Ripples from Vietnam are still felt

[thedrifter]

o long gone, so long...Unforgotten <br />
<br />
By:Mark Lomasney <br />
Special to the News-Herald <br />
07/09/2003 <br />
<br />
Ripples from Vietnam War are still felt <br />
<br />
&quot;And I wonder who that kid was standing brave &amp;...

[thedrifter]

President of his freshman and senior classes, a varsity letterman in three sports and a two-time state qualifier in wrestling, he was, according to high school best friend Paul Ruez, "One of the best-known and well-liked kids in Mentor, a friend like no other."


Glenna Peck Alland, Nicholas' fiancee, remembered, "When you met Dean, you knew you had met someone special. He was the perfect All-American kid: kind and gentle, very religious, faithful, yet strong and brave."


Larry Disbro, a high school friend and now assistant superintendent personnel/community relations for the Mentor School District, recalls Nicholas as "a guy who could not be denied success in any aspect of his life. He had the heart of a locomotive."


It was not a surprise that Nicholas almost "aced" his boot-camp qualification test and graduated at the top of his class as a lance corporal, a rare achievement during wartime training.


Serving in Kilo Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, 9th Marine Division in Quang Tri Province just south of the 17th Parallel, Nicholas was the "blooper man" who carried an M-79 grenade launcher.


During a morning-to-afternoon firefight on an obscure ridge near the Rockpile, "Dean expended his ammunition, keeping the North Vietnamese army out of our positions, and after pulling a dying Marine off the ridge into a shell hole, Lance Cpl. Dean Nicholas was hit in the head by small arms fire and was killed instantly," according to his platoon commander.


Nicholas, Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient, is remembered each year at Mentor High School with the selection of the Most Valuable Wrestler award.





"Go tell the Spartans thou, who passest by,


that here, obedient to their laws, we lie."


- Simonides Epitaph at Thermopylae, from "The Classical Greek"





Dennis Hammond, Timothy Stickle's half-brother, recalls a young, bull-necked halfback on the football team, an "avid hunter, expert marksman and mechanic who worked on planes at Casement Airport. He was a perfect fit for the Marine Corps."


Only "in country" for six months, Stickle was serving as fire team leader with Bravo Company, First Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Quang Nam Province, when he was killed by automatic weapon fire while walking point for his platoon.


"Just like him to take the lead," Hammond said. "He was never one to shy from responsibility, only this one time, it cost him his life."


What Stickle did not know was that his heroism in saving a fellow Marine from a gunfire-swept battlefield in early December, had won him the Bronze Star with a "V" for valor, and a promotion to lance corporal.


* * *


Three more Mentor men would die during the first two months of 1969.


As the war continued, the next Mentor casualty was Cpl. David W. Reimer, who stepped on a land mine while on patrol and was killed instantly on Jan. 25, 1969, at age 21.


After an agonizing week of not knowing the fate of Warrant Officer George E. Hayward, his parents were informed he died of burns related to the crash of his Huey helicopter on Feb. 5, 1969, at age 19. As a member of the Helicopter 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Hayward was awarded the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross for Gallantry in Action, as well as a Bronze Star. His memory is honored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars post that bears his name.


Serving with the 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Division out of Dong Ha, South Vietnam, 19-year-old Michael Ness, who had been working in a children's hospital, was killed by an errant round from an M-16.


"You are a credit to the Marine Corps for your commendable duty during security patrol at a children's hospital in Vietnam," his citation read.


Ness, who enjoyed tinkering on cars, is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Painesville.


The 13th young man from Mentor was Marine Pfc. William R. Dickey, killed in Quang Tri Province by hostile gunfire on Aug. 10, 1969, at age 20. Dickey, who lived in Mentor-on-the-Lake, had left Mentor High School his sophomore year.


Spc. 4th Class Norman Paley, who had lived in Mentor for almost two years before entering the Army, was a crew chief/door gunner on a helicopter when he was severely wounded by hostile ground fire on a mission near the Laotian border. He died from his wounds on May 2, 1970, at age 21, and is buried in All Souls Cemetery in Chardon Township.


Warrant Officer Dale Pearce, 20, became Mentor's only MIA.


A helicopter pilot with Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion/Assault, 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles) Division, he was shot down northwest of Hue City on May 17, 1971. Attempting to rescue a reconnaissance patrol team in a heavily forested mountainous area, his helicopter took a direct hit from a rocket-propelled grenade.


After the copter crashed, at least one pilot was seen running from the downed aircraft. Rescue, however, was impossible.


Throughout the night and into the morning, an emergency pilot beeper was heard by rescue aircraft. When assault troops finally reached the crash site, two gunners were found still alive, but the pilots, including Pearce, were never found.


Pearce, who was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, had flown more than 300 missions in less than three months. He was declared MIA/ Killed in Action. He was the 15th and final native son of Mentor to die in the Vietnam War.


In summary, one Mentor soldier was killed by friendly fire; another was missing in action. One was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; one earned the Silver Star. Five were Bronze Star recipients, and several died trying to save the life of a comrade. In total, they won 23 Purple Hearts.


These young men from the heartland of America had all given their lives for duty, honor and country.


©The News-Herald 2003

http://www.news-herald.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9473636&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_id=21849&rfi=6

http://www.news-herald.com/local/Z/Zwire1698/zwire/images/ACF852F318.jpg

Ken Blaze/News-Herald
Flags fly over the Vietnam memorial obelisk at Mentor Memorial Cemetery.



Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

[Graceful Citize]

"WHAT IS AMERICA TO ME?"<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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BY: MICHAEL THOMAS GRACE<o:p></o:p>
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The town I live in<o:p></o:p>
The street, the house, the room<o:p></o:p>
The pavement of the city<o:p></o:p>
Or a garden all in bloom<o:p></o:p>
The church the school the clubhouse<o:p></o:p>
The millions lights I see<o:p></o:p>
Especially the people<o:p></o:p>
That's America to me<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
The House I live In<o:p></o:p>
Frank Sinatra<o:p></o:p>
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The young men from Mentor, so far from home, so very far from America.<o:p></o:p>
It was just past noon, 45 years ago today. It was a day best described as hot, humid, and miserable, but they were the United States Marine Corps, our countries best and brightest. It was their Marine duty. They were fighting on the ROCKPILE, far from the town they lived in, outside Cleveland in northeastern Ohio. <o:p></o:p>
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The day was 5 October 1966; it was the second day of fierce and hard-core battle against a deeply embedded and large numbered force of NVA soldiers. It was on that day, the 4th Marines, 3rd Battalions automatic rifleman from the second platoon, Lance Corporal Paul H. "Mike” Mitchell, a loved son, brother, friend and schoolmate perished in the battle of OPERATION PRAIRIE FIRE III. Already painfully wounded from enemy gunfire to his hand early that morning, the 20-year-old Lance Corporal Mitchell boldly rescued while under intense direct enemy small arms fire, a badly wounded fellow Marine, his commanding officer and successfully saved him before passing. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
HE DIED SERVING AMERICA, SAVING A BROTHER AND HELPING A NATION OF PEOPLE IN NEED. <o:p></o:p>
HE WAS MY UNCLE MIKE. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
On Veterans Day, 11 November 1970, almost exactly 4 years after Lance Corporal Mitchell's passing, I was born and graciously named after my late Uncle Mike his big brother my Uncle Tom, and my hero father. I am honored to carry such a proud and noble name, but then again, I feel I am a blessed man. A proud husband and four-time father, blessed to have come from a wonderful family, and having had an unwavering upbringing based on truth, faith, compassion and integrity. I am a combat veteran and former street I cop and feel blessed to be alive. Fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to have served my nation, to having traveled to every continent on this great planet, to know and have, great friends alive and dead. I am blessed to hail from Ohio-America, the greatest nation under God. <o:p></o:p>
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The above title reads, “What is America to me?” It is a portion of a songs lyrics from “THE HOUSE I LIVE IN” a song written about our nation, its history, its glory, and those who served us by answering the calls to duty. <o:p></o:p>
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So, what is America to you?<o:p></o:p>
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