Fourteen names to be added to The Wall, honored on Mother’s Day
Each spring, VVMF works with the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that The Wall is accurate. When MIAs are recovered in Vietnam or when an appeal has been approved for addition to The Wall, VVMF makes the appropriate changes.
On Mother’s Day, fourteen new names will take their rightful place among their fallen brothers and sisters. Please join the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund in honoring the fourteen new names and eight status changes that will be added to The Wall on Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. Each year, new names are added to The Wall to fix clerical errors and mistakes, and to honor those veterans who died as a direct result of their wounds sustained while in Vietnam.
The fourteen men who will be added to The Wall are as follows:
Jerry Leon Antrich
Staff Sergeant, E6
Date of Birth: 20 June 1930
Home of Record: Houston, Texas
Date of Death: 10 August 1969
Panel 29E Line 9
Jerry L. Antrich served at Fort Sill from 1952 to 1964 with three intervening tours in Korea and Germany. In June 1966 he was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Riley Kansas and then to the 84th Artillery in Korea from August 1966 to January 1967 when that battery went to Vietnam. He was wounded and evacuated from Vietnam on November 16, 1967.
Frederick Joseph Baum
Sergeant First Class, E7
Date of Birth: 22 February 1930
Home of Record: Baltimore, Maryland
Date of Death: 28 February 1971
Panel 4W Line 16
Frederick J. Baum extended his Vietnam tour in February 1970 after re-enlisting in Vietnam in September 1967. He was posthumously awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service on 23 March 1971, General Order 1284, from HQ US Army, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence.
Henry John Drozdowski Jr.
Private First Class, E3
Date of Birth: 9 March 1947
Home of Record: Detroit, Michigan
Date of Death: 30 April 2011
Panel 17E Line 102
Henry J. Drozdowski Jr. was severely injured in 1967 while fighting in Operation Cedar Falls, a massive search and destroy operation to eradicate the so-called “Iron Triangle,” an area in close proximity to Saigon that had become a major stronghold of the Viet Cong. He received two Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star.
Michael Noel Faherty
Specialist 5, SP5
Date of Birth: 30 December 1946
Home of Record: Marlboro, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 25 July 1968
Panel 46W Line 37
Michael N. Faherty was born in Galway, Ireland. He immigrated to Boston and joined the U.S. Army on April 20, 1966. He is buried in Rahoon Cemetery, in Galway city, where a weathered grave marker stands witness to his short military career.
Gregory Jackson Franklin
Private First Class, E3
Date of Birth: 19 July 1949
Home of Record: Winchester, Virginia
Date of Death: 12 February 1979
Panel 37W Line 31
Gregory J. Franklin was wounded in action on November 27, 1968 and died of those wounds on February 12, 1979. He was laid to rest in Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester, Virginia.
William Arthur Gabrielsen
Specialist 4, SP4
Date of Birth: 2 April 1947
Home of Record: Frankfort, Michigan
Date of Death: 10 March 1970
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“Bill was a kind, decent, and caring young man who had his entire life before him. Had he lived he would have been known by all for his kind hearted gentle spirit. A wonderful son, brother, and friend, he made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. It is only fitting that his name has finally found its place on The Wall,” said his brother, Ed Gabrielsen.
Ronald Hall
Private First Class, E3
Date of Birth: 20 July 1948
Home of Record: Birmingham, Alabama
Date of Death: 2 October 1967
Panel 27E Line 39
Ronald Hall completed Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning in 1966. In February 1967, he was assigned to Company C, 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Infantry Division as a Medical Aid Man in Vietnam.
Robert Kroptavich
Specialist 4, SP4
Date of Birth: 26 October 1942
Home of Record: Scranton, Pennsylvania
Date of Death: 10 September 1968
Panel 35W Line 50
Robert Kroptavich reported to Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in February 1967. Later that year he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.
Thomas Charles Littles
Specialist 4, SP4
Date of Birth: 29 November 1946
Home of Record: Brewton, Alabama
Date of Death: 3 June 1971
Panel 14W Line 15
Thomas C. Littles completed high school at Conecuh County Training School (CCTS) in Evergreen, Alabama. After graduation, he attended Dillard University briefly on a basketball scholarship. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966 and assigned for duty with Company C/1/5 Mechanic- 25th Infantry Division. He was wounded in 1969 during his first tour in Vietnam.
Paul Luther Loidolt
Private First Class, E3
Date of Birth: 30 August 1948
Home of Record: Phoenix, Arizona
Date of Death: 21 February 1969
Panel 48E Line 4
Paul L. Loidolt enlisted in the military in Phoenix, Arizona on June 8, 1967. He was wounded in Vietnam on April 4, 1968 and passed from his injuries in 1969.
Walter Hugh Mauldin
Master Sergeant, E8
Date of Birth: 9 September 1931
Home of Record: Doraville, Georgia
Date of Death: 8 May 1968
Panel 60E Line 14
Walter H. Mauldin joined the military in April 1948 and served for more than 20 years. His eldest daughter Elisabeth remembers, “He definitely wanted to join the military and serve out of a sense of duty. We last saw our father at Walter Reed Hospital in the spring of 1968.”
Alan Leslie Seamans
Specialist 4, SP4
Date of Birth: 10 June 1949
Home of Record: Grafton County, New Hampshire
Date of Death: 25 January 1998
Panel 27E Line 98
Alan L. Seamans was severely wounded on October 13, 1967 in an engagement in the Ho Bo Woods north of Cu Chi, South Vietnam while serving with D Company, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry. On March 6, 1968 he was medically retired from the U. S. Army.
Chester Staten
Machinist’s Mate Third Class, MM3
Date of Birth: 4 July 1943
Home of Record: Rayville, Louisiana
Chester Staten attended Pardue Elementary School and graduated from Alto High School at the age of 15. After graduation, he moved to Houston, Texas to live with an older sister. In 1961 he joined the U.S. Navy and completed engineering training. He was on the USS Ranger when he was killed in 1965.
Danny Joe Wilson
Private First Class, E3
Date of Birth: 8 July 1944
Home of Record: Florence, Alabama
Date of Death: 16 November 2012
Panel 18E Line 109
Danny J. Wilson entered the U.S. Army in August 1965 and completed his basic training in Ft. Jackson, S.C. He was then sent to Ft. Ord, Calif. for advanced combat training. He left for Vietnam in December 1965. He was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 5th Calvary Division, where he served as a light weapons/ammo bearer. He was injured on August 18, 1966, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.
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How do I met my late husband added?
Im a viet nam vet and was in country from 3 8 67 to 3 8 68 with the 367th cmt.eng. there where 10 of us detached to the 3td inf. div. Every time i see these stories my heart breaks for these bros. and thier families. My wife has been trying to get me to go to the WALL since it was built. When we’ve had the money to go i couldn’t get the nerve up to go. I am a preacher and have prayed so many times for our bros. in arms.1 more quick thing that might lift some of u up.My grandfather had a brand new nickle in 1900 and he gave that coin to my dad when he was a young man and told him not spend it and he would never b broke.Dad carried that coin for yrs. The day i left for v.n. dad gave me that coin, said bring this back to me.When dad past away mom went thru. his stuff, found the coin in dads wallet ask us kids about it i told mom the story behind the coin, she gave it back to me. A few yrs. ago my son left for iraq i told him about the coin and prayed over it and said bring it home that coin is behind my basic training pic. waiting for the next hill to take it to war and bring it back home.Been in the hill family since W.W.1 to iraq. 114 yrs.
My husbam,,Anthony sanseverino was born in brooklyn new york on novenber 20 1945 serve usa army in vietnam from 1967 to 1969 died on setenber 21 2010 from agent orange.well missing by our children grandchildres..and mysefel hi was private sanseverino anthony.
I can’t find a place 2 “like” this, but I do!!!! A recognition that these heroes well deserve!!!!
My fathers name is Larry Shuman. He was a Marine Recon in Vietnam. He served as a Sargent in areas where they dropped the, I think it’s called, agent orange on our troops. His body and mind are slowly but surely breaking done and the VA says it’s due to that poisoning. He has frontal temporal lobe dimentia in which his body is forgetting how to work, such as walking and talking. We know he doesn’t have much time left. I was wondering when he passes how do I get his name put on the memorial.
I think that is a great way to honor our veterans. I was wondering how you can find out if your deceased loved one is capable of getting their name on the wall.