July 4, 1967 -- A Sad, Sad Day for 49 American Families

While we’re celebrating America’s birthday this Fourth of July, 49 American families will be noting a different milestone – they lost a loved one in Vietnam 50 years ago, on Independence Day 1967.

Our Nation is currently commemorating the 50^th anniversary of that conflict. Of the more than 58,000 Americans who died there, 167 were killed on a Fourth of July (between 1965 and 1973). The worst Fourth was in 1967, when 49 perished.

Every death in Vietnam is a tragedy, but it’s particularly poignant that these men died serving our country on the Fourth of July. Some were career military men, some were gung-ho volunteers, some were reluctant draftees, but each one courageously did what our country asked of them.

I came to know the families, friends, and Vietnam comrades of many of these men while writing a book, “Died on the Fourth of July.” For the past 49 years, each family has marked this day in their own way, and I’m sure they’ll do the same this 50th anniversary. Some go to The Wall in Washington, some go to Mass, some say a silent prayer, and some simply pause to reflect on a loved one who didn’t come home. Lest we forget, here are the stories of a few of them (a list of all 49 follows):

Melvin Newlin

PFC Melvin Earl Newlin was 18 when he gave his life in an act of valor that saved the lives of his comrades and earned him a posthumous Medal of Honor. A Marine from Wellsville, Ohio, he held off attacking enemy troops despite being gravely wounded, keeping his unit from being overrun. Of more than 3,400 recipients of the Medal of Honor in our Nation’s history, he is one of only 10 whose heroic actions were on a Fourth of July.

George Pace

Marine Lance Corporal George Alexander Pace of Detroit, 22, wanted to be a Catholic priest. He was attending seminary, but gave up his deferment and volunteered in the hope it would keep his older brother, a Reserve officer who was married with children, from going into combat. He survived six months as an infantryman then became a chaplain’s assistant, a seemingly safe job. On July 4, 1967, as he was standing at the altar assisting with Mass, an incoming rocket exploded outside the chapel. Shrapnel pierced his heart, and despite the heroic efforts of Navy surgeon Dr. Donald Hagan, George died that night. George's family will gather at The Wall this Fourth of July to once again honor him. Below you'll find a poster they will leave there.

 

Stanley Houston Sullivan, 23, was a Marine PFC from Tennessee.

Stanley Sullivan

He discovered a trip wire leading to a booby trap, followed it to a North Vietnamese soldier, and attacked him before he could detonate it. Stanley was killed by small arms fire, but saved his comrades from almost certain death. He was engaged to be married. His fiancé recalls that July 4, 1967 was, “a sad, sad day” in Fayetteville, Tennessee.

Stanley was a member of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines. He was one of 12 men from the unit who died that Fourth of July (see complete list below).

Richard Robey

Army Specialist Fourth Class Richard Neal Robey, 20, was from Spencerville, Ohio, a small town west of Lima. He was killed in an explosion while sweeping a road for mines. His dying words to his commanding officer were, “Tell my mother I love her.”

When Marine Lance Corporal Dwight David Eisenhour was born in 1946, his father, a WWII veteran, named him after the famous Army general and future president, Dwight David Eisenhower. When then-General Eisenhower learned of his namesake, he sent

Dwight Eisenhour

the baby an autographed photo. In 1967, now a former President, Ike sent the family a letter of condolence after Dwight was killed. Corporal Eisenhour, of North Platte, Nebraska, died at age 20 in a “friendly fire” incident when he accidentally drove into an area where dud ordnance was being exploded.

Growing up in the small town of Duenweg, Missouri, Monty Rae Sewell befriended a lonely neighborhood girl named Victoria, eight years his junior. When he left for Vietnam as a Marine Lance Corporal,

Monty Sewell

he promised her he would come home safely, a promise he couldn't keep. Monty was 20 when he was killed by small arms fire. Victoria, now in her sixties, still remembers him after all this time. A few years ago, she wrote this about her friend: “Monty taught me to shoot a basketball. He showed me how to bait a hook. And he showed me what it means to be an American. He did everything a ‘big brother’ should except for that one promise he broke.”

Victoria contacted me recently to say she plans to honor Monty this Fourth of July. It would be a fitting tribute for all Americans to join her in thanking Monty, and the other 48 men who died that day while serving our country.

George Pace's family will leave this memento at The Wall on the Fourth of July.

KILO 3/9 MARINES WHO DIED ON JULY 4, 1967
NAME	RANK	AGE	HOME OF RECORD
Anderson, Clinton H. Jr.	2LT	22	El Segundo, California
Belton, Calvin	PFC	20	New Haven, Connecticut
Cox, Daniel Ronen	Lance Corporal	20	Litchfield, Illinois
Fee, Edward	Corpsman	21	El Campo, Texas
Feliciano, Gilbert	PFC	20	Cleveland, Ohio
Hedblum, David Arthur	PFC	20	Seattle, Washington
Johnson, Freddie	Lance Corporal	20	Frogmore, Louisiana
Jones, Thomas Jake	Lance Corporal	20	Portland, Oregon
Norton, Roger Kay	PFC	19	Auburn, Illinois
Overmyer, Robert Joe	Lance Corporal	20	Mattoon, Illinois
Pietras, Frank Martin	Lance Corporal	21	Springfield, New York
Sullivan, Stanley Houston	PFC	23	Fayetteville, Tennessee