SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAY EDITION
Monday, 29 May 2023
Remembering and Honoring our 58 Combat Veterans “Still on Patrol” this Memorial Day
These men remain in the hearts and minds of our fellow Swift Boat Sailors and their families. Each one gave up two lives, the one in Vietnam and the one they would have lived. Please help me in honoring these Heroes who made the Ultimate Sacrifice to ensure the Freedom of our United States of America. God Bless them all.
These 57 Sailors and one Marine we’re honoring today lost their lives while serving their country in the Vietnam War. The remains of four of these men are still unaccounted for and remain missing in action. These heroes will always be honored and remembered.
The debt has been paid time and again in the name of all Americans so that we may continue to enjoy life’s most treasured moments each and every day. And for too many American families, the absence of a loved one is a pain that lasts a lifetime.
We take this time to remember our 58 Combat Veterans Still on Patrol. These patriots helped deliver our freedoms but never got the chance to step off the battlefield.
– JOHN F. KENNEDY – “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Memorial Day is about the selfless sacrifice of American heroes who raised their right hands to say it is I who will defend America, and if needed, lay down my life for my country. It is a privilege we in this country enjoy thanks to the sacrifices so many generations of men and women who gave their lives for our freedom.
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 1966
Willy S. Baker, MRC
Kemper S. Billings, BM1
David J. Boyle, SN
Harry G. Brock, BM3
Raleigh L. Godley, BM2
Gale J. Hays, EN2
Tommy E. Hill, BM2
Alvin L. Levan, GMGSN
Jack C. Rodriguez, EN2
Dayton L. Rudisill, GMG2
Eugene L. Self, QM3
Bruce A. Timmons, RM3
Hubert Tuck, BM2
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 1967
Bobby D. Carver, BM1
Gary W. Friedmann, SN
Carl R. Goodfellow, EN2
William Murphy, III, LTJG
Dennis R. Puckett, SN
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 1968
Charles M. White, Sr., BM3
Billy Armstrong, GMG2
Peter P. Blasko, BM3
Frank Bowman, QM2
Anthony G. Chandler, BM2
Edward Cruz, EN2
John R. Hartkemeyer, EN2
Steve R. Luke, BM2
John P. McDermott, BM2
David L. Merrill, EN2
Frederick R. Turner, LCPL, USMC
Gerald D. Pochel, RD3
Richard C. Simon, BM3
Stephen T. Volz, BM3
Richard C. Wallace, LTJG
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 1969
Richard L. Baumberger, Jr., BM3
Richard L. Wissler, QM2
Kenneth P. West, RD2
Robert A. Thompson, BM3
Richard W. Stindl, GMG3
Stephen J. Penta, GMG3
Kenneth D. Norton, LTJG
Glen C. Keene, GMG3
Gerald R. Horrell, BM3
Thomas E. Holloway, QM3
Albert M. Fransen, EN3
Donald D. Droz, LTJG
Robert L. Worthington, HMC
Martin S. Doherty, RD3
Dewey R. Decker, EN3
Robert L. Crosby, LTJG
Arden L. Krukow, MM2
Don E. Stevenson, BM1
Made the Ultimate Sacrifice in 1970
Lanny H. Buroff, QM2
Frederick Edwards, BM1
Craig W. Haines, RD3
Larry E. Hendrick, GMG1
Joseph P. Jurgella, QM1
Frederick D. Snyder, RD3
John E. Winters, EN1
ClickHEREto play “TAPS” For Memorial Day
(Please watch the entire short video)
You’ll never be Forgotten!
Bob Barnett
Chairman
Swift Boat Sailors Association
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Swift Boat Memorial Day Video – by Sue Edwards of the Swift Boat Sailors Memorial – Click HERE to watch video
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LOCATING A NAME ON THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL MONUMENT WALL
Although the names are not listed alphabetically, it is not difficult for visitors to find a name on the Memorial. The National Park Service offers these steps for locating a name:
- Look up the name in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Directory of Names. These directories are located at both ends of the Wall and contain an alphabetical listing of all the names on the Memorial
- Note the panel and line number for the name listed. The panel number is a number/letter combination, such as 10W or 35E. “W” denotes the west wall, and “E” denotes the east wall.
- Locate the corresponding panel at the Memorial. The west wall is on the left when standing facing the vertex, and the east wall is to the right. The panels are numbered beginning from the center out toward the ends of each wall. The panel numbers are inscribed at the bottom of each panel.
- Locate the line on which the name is inscribed. Count down from the top of the panel. Inscribed dots in the margins of every other panel mark every 10 lines to aid in counting.
National Park Service rangers and volunteers are available to assist in locating names at the Memorial. Names can also be located on The Wall of Faces on VVMF’s web site, www.vvmf.org/wall-of-faces
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Mobile Tour
Click HERE for Mobile Tour App