On This Day 46 Years Ago...

[COLOR=rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.701961)]On this day 46 years ago, our cousin William Clyde Northington was KIA in Quang Tri Republic of Vietnam. William Clyde was a Lance Corporal (E-3) in the United States Marine Corps. William Clyde joined the Marine Corps in 1967, when he was only 19 years old. He was a rifleman in 1st Battalion 9th Marines 3rd Marine Division (Alpha Company) AKA The Walking Dead. William Clyde fought along side Medal of Honor Recipient Captain Wesley L. Fox while he was in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. William Clyde was awarded the Silver Star (Third highest award) for his heroic actions while being fired at by enemy forces. He kept shooting until his gun malfunctioned, and then he grabbed a rifle from a fallen comrade and continued shooting while he was shouting words of encouragement to his men. William Clyde was also awarded two Purple Heart awards for being wounded in action. On 4 March 1969, William Clyde died from fragmentation wounds to the body from hostile grenades while engaged against hostile forces during an operation. He was a very brave Marine and he will always be remembered in my heart. If you live near Prattville Memorial Gardens go and recognize all that he has done for our country it would mean a lot to him. If anyone lives near Washington D.C go see his name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Panel 30W, Row 39. Thank you for all you did William Clyde, I'm following in your footsteps.[/COLOR]