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| Dewberry, Jerry Don Name: Jerry: Don Dewberry Rank/Branch: E3/U S Marine Corps Unit: Company D 1st Battalion 1st Marines 1st Marine Division Date of Birth: 10 July 1948 Home of Record: Ardmore, Oklahoma Date of Loss: 05 July 1968 Country of Loss: South Vietnam Loss Coordinates 164505N 1071143E (XD802409) Status: In 1973 declared killed (KIA) Body never recovered Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground Refno: 1223 Others in incident: None MIA Source: Compiled by homecoming II project 15 March 1991 from one or more of the following: Raw date from the US government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the POW Network 1998 SYNOPSIS: Lance Corporal Dewberry was assigned to "Delta" Company 1/1 1st Marine Division in Vietnam. On July 5, 1968, just five days short of his 20th birthday, Dewberry was part of a Marine Unit sent on Patrol in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. During the Patrol the unit came under enemy fire and Dewberry was hit. He was believed to be dead and left behind. Dewberry was officially listed as Killed/Body not recovered. Jerry D. Dewberry is listed among the missing because his remains were never recovered to send home to the country he served. For his family, the case seems clear he died on that day. The fact they have no body to bury with honor is not of great signifigance. For many others who are missing, however, the evidence leads not to death, but to life. Since the war ended there have been over 10,000 reportsreceived relating to Americans still help captive in Indochina. Many experts feel hundreds of men could still be alive waiting for their country to rescue them. The nption that Americans are dying at the hands of a long ago enemy belies the idea we left Vietnam with honor. It also signals that we wasted thousands of our best men. A little personal touch: LCpl Dewberry 2387088 was killed on Friday July 5, 1968. July 5 was also the first day of his tour in Vietnam. He was never given the chance to become a true combat veteran, his life was taken before he could ever even get to know his brothers in arms. LCpl Dewberry held the MOS of 0311, basic rifleman. The only true memorial of him is "The Wall" where he can be found on Panel 53W-Row 17. Don't we owe him, and his family, more than just a name on a wall? Help to bring LCpl Dewberry and all the other men missing home. |
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