MICHAEL “MIKE” WILLIAM LYNE March 1, 1951 – January 7, 1970 Mike was born into a military family. Mike’s father, Army Special Forces Major Olney William Lyne Jr (1930-2006) and his mother Isabelle Marie Wright Lyne (1931-2011) met while he was a young Infantry officer at Ft. Bragg and she a soldier at Ft. Lee, VA. They joined in marriage…
CHARLES RANDOLPH WILLARD JR March 5, 1948 – January 7, 1970 Charles’ father, Charles Randolph Willard (1910-1997) and his mother Mary Lydia Stewart Willard (1914-1998) were married in Charlotte just before Christmas in 1937. Together, they owned the Willard Lead Smelting Company in Charlotte, NC. His father honorably served as a Major in the Artillery Branch of the US Army…
RANGER TEAM ROMEO-15 Team Leader LUTHER JAMES “JIM” DOSS JR February 9, 1948 – April 30, 1970 Jim was born in Max Meadows, VA to Luther James Doss (1919-1988) and Dorothy Madeline Safewright Doss (1926-1996). His father, Luther Sr. proudly served in the US Army during WWII. Both Jim and his father were raised in Christian families who stressed good…
DONALD RAY ARROWOOD March 2, 1949 – December 23, 2019 Both Donald’s father Alvin Loy Arrowood (1923-2014) and mother Lois Elizabeth Barger (1924-2011) were born in Catawba County, North Carolina, as was he. In 1943, Dad enlisted in the US Army to confront his nations enemies. He remained on active duty until the end of the war. Hickory, NC was…
DONALD TERRENCE KINCADE JR November 27, 1948 – June 4, 2011 Donald “Cade” Kincade was born in Paxton, Illinois on November 27, 1948. The year was 1948. WWII had ended a few years before and Donald T. Kincade (1920 – 2008) and Goldie Cupp Kincade (1922 – 2011), married in 1942, brought their new son home to join his sister…
MARVIN L “MARTY” SINCLAIR March 9, 1945 – November 7, 2019 Marty was born to Marvin Joseph Sinclair (1914-1983) and Faye D. Dowling Sinclair on March 9, 1945 in Boonville, Missouri. The nice thing about being surrounded by extended family is that while his father was away to war, there was still plenty of family to share loving support during…
ARCHIE LEE STRICKLAND July 4, 1947 – September 22, 2019 The 4th of July in the Summer of 1947 in Blackshear, Georgia witnessed the birth of Archie Lee Strickland to the already large family created by father William Henry Strickland (1898-1975) and mother Ella Crawford Strickland (1906-1987). Ultimately there were 6 children whose births spanned 21 years. Eldest sister Lena…
PFC KENNETH JAMES SMOLAREK PFC ROBERT JOHN SILVA Killed in action 11/27/1969, Thanksgiving Day – 50 years ago! Both of these young warriors voluntarily enlisted after high school, graduated Advanced Infantry Training, then went to Ft. Benning where they joined the elite Paratroopers after successfully completing jump school. They took different paths, but soon found their way to the big,…
THOMAS MICHAEL HUTHER May 30, 1947 – January 19, 2016 Tom was born in Williamsport, PA on May 30, 1947 to Louis O Huther (1920-2007) and Ethree Johnson Huther (1923-2007). His great-grandparents emigrated from Germany to PA in the early part of the 1800s. Why they chose central PA we do not know, but settle they did and raised their…
SGT LUIS HILERIO-PADILLA PFC EDDIE DEAN CARPENTER Killed in action 11/13/1969 – 50 years ago It was to be a “milk run”. TL Luis Hilerio-Padilla of Yonkers, NY and ATL Eddie Carpenter of Lexington, KY were both seasoned veterans who had pulled several missions together. New to the team was PFC David Burdock of Joplin, MO, PFC Angel Jiminez of…