I’d like to tell you about a very important trip that I’m taking at the end of this month on behalf of the A Brave Service non-profit organization. On May 31st, I’ll fly to Washington state for a week of research, travel and sharing. The purpose of my trip is to visit the final resting places of six men who died in Vietnam over 55 years ago. Each man is connected to the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, which is the same unit my wife Garnett’s uncle Corporal Donald Sperl was serving in when he was killed in action in May of 1968. I’ll also meet with another Vietnam researcher, and spend some time with a veteran who served in Charlie Company, 3-12 Infantry in 1969.
I’ve written short biographies for each of these men, which I’ll complete after standing at the sites of their burial. At each gravesite, I’ll spend a few minutes tidying up the area around the headstone, and leave a small American flag and a penny to memorialize my visit. At the end of the trip, I’ll publish the grave site vignettes here on the A Brave Service website.
I started this journey almost 10 years ago, when I visited Donald’s grave site in Juneau, Alaska. Since that day, I’ve visited 70 graves in over a dozen states, each one the final resting place of a soldier lost in Vietnam who served in or alongside the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry in Vietnam.
It will be a very busy week, in which I’ll need to cover roughly 1500 miles making my way from one location to the next. I’m including a copy of the itinerary below, and if you’d like to join me on a grave site visit, please let me know.
If you’re interested in these men’s stories, and want to help me tell them, please consider donating to A Brave Service. https://abraveservice.org/donation/
Itinerary
Trip Map
Okanogan, WA – PFC Jackie Combs – C/3-12 Infantry. Casualty date 11/17/67.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/10015/JACKIE-R-COMBS/
Yakima, WA – SP4 Daniel Fenn – A/3-12 Infantry. Casualty date 9/13/70.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/15864/DANIEL-R-FENN/
Vaughn, WA – PFC Ronald King – B/3-12 Infantry. Casualty date 11/19/67.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/28066/RONALD-D-KING/
Eugene, OR – SGT James Cartwright – C/3-12 Infantry. Casualty date 5/23/67.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/8258/JAMES-W-CARTWRIGHT/
Portland, OR – SP4 James Berge – HHC/3-12 Infantry. Casualty date 1/23/68.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/3669/JAMES-M-BERGE/
Portland, OR – PFC Dana Roesner B/1-12 Infantry (OPCON to the 3-12 Inf). Casualty date 3/2/68.
https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/44194/DANA-H-ROESNER/