In recognition of Monday being both Memorial Day and, in Pennsylvania, “Fallen Heroes of the Vietnam War Day,” here is a list of the 25 Centre Countians who lost their lives on the battlefields of Vietnam.
MCT file photo/Chuck Kennedy
Visitors to the Vietnam Memorial lay flowers and items of remembrance near the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C.
This information is primarily taken from “Reflections Of Those Who Served.” The booklet, containing lists of Vietnam War casualties from Centre
Pfc. Denis Eugene Abbott, 23, Army
Abbott graduated from Philipsburg- Osceola High School in 1962, worked for a time at the Presbyterian Home for the Aged, then joined the Army in 1965. He died April 22, 1966, during an attack on the Army base in Pleiku, Vietnam.
Spc. Aaron Buckley Aumiller, 27, Army
Aumiller was born in Bellefonte, and graduated from Bellefonte High School in 1957, and from Penn State in 1961. He enlisted in the Army in 1963. He was flight engineer and crew chief on a helicopter delivering supplies and removing wounded when the helicopter went down. He posthumously received the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters.
Staff Sgt. George Hayes Barger, 53, Army
From Howard, Barger died from non-hostile fire on Jan. 22, 1969, in Bien Hoa province.
William Bradley Breon, 20, Marine Corps
Born in Philipsburg, he graduated
and neighboring counties, was compiled by an ad hoc committee formed to help plan a Moving Wall display in Boalsburg in 1996. The Moving Wall is a mobile, half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Some information also came from the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial Fund web site, www.vvmf.org. from Bellefonte Area High School in 1963 and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He died, with 79 other Marines, in a plane crash in Orange County, Calif., on June 25, 1965, on his way to Vietnam.
Pfc. Melvin Lester Dolby, 19, Marine Corps
Dolby was born in DuBois, and graduated from Philipsburg High School in 1967. He enlisted in the Marine Corps, and was killed April 7, 1968, by hostile forces while on patrol in Quang Tri province. He posthumously received the Purple Heart.
1st Lt. Raymond Arthur Dubbs, 22, Army
Dubbs was born in Bellefonte in 1945, and graduated from Bellefonte High School. He enlisted in the Army in 1966. He served with Troop B, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry. On March 10, 1968, a patrol he was leading engaged a Viet Cong platoon. He was killed in the ensuing battle.
Spc. Francis Edward Dunlap Jr., 20, Army
Born in Bellefonte, Dunlap graduated from high school there in 1967, and worked for a time for Penn State before joining the military. He was a gunner on an Army personnel carrier when it hit a mine. He was severely burned, and was taken to the 106th General Hospital in Yokohama, Japan, where he died April 14, 1969.
Staff Sgt. George Elwood Eaton, 25, Army
Eaton was born in Blanchard and graduated from Lock Haven High School in 1961. He was a member of the National Guard, and joined the Army in 1964. He served 18 months in Vietnam, engaging in search and destroy missions, and was awarded the Bronze Star in 1966. He volunteered for a second term in Vietnam, and died April 26,
1969, by detonation of a booby trap while on a combat operation.
2nd Lt. David John Eckenrode, 22, Marine Corps
Born in Altoona, Eckenrode was a 1963 Bellefonte High School graduate. He attended the University of Virginia on an ROTC scholarship, and was commissioned second lieutenant upon graduation.
He served with the 7th Engineering Battalion, 1st Marine Division. On July 21, 1968, he was directing construction and clearing a perimeter outside DaNang when a fellow Marine hit a mine with a bulldozer. Eckenrode ran to help him and tripped another mine.
Spc. Dale Charles Fisher, 21, Army
Fisher was born in Bellefonte and graduated from Bellefonte High School, then enlisted in the Army and was sent to Vietnam in March 1968. He was stationed near Hue with the 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. While on a search and destroy mission on Feb. 22, 1969, he was accidentally shot by friendly fire and died.
Pfc. Robert Lee Gable, 19, Marine Corps
Born in Philipsburg, Gable graduated from West Branch High School in 1966 and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He was sent to Quan Tri in Vietnam with the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Division. He was serving as a forward observer at Con Thien on Sept. 16, 1967, when a forward bunker took a direct hit. Gable went to check on the welfare of two observers in the bunker and was killed by a second direct hit.
Sgt. Stephen Thomas Kucas, 37, Army
Kucas was born in Bellefonte, and was a graduate of St. John’s Parochial School and a member of the Bellefonte High School Class of 1949. He enlisted in the Army in January 1951. He died March 1, 1968, but no information was provided.
Pfc. Donald Ray Lucas, 20, Marine Corps
Lucas was born in Bellefonte and was a 1967 graduate of Penns Valley High School. He joined the Marines in 1968 and was eventually deployed to Vietnam. He had been there two months, serving with the 1st Marine Division in Quang Nam province, when he was killed on Jan. 12, 1969, by a hostile explosive device.
Lance Cpl. William Franklin Merrill, 21, Marine Corps
Merrill was born in Muncy, and graduated in 1966 from Muncy High School. He moved with his family in August of that year to State College, and
worked for HRB Singer Inc. until he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1968.
He was a radioman/demolitions expert with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. While on patrol on Nov. 26, 1969, he and his first sergeant found and guided their fellow Marines around an enemy booby trap. Then, while they were attempting to locate and disconnect the wires, the booby trap exploded, killing both men instantly.
Merrill was posthumously awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V. He also received the Purple Heart, The Grit Award for Meritorious Community Service and the Daughters of the American Revolution Memorial.
1st Lt. David Gerhart Myers, 23, Marine Corps
The son of a State College couple, Myers was reported missing in action on June 8, 1967. For exceptional heroism, he was posthumously awarded the POW Commemorative Medal of Honor.
Hospital Corpsman Second Class Andrew Charles Rackow, 20, Navy
Rackow grew up in Jenkintown the son of a doctor and graduated from Cheltenham High School. He left Penn State to enlist, became a senior medical corpsman with the 1st Marine Division and was killed on Aug. 6, 1968, by hostile fire while on a rescue mission in Quang Tri province.
Spc. Theodore Matthew Ropchock, 20, Army
Born in Philipsburg, Ropchock graduated from West Branch High School in 1968. He enlisted in the Army and was sent to Vietnam in 1969. He was assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 1st Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division. On March 7, 1970, he was on patrol when he was killed by hostile fire.
Capt. George Bernard Rusnak, 29, Army
Born in Philipsburg, Rusnak graduated from Philipsburg- Osceola High School. He was a helicopter gunship pilot serving with the 1/9 Air Calvary, 1st Air Calvary and was killed in action on March 22, 1967, at Bon Song, Vietnam, while flying aircover assault during Operation Pershing.
Lance Cpl. Michael Paul Segich, 18, Marine Corps
Segich attended Philipsburg- Osceola High School, leaving in his sophomore year to join the Marines. He served in Cuba for a year, studying blueprinting and welding. He was sent to Vietnam in April 1970, and was out on maneuver on May 12, 1970, when he was accidentally killed by friendly fire.
Maj. Lewis Philip Smith II, 25, Air Force
Smith graduated from Bellefonte Area High School in 1960, and from Penn State, where he was a music major, in 1964. He had attended Penn State through the Air Force ROTC, and upon graduation was sent to Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma for training as a pilot. He flew C- 103s for 2 1/2 years, then was sent back to school to learn
to fly small planes as a forward air controller.
Smith was then sent to Vietnam, and on May 30, 1968, while flying a mission over Laos, he encountered enemy fire, and his plane crashed. He was listed as missing in action, and on June 21, 1978, was declared killed in action.
Cpt. Robert Williams Swigart, 34, Marines
The son of a rear admiral, Swigart was from State College. He died from sniper fire on July 4, 1967, during a battle in Quang Tri province between North Vietnamese Army soldiers and India Company of the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marine Division.
Pfc. Thomas Donald Steele, 20, Army
Steele was born in Wilkes- Barre and graduated from Coughlin High School in Wilkes-Barre. He was an actor and lighting man with the Little Theater. He was assigned to Company C, 1st Infantry and was killed by Viet Cong mortar fire 12 days after arriving in Vietnam.
Cpl. Milford Homer Wensel, 20, Army
Born in Howard, Wensel graduated from Lock Haven High School in 1966. He was sent to Vietnam in March 1969, serving as a half-track operator with the 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division. His parents in Monument learned that he died June 5, 1969, while going out at night for his half-track. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
Cmdr. Danforth Eillithorpe White, 38, Navy
A Navy pilot from State College, White was shot down over Laos on March 31, 1969.
Pfc. William Ivan White, 18, Marine Corps
White was born in Canton, Ohio, and later moved with his family to Vandergrift. He graduated from Kiski Area Senior High School in 1966 and joined the Marine Corps. He served in Vietnam with Company G, 1st Platoon, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division. He died Oct. 14, 1967, from wounds sustained during an enemy attack in Quang Tri province. He was posthumously awarded the Gallantry Cross with Palm by the government of Vietnam and the Purple Heart.
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