Vietnam vets, families to be honored at Traveling Wall ceremony

By Crystal Burns | September 22, 2021 |

Veterans, families to be honored at Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall ceremony

By Logan Watson

Local veterans who lost their lives in the Vietnam War will be honored at ceremonies this week during the display of the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in Trenton.
The memorial, a 3/5 scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will be displayed at Pedestrian Park in Downtown Trenton beginning on Thursday, September 23. The wall is six feet tall in the center, and covers almost 300 feet from end to end, with engravings of the names of the 58,274 men and eight women who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
An opening ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, September 24, featuring a Battlefield Cross ceremony and performances by the Peabody High School Band of Gold, as well as words from guest speaker SM2 George Adkins. The closing ceremony will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, September 26, and will end with a special flag presentation ceremony. The wall be free to view and open 24 hours a day during the event.
The names of the Gibson County natives killed during the war will also be read at the opening and closing ceremonies, and their surviving family members will be recognized. They are:

Bradford

U.S. Army Corporal Gary Ray Cates, 1946-1968. 22 years old. Served in D Company, 5th Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Joseph Wade Guinn, 1942-1970. 28 years old. Served in Aero Rifle Platoon, B Troop, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.

Dyer

U.S. Army Corporal James Larry McCoy, 1942-1968. 25 years old. Served in A Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division.

Humboldt

U.S. Army Specialist Four James Auston Brown, 1949-1970. 20 years old. Served in 362nd Engineering Company, 588th Engineering Battalion, 79th Engineering Group, 20th Engineering Brigade.

U.S. Army Private First Class William Thomas London, 1946-1966. 20 years old. Served in B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division. PFC London served for just over two months before his death.

U.S. Army Sergeant Wilford Avon Young, 1949-1970. 21 years old. Served in C Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division.

Kenton

U.S. Army Second Lieutenant Paul J. Hicks, 1939-1967. 27 years old. Served in HHC, 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion, 11th Aviation Group, 1st Cavalry Division.

Medina

U.S. Army Private First Class Ronald Lee Carter, 1946-1966. 20 years old. Served in C Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. PFC Carter served less than two months before his death.

U.S. Army Specialist Four James Kenneth Palmer, 1946-1967. 21 years old. Served in 120th Aviation Group, 210th Aviation Battalion, 12th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade.

Milan

U.S. Army Private First Class Wallace Adrion Abbott, 1946-1966. 19 years old. Served in C Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. PFC Abbott served just over one month before his death.

U.S. Marines Corporal Robert Lee Stanek, 1946-1968. 21 years old. Served in B Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st MAD, III MAF. CPL Stanek served just over six months before his death.

Rutherford

U.S. Marines Private Bobby Joe Barber, 1947-1967. 19 years old. Served in D Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd MAD, III MAF.