairs Group, Combined Action Platoon 2-3. His role placed him at the crossroads of combat and community—helping protect and stabilize South Vietnamese villages while enduring the daily dangers of the war zone.

On May 23, 1968, in Quang Nam Province, Corporal Olsen was killed in action during hostile small-arms fire. He was just 20 years old. His sacrifice reflects the countless acts of quiet heroism carried out by Marines serving far from home in an unforgiving conflict.

He rests among the honored dead who gave their all in Vietnam—remembered not only as a Marine, but as a son of California whose life was cut short in the service of others.

23/10/2025

Staff Sergeant Timothy Vaughn Harper
H Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), 1st Cavalry Division, USARV
Bronze Star Medal with “V” for Valor • Bronze Star Medal for Merit
Under the cover of darkness in Vietnam, Staff Sergeant Timothy Vaughn Harper led his men from the shadows—calm, steady, and unflinching. As an Airborne-qualified Infantryman with H Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), 1st Cavalry Division, he lived the Ranger creed to the fullest: leading from the front.
While in a night ambush position, his squad encountered an enemy element moving along a jungle trail. Without hesitation, Harper directed and delivered suppressive fire on the hostile force, standing firm in the chaos of sudden contact. In that exchange, he gave his life while protecting his men and fulfilling his duty with courage that would echo long after the gunfire ceased.
For his gallantry in action, Staff Sergeant Harper was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” device for valor, as well as the Bronze Star Medal for Merit recognizing his sustained and selfless service.

23/10/2025

First Sergeant Clifton Ballantyn Bergman
United States Army – C Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
Born 14 February 1930 – Spotsylvania County, Virginia
Killed in Action 14 October 1967 – Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam
He was a career soldier — a man who had already seen one war before marching into another. First Sergeant Clifton Ballantyn Bergman, born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, entered the Army in 1949 and served his country during the Korean War before deploying to Vietnam nearly two decades later. Though his military home of record listed New York, Bergman carried with him the roots of both places — the South that raised him and the North that called him to service.
By late 1967, Bergman was serving as the senior enlisted leader of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, part of the 4th Infantry Division — the “Ivy Division.” His battalion was operating in Quang Tin Province, deep in the rugged highlands where dense jungle and hidden ridgelines masked enemy movement.
On October 14, 1967, while leading his men in combat, First Sergeant Bergman was killed by enemy fragmentation fire. The details are stark and familiar: a sudden attack, explosions echoing through the trees, and another veteran of two wars cut down far from home. He was thirty-seven years old — a husband, a leader, and a mentor to younger soldiers who had known only Vietnam, not Korea’s bitter cold.
To his men, “Top” Bergman was the steady hand — the one who made sure the radios worked, the ammo was dry, and the young soldiers remembered to dig in before nightfall. He embodied the professional NCO spirit that carried the Army through two generations of war.
From Spotsylvania to Syracuse, from the frozen hills of Korea to the jungles of Vietnam, First Sergeant Clifton Ballantyn Bergman gave a lifetime of service to his country. His story bridges two wars and two eras — proof that courage and leadership never go out of season.

23/10/2025

Brothers 1968 — LZ Sally, South Vietnam. The men of the 101st Airborne’s Echo Recon Platoon moved like ghosts through the jungle, led by Lt. Richard J. Flaherty, the smallest officer in U.S. Army history — 4'9" tall, 97 pounds, and all courage. In combat, size meant nothing. Heart did.

23/10/2025

Specialist Five Loran Edgar Sweat Jr.
United States Army – 283rd Medical Detachment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)
Born 11 September 1948 – Virginia Beach, Virginia
Killed in Action 23 April 1970 – Kontum Province, South Vietnam
He was a healer among warriors — one of the few who carried no weapon heavier than a medical bag, yet walked unflinching into the fire. Specialist Five Loran Edgar Sweat Jr., of Virginia Beach, Virginia, enlisted in the United States Army and began his tour on April 25, 1969, serving as a Medical Specialist with the 283rd Medical Detachment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).
By the spring of 1970, the Central Highlands were engulfed in one of the most intense battles of the war — the siege of Dak Seang Special Forces Camp in Kontum Province. North Vietnamese forces had surrounded the camp and trapped hundreds of American, South Vietnamese, and Montagnard troops. The only lifeline in or out was by helicopter.
That lifeline was Dustoff — the medevac crews who braved anti-aircraft fire, mortars, and machine guns to rescue the wounded. On April 23, 1970, SP5 Loran Sweat was part of one of those missions, flying aboard a medical evacuation helicopter attempting to reach casualties in the Dak Poko Valley, just outside the besieged camp.
The aircraft was hit by heavy ground fire and went down in flames in the jungle below. There were no survivors. Among the crew and medics lost that day were men from both the 283rd Medical Detachment and the 498th Medical Company, including SP5 Edward “Ed” Sweat — another medic whose courage matched his own. Together, they gave their lives in service to others, attempting one of the most dangerous rescues of the war.
Loran Sweat was just 21 years old. He died as he had lived — in the act of saving others, embodying the medic’s creed: “So that others may live.” His sacrifice stands among the proudest traditions of the 1st Cavalry Division and the long line of Dustoff medics whose courage became legend.
From the shores of Virginia Beach to the mountains of Kontum, Specialist Five Loran Edgar Sweat Jr. gave everything he had for those who could not stand on their own. His name — and the mission he died for — remain eternal in the history of selfless service.

23/10/2025

Specialist Four Eddie B. Hubrins
Warrant Officer One Steven R. Hanson
United States Army – D Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile)
Killed in Action 24 September 1971 – Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam
By the final year of the war, the skies over Quang Tri Province were still deadly. Small, fast scout helicopters — the OH-6A “Loaches” — flew low over the jungle canopy, drawing enemy fire to reveal hidden positions. The men who flew them were among the bravest in the war, operating in a world where a split second meant the difference between life and death.
On September 24, 1971, an OH-6A from D Troop, 3rd Squadron, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, was flying a reconnaissance mission about six miles southwest of Quang Tri Airfield when it was struck by enemy small-arms fire. The helicopter went down hard. SP4 Eddie B. Hubrins, the crew chief, was fatally injured in the crash. Warrant Officer One Steven R. Hanson, the pilot, survived the impact — but the ordeal was not over.
As rescue forces arrived, a CH-47 Chinook began a daring extraction using a rope hoist to recover Hanson from the wreckage below. In one of the most tragic moments imaginable, the rope snapped during the lift. WO1 Hanson fell to his death — killed in the very act of being saved.
The loss of Hubrins and Hanson was a cruel reminder of how quickly danger could turn to tragedy in Vietnam’s final chapters. They were two soldiers from the same machine, bonded by the roar of the rotors and the unspoken understanding of what every low-level mission meant.
Their courage — to fly low, to press forward, to face the enemy head-on in the final years of a fading war — lives on in the legacy of the Cavalrymen of the 101st Airborne who refused to quit, no matter the odds.

22/10/2025

Sergeant First Class Vernon Glenn Holbrook
United States Army – Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Advisory Team 68
Born 15 October 1938 – Piedmont, Alabama
Killed in Action 10 November 1969 – Vinh Binh Province, South Vietnam
He was a husband, a father, and a career soldier who had already given thirteen years to his country before Vietnam called again. Sergeant First Class Vernon Glenn Holbrook, of Piedmont, Calhoun County, Alabama, served with MACV Advisory Team 68, working alongside South Vietnamese forces as a medical advisor in the Mekong Delta.
Holbrook was a man who believed in duty — a quiet professional who led through experience and compassion. His wife, Sara Allred Holbrook, and their two daughters waited for his return in Alabama, proud of the man who wore the uniform not for glory, but out of conviction and care for those he served beside.
On November 10, 1969, while carrying out his advisory duties in Vinh Binh Province, Holbrook was killed when his unit was struck by an enemy explosive device. He was thirty-one years old, nearing the end of his second tour of duty in Vietnam.
His loss was felt deeply among the soldiers and medical personnel he trained and advised — both American and South Vietnamese. Those who served with him remembered a calm presence, a leader who treated every man’s life as worth saving.
From the red clay of Alabama to the flooded paddies of Vinh Binh, SFC Vernon Glenn Holbrook carried the heart of a soldier and the hands of a healer. His service stands as a reminder that courage in war is not only found in the fight, but in the steadfast care of those who choose to heal amidst destruction.

22/10/2025

Lance Corporal Daniel Alan Nelson
United States Marine Corps – C Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Born 15 October 1947 – Detroit, Michigan
Killed in Action 19 February 1968 – Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam
Panel 40E, Line 27 – The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, Washington, D.C.
Purple Heart
He was a young Marine from Detroit, Michigan, who found himself in one of the most brutal urban battles of the Vietnam War. Lance Corporal Daniel Alan Nelson, a rifleman with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, was among the Marines thrust into the heart of the Battle of Huế City in February 1968.
During the Tet Offensive, communist forces launched a massive surprise assault across South Vietnam, striking at cities, bases, and provincial capitals. The ancient imperial city of Huế, known for its beauty and quiet dignity, became a battlefield of chaos and destruction.
For nearly a month, Marines and soldiers fought house to house, room by room, against entrenched North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces. Streets once filled with schoolchildren and bicycles became killing zones of snipers and shrapnel. Nelson’s company — part of the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines — was engaged in some of the fiercest fighting, clearing enemy strongpoints inside the old city walls and near the Citadel.
On February 19, 1968, Lance Corporal Nelson was mortally wounded by an enemy explosive device. He later succumbed to his wounds — one of the hundreds of Americans who fell in the effort to retake Huế.
By the time the city was secured, it was nearly leveled. More than 5,000 civilians were dead or executed, 6,000 enemy troops had been killed, and over 3,000 Allied soldiers were wounded. The price of the victory was staggering — and for families like the Nelsons of Detroit, it was personal.
Daniel Alan Nelson was twenty years old. His name is carved into Panel 40E, Line 27 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. — a quiet testament to courage, sacrifice, and the human cost of a battle that changed the course of a war.

22/10/2025

Private First Class Kenneth Dale Pettigrew
United States Army – B Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (“The Big Red One”)
Born 15 October 1949 – Redding, California
Killed in Action 21 May 1969 – Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam

He was a good ole Redding boy, the kind you could count on — steady, loyal, and proud to serve. Private First Class Kenneth Dale Pettigrew, born in Shasta County, California, enlisted in the United States Army and began his Vietnam tour on April 24, 1969, as a Light Weapons Infantryman with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division — The Big Red One.

In the spring of 1969, the 1st Infantry Division was locked in fierce operations across Binh Duong Province, battling North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces that had reemerged after the Tet Offensive. The jungle was thick, the air heavy, and every patrol brought the same uncertainty — who would make it back.

Less than a month after arriving in-country, PFC Pettigrew was killed in action on May 21, 1969, when his unit came under enemy attack. He was struck by multiple fragmentation wounds, the result of hostile fire during an operation that claimed several lives that day. He was only nineteen years old.

To his brothers in B Company, he was more than a replacement — he was family, part of the unbroken line of infantrymen who carried the fight forward. To his hometown of Redding, he was a son of California, gone too soon but remembered for his courage and quiet strength.

The Big Red One lost a fine soldier that day. The war lost another name, another life cut short before it could truly begin.

Private First Class Kenneth Dale Pettigrew — Redding’s own — gave everything he had for his country in a place far from home, where courage was measured in moments and remembered for a lifetime.

22/10/2025

Staff Sergeant Paul Francis Tersteege
United States Marine Corps – D Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (FMF)
Silver Star – For Conspicuous Gallantry and Intrepidity in Action
Born 15 October 1935 – Tucson, Arizona
Killed in Action 24 January 1969 – Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam

He was a Marine’s Marine — steady, disciplined, and forged through twelve years of service. Staff Sergeant Paul Francis Tersteege, born in Tucson, Arizona, with family ties to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, had built his life around the Corps. By 1969, he was a combat veteran and a leader of men, serving with Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division, in the thick of the Vietnam War.

In Quang Nam Province, the Marines of 1/1 were engaged in relentless combat operations — ambush patrols, sweeps, and small-unit engagements against dug-in North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces. It was a war fought yard by yard, in villages, rice paddies, and tree lines where every shadow could hold danger.

On January 24, 1969, while leading his Marines under fire, Staff Sergeant Tersteege was struck and killed by enemy small-arms fire. He was 33 years old, a veteran NCO on his second decade of service — one who had trained, led, and fought beside the younger Marines who looked to him for calm amid chaos.

For his courage and leadership that day, SSgt. Paul F. Tersteege was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the nation’s third-highest award for valor, for “conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against an armed enemy.” His actions in combat embodied the Marine Corps creed — never leaving his men, never backing down, and never hesitating in the face of danger.

From the desert of Arizona to the humid battlefields of Vietnam, Tersteege’s story reflects the very soul of the Marine NCO — loyalty to his country, devotion to his brothers, and courage beyond measure.

He rests among the honored few who gave their last full measure of devotion, remembered not just as a casualty of war, but as a leader whose valor inspired all who served under him.

Bridget Barnes

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