Veterans of the War

Randall Aragon enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1963 at the age of seventeen. After completing his three year enlistment as an airplane and helicopter mechanic, Aragon was accepted into Officer Candidate School. He arrived in Vietnam in November 1968 as a first lieutenant and was assigned to the 551st Transportation Company. Aragon was promoted to captain and company commander in February 1969. His unit was responsible for stevedore operations and port security at Newport Army Terminal, near Saigon.

Larry K. Baker enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1968 at the age of nineteen. He was assigned to the 6924th Security Squadron. The top-secret unit monitored and collected signals intelligence from the North Vietnamese. Baker focused on morse code communications. He spent the first five months of his tour at Da Nang. The unit was later moved to Udorn Air Force Base in Thailand.

James F. Birtcher enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on December 29, 1970. He was nineteen years old at the time of his enlistment. Birtcher served one year in Vietnam with the 366th Security Police Squadron. He was assigned to Da Nang Air Base. His primary responsibility was providing security at the base.

Terry M. Black enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on August 28, 1964, at the age of eighteen. He served two tours in Vietnam. In his first tour he was a field radio operator in a recon team with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. During his second tour he was assigned to an artillery fire support center with the 2nd Battalion, 13th Marines. Black passed away on June 2, 2022

Steve W. Brackins graduated from Officer Candidate School in December 1963. He completed flight school in May 1965. Brackins arrived in Vietnam in March 1967 and spent one year there. He flew UH-1 Huey helicopter gunships as well as H-34 helicopters with HMM-163. He was based various times at Phu Bai, Quant Tri, and Dong Ha. Brackins also spent one month flying off the USS Okinawa.

Stephen Branham was drafted in the U.S. Army on February 14, 1969, at the age of twenty. He served just over fourteen months in Vietnam with the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. Branham was a machine gunner in the unit. He spent the majority of his time in III Corps, but also participated in the incursion into Cambodia.

Charles H. Bridgeman enlisted in the U.S. Army in August 1966. He was eighteen years old at the time of his enlistment. Bridgeman served one year in Vietnam with the 327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was initially assigned as an ammo bearer for a M-60 machine gun, but was later made the battalion radio operator. His unit operated throughout Vietnam during his deployment.

Robert L. Brown Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on July 8, 1966, at the age of eighteen. He served almost thirteen months in Vietnam as a radio operator in the 3rd Recon Battalion. Brown spent several months as a radio relay man at a forward observation post in the Ashau Valley. He also spent time in Phu Bai, Quang Tri, Dong Ha, and Camp Carroll.

Bruce T. Bullion III enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967 at the age of twenty. His first assignment after arriving in Vietnam was with the recon platoon of the 101st Airborne Division. After the unit was disbanded, he served as a door gunner on a UH-1 Huey gunship with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. Bullion served in that unit for three months before volunteering for the LRRPs (long range reconnaissance patrol). He spent fifteen months in Vietnam, the majority of which was in the Ashau Valley.

Carlous L. Burris Sr. enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1953. He was eighteen years old at the time of enlistment. Burris served one year in Vietnam as a U.S. Navy advisor to the Republic of Vietnam Navy. He was a communications advisor attached to the South Vietnamese 25th River Assault Group. The unit was based at Can Tho and operated along the Bassac River. Burris passed away on May 19, 2023

Michael H. Carlton enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968. He was twenty-two years old at the time of enlistment. Carlton served just short of one year in Vietnam. Trained in intelligence, his first assignment was with the 5th Special Forces Group where he mainly conducted counter intelligence operations. Nearly ten months into his tour that unit was sent home, and Carlton was transferred to the 525th Military Intelligence Detachment.

Travis E. Case was drafted into the U.S. Army on August 10, 1966, at the age of twenty-one. He served one year in Vietnam. He was initially a medical aidman with the 5th Battalion, 16th Artillery, 4th Infantry Division, but was later assigned to an infantry unit within the same division. Case spent his entire tour in the Central Highlands.

Minor T. Chaney was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966 at the age of twenty. He served ten months in Vietnam. Chaney was assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, serving variously as a rifleman, radio operator, machine gunner, and mortar man. During his time with the unit, Company C took part in the Tet Offensive, the relief of the siege of Khe Sanh, and the battle of Gio Linh near the DMZ.

Darrel B. Couch enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in June 1956 at the age of seventeen. He first attended bomb navigation technician school and was later trained on electronic countermeasures before entering pilot training. Couch served in Vietnam for one year beginning in September 1966. He had several assignments including flying a F-100 Super Sabre jet with the 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron out of Phan Rang Air Base and flying an O-1 Bird Dog observation airplane with the 1st Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade out of Lai Khe Military Base. Couch passed away on December 4, 2018.

Robert C. Cox Jr. attended Georgia Tech Navy ROTC and was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in March 1965. He served in the Vietnam War for five months aboard USS Wrangell beginning in November 1965. Wrangell operated in the South China Sea supplying other vessels with ammunitions. Cox’s duties included work as a junior officer in the ship’s operations department, a combat information center officer, an electronics material officer, and cruise book editor.

Preston D. Crawleigh enlisted in the U.S. Army on April 16, 1971. He was nineteen years old at the time of enlistment. Crawleigh served five and half months as a mechanic with various units at Vinh Long. He worked on AH-1 Cobra helicopters. For the remainder of his tour Crawleigh served as a crew chief and door gunner on a UH-1 Huey with the 57th Assault Helicopter Company, which was based at Camp Holloway near Pleiku.

Joe B. Davis participated in the ROTC program at Arkansas Tech University and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army following his graduation in 1969. He deployed to Vietnam during the summer of 1970 and spent ten months there. Davis was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, which was based at Camp Evans. He spent most of his tour as a platoon leader, but during his last month he served as the executive officer for the battalion.

Mark D. Diggs attended Arkansas State University Army ROTC and was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1970. Diggs served as an artillery officer in Vietnam for just over nine months. His first assignment was as a forward observer to a mechanized infantry troop. Diggs later served as a fire direction officer as well as an executive officer for a firing battery.

William H. Goad was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 1968 following his completion of the ROTC program at Arkansas State University. He served one year in Vietnam. Goad was as a platoon leader with the 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment for about nine months. He spent the remainder of his tour with the headquarters and headquarters company of the 23rd Supply and Transport Battalion.

William S. Grandon enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1967 at the age of nineteen. He served in the Vietnam War for twelve months aboard USS Satyr, a landing craft repair ship. Grandon was a welder and pipefitter who worked on various river gunboats. Satyr operated throughout the Mekong Delta as part of Task Force-117.

Irving Ernest Greenberg enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in February 1967, shortly before he would have been drafted. His initial military service was stateside starting with officer and pilot training, followed by three and a half years as a jet instructor in Oklahoma. Greenberg served in Vietnam from August 1972 until the war’s end in 1973 as an aircraft commander on an AC-119K Gunship with the 18th Special Operations Squadron. He was stationed at Nakhon Phanom (Thailand), Da Nang, Bien Hoa, and Tan Son Nhut. After the ceasefire, he ferried aircraft from Saigon to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines.

Gary H. Hall was drafted into the U.S. Army on June 13, 1969, at the age of twenty-two. He served one year in Vietnam. Hall spent the first part of his tour as a military policeman with the 1st Military Police Company, 1st Infantry Division. His platoon was stationed at Dau Tieng. Hall later served with the 18th Military Police Brigade at Long Binh.

Albert Roy Hart joined the U.S. Air Force in 1967. He subsequently went to Officer Training School and later Flight School. Hart served approximately sixteen months in Vietnam as a pilot on a C-130 Hercules. Hart flew on a rotational basis out of Naha Air Base in Okinawa. The unit’s primary mission was transporting supplies, but Hart also participated in Blind Bat missions out of Thailand.

Carmie Henry joined the U.S. Navy in October 1968, a few months after graduating from the University of Central Arkansas. He was commissioned on July 3, 1969, following his completion of Officer Candidate School. After additional training he deployed to Vietnam as a radar intercept officer with VF-142 fighter squadron on board the USS Enterprise. During two cruises Henry flew 175 combat missions over North and South Vietnam and Laos in an F-4 Phantom. He left active duty in 1973 and then served an additional twenty-five years in the Naval Reserve.

David J. Hoss enlisted in the U.S. Army in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1966 at the age of nineteen. He served two years and almost three months in Vietnam as a senior vehicle mechanic with the 514th Quartermaster Company (Petroleum Supply) beginning in January 1967. Hoss was stationed at Qui Nhon and Phu Tai.

Stanley J. Jaros enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1964 at the age of seventeen. He served for one year with H&S Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines as a flamethrower. The unit was based in I Corps in the northern part of South Vietnam. Jaros spent most of his time at Chu Lai and in the Quang Nam Province.

Esau Kearney enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1966 at the age of nineteen. He served one year in Vietnam as part of the 52nd Signal Battalion. Kearney had a variety of duties including, switchboard operator, security guard, and mail clerk. He was also occasionally sent out to set up communications equipment at various locations.

John G. Lambert enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on February 5, 1963, in Santa Monica, California, at the age of seventeen. He served in the Vietnam War for nine months aboard USS Bonhomme Richard. The aircraft carrier conducted combat operations from Yankee and Dixie Stations in the South China Sea during this period. Lambert worked as an avionics technician on the E-1B Tracer.

Richard J. Lucas enrolled in the Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course while a student at Memphis State University. Following his graduation from the university in 1962, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Lucas arrived in Vietnam in the spring of 1967 and was assigned to H&S Company, 26th Marines, which was based at Khe Sanh. He served as a fire support coordinator. Lucas was later transferred to Lima Battery, 12th Marines, where he served as the commanding officer.

Harry W. “Bill” Luplow enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 6, 1962. Luplow then completed the Officer Candidate Course at Quantico and later went on to flight training. He was a pilot with VMA-311, flying the A-4 Skyhawk. The squadron was based at Chu Lai, and its primary mission was providing close air support. Luplow passed away on April 6, 2021.

James F. Marsh was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966 at the age of twenty. He served in Vietnam for one year with the 15th Engineer Battalion, 9th Infantry Division. Marsh was a combat demolition specialist. He spent three months at Bearcat Base Camp near Bien Hoa and the remainder of his tour on patrols throughout the Mekong Delta.

Phillip H. McMath was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on July 1, 1967, following his completion of the Marine’s Platoon Leaders Course at the University of Arkansas. He served in the Vietnam War for approximately eight months. McMath served as a platoon and company commander in the 1st and 5th Tank Battalions. The units operated in the area around Da Nang.

Frank V. Meeks Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in July 1963 in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the age of twenty-one. His Army Reserve unit, the 336th Ordnance Battalion, was activated in May 1968 and after some training at Fort Carson, Colorado, was sent to Vietnam. Meeks served there for eleven months as an area communications chief. He was responsible for setting up and managing secure communication nets for the battalion’s headquarters.

Virgil W. Miller was drafted into the U.S. Army in September 1964 at the age of twenty-one. Following his discharge from the army in 1966, he joined the U.S. Air Force. Miller served as a section chief in Vietnam as part of the 823rd Civil Engineering Squadron. The unit did construction and performed repairs at Bien Hoa Air Base.

James E. Mitchell was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps on June 3, 1964, after completing the ROTC program at Princeton University. He deployed to Vietnam as a captain in Fall 1967. Mitchell served variously as company commander of Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines; as operations officer with the Battalion H&S Company; and as company commander of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.

James E. Mitchell enlisted in the U.S. Navy in May 1967 at the age of twenty and served one year in Vietnam was a Navy corpsman. Mitchell was assigned to the regimental aid station for the 7th Marine Regiment (later the 5th Regiment) at Landing Zone Baldy. Mitchell stabilized and treated causalities in the medical bunker and traveled on emergency medevac missions. He was also in charge of personnel health records and treated Vietnamese civilians. In October 1970, he was transferred to Da Nang with the entire 1st Marine Division.

Jacob E. Odle III enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1965 at the age of eighteen. Her served one year and eleven days in Vietnam as a rifleman with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Regiment, 3rd Marine Division beginning in March 1969. Odle participated in operations Purple Martin, Scotland II, Sherwood Forest, and Georgia Tar across the Vietnamese peninsula.

Eddie Gene Pannell enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967 at the age of seventeen and started boot camp in January 1968. Pannell spent nearly one year in Vietnam beginning in March 1970, as a sergeant with the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force. He served as an interpreter traveling to South Vietnamese hamlets to assist with medical treatment, infrastructure growth, and other humanitarian missions. Pannell also occasionally interpreted during security checks and POW interrogation.

Richard L. Picard was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1962. He served in the Vietnam War for approximately two and a half years. His first assignment was with the 50th Tactical Airlift Squadron based out Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan. Picard was later assigned to the 21st Tactical Airlift Squadron, which flew out of Naha Air Base, Okinawa. Picard was a navigator on a C-130 Hercules.

Allan S. Pirnique joined the U.S. Navy on June 1, 1964, at the age of twenty-four. He served one year in Vietnam as a Navy doctor. For the first eight months of his tour he was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. The remaining four months he spent at the Navy Hospital at Chu Lai.

Herbert K. Reamey was commissioned into the U.S. Army on December 26, 1967, following his graduation from the ROTC program at Henderson State College. He was sent to Vietnam on December 18, 1968. Reamey’s first assignment was with the 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Infantry Division at Lai Khe. He was later transferred to the 1st Battalion, 18th Regiment, 1st Infantry Division where he served as a medical platoon leader.

John A. Robinette Sr. enlisted in the U.S. Army in the spring of 1968 at the age of twenty one. He served eleven and a half months in Vietnam with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Regiment, 25th Infantry Division beginning in April 1969. Robinette served as a grenadier, rifleman, and squad leader patrolling the area between Saigon and the Cambodian border. He later managed the battalion’s NCO Club in Cu Chi.

Ray A. Robinson was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942 at the age of twenty-one. He served in the Panama Canal Zone and the European Theater, completing 104 combat missions. After World War II he joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard. Robinson was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. He was sent to Vietnam in May 1964, where he served as director of the Air Support Operations Center for III Corps. Robinson passed away on December 27, 2017.

John R. Simmons Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1968 at the age of nineteen. He served one year in Vietnam as a company clerk with the 1st Aviation Brigade beginning in March 1969. The Brigade was responsible for forty percent of the Army’s helicopters and one hundred percent of its fixed wing aircraft. Simmons spent time in Bien Hoa and Vung Tau in southern Vietnam.

David P. Solomon was drafted into the U.S. Army in August 1964 at the age of nineteen. He served one year in Vietnam with the 1st Administration Company, 1st Infantry Division. His company was based at Di An with the headquarters of the division. Solomon worked as the secretary to the adjutant general of the division.

James Warren Stanley Jr. enlisted in the U. S. Army in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1969 at the age of twenty-two. He served one year in Vietnam with the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 160th Signal Group beginning in June 1970. Stanley was stationed at Long Binh, and his duties included assigning soldiers entering Vietnam to units throughout the country and maintaining personnel records.

Kenneth M. Stephens enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 25, 1966. He was nineteen years old at the time of his enlistment. Stephens served one year in Vietnam as a secure teletype operator with the 43rd Signal Battalion, 1st Signal Brigade. The unit was stationed at Pleiku.

Arvid Straschinske enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1963 at the age of eighteen. He served eleven months in Vietnam as part of the 188th Ordnance Company. Straschinske first worked at the ammo dump at Camp Holloway. He later served as a driver for the battalion commander and sometimes drove various dignitaries, including General Westmoreland.

Stephen Sunwall joined the U.S. Air Force on August 27, 1967, shortly after his graduation from college. He subsequently went to Officer Training School and then flight school. Sunwall arrived in Vietnam in September 1969 as a pilot on a C-130 Hercules with the 776th Tactical Airlift Squadron. The unit was based at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taiwan, but crews rotated to Cam Ranh Bay and Tan Son Nhut to fly missions. Sunwall served approximately eighteen months in Vietnam.

Frank Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army on January 15, 1964, in Little Rock, Arkansas, at the age of nineteen. He was sent to Vietnam in October 1967 and served there for twelve months. Thomas was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. His primary responsibility was driving a supply truck from Da Nang to Camp Evans.

Richard V. Urquhart enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968 at the age of twenty-one. He served in the Vietnam War for five months beginning in August 1969, as a first lieutenant with the 4th Battalion, 12th Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. Urquhart served as an artillery forward observer and fire direction officer. He participated in action at Dong Ha, Phu Bai, and Fire Base C-1 located approximately four miles south of the DMZ.

Frederick S. Ursery enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967 at the age of twenty-five. He served as a radio operator in the fire direction center of the 6th Battalion, 77th Artillery Regiment. Ursery spent the first four months of his tour at Cu Chi with the 25th Infantry Division. His unit was later assigned to the 9th Infantry Division and moved to Can Tho.

Jerry Vint enlisted in the U.S. Navy on January 31, 1966, at Little Rock. He was twenty-one years old at the time of his enlistment. Vint served two tours in Vietnam with the Seabees. His first tour was with Mobile Construction Battalion 133. His second tour was with Mobile Construction Battalion 22. He was based at Da Nang for both tours. Vint worked as a construction mechanic and also did equipment maintenance during his time there.

Dee A. “Butch” Walker was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1965. He was twenty years old. Walker served in Vietnam for one year, beginning in June 1966. He was assigned to the 39th Combat Engineer Battalion. Walker worked on different construction projects throughout central Vietnam during his tour.

Larry H. Weaver enlisted in the U.S Marine Corps in 1965 at the age of seventeen and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. Weaver spent eight months as infantry fire team leader and infantry squad team leader with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Regiment, 3rd Marine Division beginning in February 1967. After being wounded three times, he was sent back to the United States in 1968. Weaver later served one year with a Combined Action Platoon with H Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Regiment, 1st Marine Division. His squad lived with South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians in a military and humanitarian capacity.

Deana Weindorf, originally known as Dean Weindorf, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force on August 7, 1968, at the age of nineteen. She arrived in Vietnam on January 7, 1970, and served just over one year in country. Weindorf worked as navigational aids specialist with the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing at Da Nang Air Base.

Jimmy L. Wilson enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1953, at the age on nineteen. He served three tours in Vietnam. His first tour was with the 4th Transportation Command in Saigon. Wilson inspected security at barge sites where supplies were off loaded. During his second tour Wilson served with the 458th Transportation Company, which was the Army’s only waterborne security force in Vietnam. The unit patrolled inland rivers and coastlines in PBRs (patrol boat riverine). Wilson’s final tour was with the provost marshal’s office at Long Binh Post. Wilson passed away on April 24, 2021.

John Wolfe was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1959. He served over one year in Vietnam as pilot on a C-130 Hercules. He initially flew with the 815th Troop Carrier Squadron out of Tachikawa Air Base, Japan. After the unit was inactivated, he transferred to the 350th Reconnaissance Squadron, which flew drones out of U-Tapao Air Base, Thailand.