Buddy,
Hope you arrived safely in Bangkok.
Pretty sure my buddy from Dothan, Hurley Alvin Smith, was killed instantly in Hue on 2/2/68. http://www.i-mef.usmc.mil/external/1stmardiv/history/history.jsp
Morgan Weed, who was my Boy Scout counselor for Nature Merit Badge, was hit May 10, 1970 & died May 11, in "PROVINCE NOT REPORTED" CAMBODIA, a.k.a. Tnoat [ed. note: not on the Internet] http://www.vietnam6bn31inf.com/KIA/WeedMorganWilliam.htm
My third victim of Vietnam was Gary Tomlinson who worked @ the Information Desk @ the Union Building @ Bama before I gotta job there. He & I had known each other since high school because he was our Area Chief in ORDER OF THE ARROW, a Boy Scout organization. Gary died while missing after a helicopter crash on July 3, 1971.
Have a safe trip & please drink a toast or have a toke for my buddies.
best,
rr
Many thanks to Ray Hutto for shooting us this link to the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
http://www.virtualwall.org/
Three of my closest childhood friends are on that Wall.
Hurley Alvin Smith's Daddy was my Dad's "main man" @ Jack Wise Tire Co. From 1959 until Alvin graduated from high school in '66, I spent almost every weekend doing something with Hurley Alvin. We kept chickens, pigeons, crows, quail and pheasants. We had horses and ponies. We had a trap line set up around the Turkey Pond located south of Porter's Fairy Land. We usually fished Enon Pond or the VFW. I learned a lot about the woods and water from Hurley Alvin.
C CO, 1ST ENG BN, 1ST MARDIV, III MAF
United States Marine Corps
Dothan, Alabama
November 27, 1946 to February 02, 1968
HURLEY A SMITH is on the Wall at Panel 36E Line 086
See the
>>>>>>>full profile for Hurley SmithSee the full profile for Hurley Smith
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The next cat I looked up on The Wall was Morgan Weed.
Click on the following link if you want to read about a true hero. http://www.vietnam6bn31inf.com/KIA/WeedMorganWilliam.htm
Morgan was from Andalusia & he was Assistant Activities Director at the Boy Scout Reservation near New Brockton. He taught me Nature, Archery & Marksmanship Merit Badge in '62 & '63. In '67, I would become Assistant Activities Director and teach Nature Merit Badge. This experience lead directly to my teaching career in Bilology.Over the years after Morgan moved to Decatur, I ran into him at Order of the Arrow functions and saw him a couple of times during my freshman year at Alabama. I had no idea the Army had pulled Morgan out of Law School at Bama and that he was in Vietnam until a fellow Scout walked into Dr. Strong's Political Science class and told me Morgan had been killed in Cambodia. This was May of 1970 and the University of Alabama was under martial law because of the Kent State protests.
RECON PLT, D CO, 6TH BN, 31ST INFANTRY, 9TH INF DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Decatur, Alabama
January 02, 1945 to May 11, 1970
MORGAN W WEED is on the Wall at Panel 10W Line 020
See the
>>>>full profile for Morgan WeedSee the full profile for Morgan Weed
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The last of my friends on the Wall is Gary Tomlinson http://www.virtualwall.org/dt/TomlinsonGP01a.htm
Who was the very first person I saw on the first day I ever walked into the Student Union Building @ The University of Alabama in September of 1968? GARY TOMLINSON! What a sight for sore eyes!
Gary was in charge of the information desk @ The Union Building and the next year I got hired on Work-Study as the maintenance man for the Union. I had met Gary during high school because he was Area Chief for our division of The Order of The Arrow. Gary had been Chief of Cherokee 50 and because I was Secretary of Cowikee Lodge, I was involved in some of the politics that got Gary elected Area Chief. I really wish I had gotten to know Gary better.
Thanks Ray. This was sad but I have some precious memories of these three cats. I looked up to each one of them like a big brother.
A BTRY, 4TH BN, 77TH ARTILLERY, 101ST ABN DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Birmingham, Alabama
September 03, 1947 to July 03, 1971
GARY P TOMLINSON is on the Wall at Panel 03W Line 099
See the
>>>>full profile for Gary TomlinsonSee the full profile for Gary Tomlinson
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