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This is
remembrance of two fallen Marine heroes who died 23
years apart in two different Wars. First, my Uncle, Sgt.
Ray E. Bushaw 3/24 Reg. 4th. Marine Div. KIA on March
3rd. 1945 during the assault on Hill 382, Iwo Jima,
Sulpher Islands in WWII. My Uncle Ray was my main
inspiration to join the Marine Corps in 1966.
Second, my
friend Don Saunders who was KIA on March 4th. 1968
during the Siege of Khe Sanh. I served with Don with
1/13 from July 1967 until his death. Don was a good and
loyal friend to all; it was my honor to have known and
served with Don at Khe Sanh.
L/Cpl.Beryl H. Bushaw
USMC 1966-1968
“VERY INTERESTING”
By Craig W. Tourte
Interesting
about life and the little twists and turns it takes.
Beryl called me on the telephone today. Those of you who
receive the Red Clay magazine might remember the photo
that Tom Horchler took of our little unit standing in
front of the truck after the Siege and just before we
loaded up and left Khe Sanh, although I‘m afraid I may
have misidentified Beryl in the photo. It was the first
time I had talked to Beryl since Quang Tri where we all
ended up some forty years ago. We talked about an hour,
an emotional moment for the both of us I’m sure. Beryl
asked about Fred Thomas Jr. He said that he had made
several attempts at contacting people by that name but
without any luck. We were all pretty close at Khe Sanh
and made various promises to visit each other should we
survive. It was with great sadness that I told Beryl
that Fred had extended his tour and was KIA in the early
part of 1969. Mike Fishbaugh sent the story to me and I
wrote a little article about it in Red Clay and posted
something on the board about it.
I asked Tom
Eichler to send Beryl the new edition of Red Clay and a
few past editions. Beryl recently got a computer and
just found our web site, this is his first POST. It’s
good to have another join out family and a pretty nice
surprise to have on our birthday.
Welcome home Beryl and welcome to the
brotherhood.
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