The Official Voice of Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. ®
An organization chartered by the U.S. Congress
March/April 2006
FROM THE NATIONAL CHAPLAINTaps
BY REV.PHIL SALOIS, M.S.
Frank Dale Barker died August 15, 2005, in Spring City, Pennsylvania. The cause of death was cancer. He was born in West Virginia on September 13, 1944. Barker served in the U.S. Marine Corps in the Vietnam War and was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Pottstown Chapter 565.Charles R. “Shorty” Barr died August 31, 2005, at the Kansas Soldiers Home in Fort Dodge, Kansas, at the age of 75. He served in the U.S. Air Force from October 1946 to October 1967, attaining the rank of Staff Sergeant (E-6). Barr was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Hays Chapter 939.
Steven Robert Barry, 57, died August 30, 2005, in Wichita, Kansas. He served in the U.S. Navy from May 1967 to March 1970 in the Vietnam War. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Ponca City Chapter 750.
Thomas Eugene Bratten, Jr., 61, died June 22, 2005, in Friendsville, Maryland. He joined the Maryland Army National Guard in 1963 and deployed to Vietnam at the rank of Captain in 1970. He was wounded on May 28, losing an arm, leg, and finger, and he suffered head wounds. He retired from the Army at the rank of Captain with 100 percent disability. Bratten was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with “V” device, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, and other awards. He served as Commissioner of the Maryland Veterans Commission, representing the Eighth Congressional District from 1987-93. He was Director of the Maryland Veterans Commission from August 1993 to September 1999 and was appointed Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs in 1999. Bratten was a life member and Past President of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
Standing Bear, 58, died in 2005 in Front Royal, Virginia. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Rixeyville Chapter 752.
Ronald L. Benfield, 62, died October 14, 2005, in Princeton, West Virginia, from Agent Orange-related cancer. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Benfield was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Princeton Chapter 628.
Lloyd Ivan Bennett, 56, died December 10, 2005, in Vermont, Illinois. The cause of death was swelling of the brain. Bennett served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from July 1967 to January 1968. He was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Fort Madison Chapter 947.
James Robert Boyd died in 2005 in Tonawanda, New York, at the age of 58. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War. Boyd was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Tonawanda Chapter 77.
Warren E. Camden, 64, died December 15, 2005, in Xenia, Ohio, from lung disease. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1967-68 in Vietnam. Camden was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Xenia Chapter 930.
Normand A. Caron died August 12, 2005, in Fall River, Massachusetts. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from May 1962 to June 1969, with service in Vietnam from December 1966 to February 1968 with the First Marine Division as a rifleman. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Westport Chapter 207.
Clifford Carter died in 2005 at the Oxford Nursing Home in Oxford, New York. He was a permanently hospitalized veteran. Carter was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Owego Chapter 480.
Patrick M. Colosimo, 54, died October 6, 2005, in Lavale, Maryland. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Colosimo was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
Mickey R. Conroy died of a heart attack September 20, 2005, in Santa Ana, California, at the age of 77. He served in three wars. He lied about his age and joined the Merchant Marines at the age of 17 during World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Korean War, and he served two tours of duty in Vietnam. A champion for veterans’ causes, Conroy was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Irvine Chapter 785.
Edwin Kaye Crawley died in 2005 in Chattanooga at the age of 71. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1963. Crawley was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Chattanooga Chapter 203.
Gary W. Davis died in Madisonville, Texas, at the age of 62. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Davis was an at-large life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Texas.
Weymouth W. Derby died November 14, 2005, in Indianapolis at the age of 59. He served in the U.S. Army, with a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Division. He was awarded three Purple Hearts. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Sammy L. Davis (Indianapolis) Chapter 295.Michael B. Dishman died in San Marcos, Texas. He was born October 2, 1939. Dishman served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-San Marcos Chapter 923.
William L. Eads, 61, died in April 2005 in Monrovia, Indiana. He served in the U.S. Navy in the Vietnam War on the U.S.S. Falcon. He was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Sammy L. Davis (Indianapolis) Chapter 295.
Hilbert Eppler died December 22, 2005, in Lawton, Oklahoma, at the age of 78. His death was diabetes-related. He served in the U.S. Army, with tours of duty in Germany, Korea, and Alaska, retiring in 1965 at the rank of Staff Sergeant. Eppler was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Lawton Chapter 751.
Frank J. Fanelli died recently in Dobbs Ferry, New York, at the age of 81. He served in the U.S. Navy, with a tour in Vietnam from 1968-69. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Pleasantville Chapter 49.
Garfield Valiant (Val) Feyen died December 9, 2005, in Kinsley, Kansas, at the age of 59. He died of complications from hepatitis C. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Feyen was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Hays Chapter 939.
Brian S. Frymoyer, 39, was murdered January 20 in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was a life member of Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America-Reading Chapter 131.
Robert Lawrence Gaither, Jr., died from a stroke December 27, 2005, in Harrison, Tennessee, at the age of 57. He served in the U.S. Army from 1967-70 with a tour of duty in Vietnam. Gaither was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Chattanooga Chapter 203.
Robert D. Gardner, 70, died November 24, 2005, in Nevada, Missouri. The cause of death was cellular cancer. He served in the U.S. Army for 20 years. Gardner was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Nevada Chapter 918.
Henry James Gaughan, Sr., 52, died September 6, 2005, in Cumberland, Maryland. He served in the U.S. Navy and retired after a full career that included service in the Vietnam War. Gaughan was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
Patrick P. “Pappy” Graham, 58, died of cancer January 9, 2006, in Akron, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966-67 and was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Akron Chapter 34.
Forrest H. Harrison, 54, died October 1, 2005, in Climax, Michigan. The cause of death was cancer. Harrison was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Battle Creek Chapter 313.
Gary L. Hatswell died November 20, 2005, in Lockport, New York. He died as a result of cardiorespiratory arrest due to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division from November 1968-69. Hatswell was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Tonawanda Chapter 77.
John D. Henderson died in December 2005 in Cumberland, Maryland, at the age of 61. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
Robert P. Hungate, Jr., 50, died last year in Daggett, California. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Hungate was an at-large member of Vietnam Veterans of America-California.
Allen R. Hunt died of cancer December 21, 2005, in Hamilton, Montana, at the age of 59. He served in the U.S. Army from 1965-67, with service in the Vietnam War. Hunt was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Bitterroot Valley (Hamilton) Chapter 938.
Stephen Wayne Huston, 55, died October 7, 2005, while fly-fishing on a trout stream near Cotter, Arkansas. He served in the U.S. Navy from February 1971-75 as a cryptological technician with the U.S. Naval Security Group. Huston was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Ponca City Chapter 750.
Fred A. Johnson died December 28, 2005, in Lake Katrine, New York, at the age of 60. He served in the U.S. Army, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Kingston Chapter 60.
Robert Lee Kimbrel died August 15, 2005, in Tulsa at the age of 51. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1972-75, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. He also served in the National Guard and the Reserves for 23 years. Kimbrel was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Ponca City Chapter 750.
David E. Kugler died January 25 in Harrison, Ohio. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Kugler was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cincinnati Chapter 10.
Howard Lee Lightwine, 61, died November 30, 2005, in Moundville, Missouri, from pulmonary fibrosis of the lungs. He served in the U.S. Navy from July 1974-78. He was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Nevada Chapter 918.
Michael B. Lindemuth, 27, died April 13, 2005, at Camp Hit, Al Anbar Province, Iraq, from wounds resulting from enemy mortar fire. He was born in Petoskey, Michigan, on December 17, 1977, and is survived by his mother. Lindemuth served in the U.S. Marine Corps from July 5, 2000, until his death. He was assigned to the Regimental Combat Team 2, 3/25 Marines from Akron, Ohio. He was a member of Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America-Petoskey Chapter 68.
Daniel L. Linthicum died in 2005 in Yukon, Oklahoma, at the age of 66. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Rixeyville Chapter 752.
Charlie MacDonald died in 2005 in Culpepper, Virginia. He was a member of Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America-Rixeyville Chapter 752.
Michael R. Martin died in Petersburg, Michigan. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Carleton Chapter 142.
Walter Martin died December 25, 2005, in Jasper, Tennessee, at the age of 73. He served in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam from 1965-1966. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Chattanooga Chapter 203.
Daniel Patrick McLain, 60, died February 6 in Baltimore. The cause of death was diabetes Type II and a blood clot to the lungs. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. McLain was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Bel Air Chapter 588.
Thomas W. Millward, Jr., died March 11, 2005, in Texarkana, Arkansas, at the age of 66. He died from colorectal cancer. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. Millward was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Texarkana Chapter 278.
Charles A. Morris, 63, died November 15, 2005, in Chillicothe, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1963-69, with service in Vietnam. Morris was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Chillicothe Chapter 810.
Steven Hewitt Neal died November 20, 2005, in his home in Long Beach, California, at the age of 58. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Neal was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Long Beach Chapter 756.
David R. Nelson, 63, died January 14 in Shiocton, Wisconsin, from a stroke and a massive heart attack. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Nelson was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Shawano Chapter 206.
Donald Russell Olewine died December 4, 2005, in Slatington, Pennsylvania, at the age of 59. He died of a heart attack while shoveling snow. He served in the U.S. Army from 1965-67, attaining the rank of Sergeant E-5. Olewine served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 9th Infantry Division. He was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Easton Chapter 415.
Paul O’Neil, Jr., died December 9, 2005, in Westernport, Maryland, at the age of 68. He served in the U.S. Army for 25 years and retired at the rank of Master Sergeant. He served a tour of duty in Vietnam. O’Neil was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
Verl Allen Perkins, 61, died October 22, 2005, in Frostburg, Maryland. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1963-69 during the Vietnam War. Perkins was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Cumberland Chapter 172.
James Alexander Petrousky died of pancreatic cancer October 19, 2005, in Port Tobacco, Maryland, at the age of 62. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from August 1964-67, with a 13-month tour of duty in Vietnam. Petrousky was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Athol Chapter 340.
Glen David Raney, 57, died June 25, 2005, in Shreveport, Louisiana, from a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War from 1968-71. He joined the Naval Reserve Seabees and later joined the Louisiana Army National Guard 1/156th Armored Battalion. Raney was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Texarkana Chapter 278.
Fred R. Schmitt died of a heart attack March 21, 2005, in Somerset, Pennsylvania. He served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from February 1968 to March 1969. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Somerset Chapter 587.
Roger Paul “Sparky” Schomburg, 61, died of cancer December 29, 2005, in his home in Defiance, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1962-65, serving in Germany. Schomburg was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Defiance Chapter 954.
Albert M. Silverberg, 62, died in 2005 in Tonawanda, New York. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Silverberg was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Tonawanda Chapter 77.
Robert J. Smith died January 15 in Lawton, Oklahoma, at the age of 61. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966-70. Smith was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Lawton Chapter 751.
Steven M. Spencer, 61, died in July 2005 in Elida, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Army from April 1967 to March 1970, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. Spencer was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Xenia Chapter 930.
John Stewart died in 2005 at the Oxford Nursing Home in Oxford, New York. He was permanently hospitalized. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Stewart was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Owego Chapter 480.
Philipa Truman Sumpter, 56, died January 10 in Georgetown, South Carolina. He served in the U.S. Army from July 1969 to August 1971, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. Sumpter was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Myrtle Beach Chapter 925.
Jack Taylor died in 2005 in Richmond, Virginia, at the age of 57. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Rixeyville Chapter 752.
Bronson H. Thomas, 82, died July 10, 2004, in Santa Clara, California. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the U.S.S. McKinley. He was a life member of Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America-San Jose Chapter 201.
Ralph Joseph Thomas, 57, died July 1, 2005, in Williamsburg, Virginia. The cause of death was a heart attack related to Agent Orange. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, with a 1967 tour in Vietnam. Thomas was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Williamsburg Chapter 957.
Howard W. Trezonaica died recently in Landers, California, at the age of 76. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1943-71, with a tour of duty in Vietnam. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Detroit Chapter 9.
Don L. Urbank died in October 2005 in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, at the age of 68. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Urbank was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Newburg Chapter 448.
Charles VanKuren died in 2005 at the Oxford Nursing Home in Oxford, New York. He was permanently hospitalized. VanKuren was a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Owego Chapter 480.
Earl D. Young died April 29, 2005, in Milton, Wisconsin. A veteran of the Vietnam War, Young was a member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Janesville Chapter 236.
Thomas M. Youngblood, 57, died September 8, 2005, at his home in Jesup, Georgia. He served in the U.S. Army, with two tours in Vietnam from 1970-72. Youngblood was awarded the Silver Star, the Combat Aircrew Badge, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, and other awards. He was a life member of Vietnam Veterans of America-Hinesville Chapter 789.
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