The Poplar Bluff Museum has gathered information on 25 Butler County residents who died while serving with the United States Armed Forces during Vietnam.
Photos of these men and other information on Butler County veterans can be found in the Hall of Heroes, within the Kanell Hall Veterans Museum.
This July 4, the Daily American Republic also wanted to take time to recognize these veterans.
The first Butler County casualty during the Vietnam war was 26-year-old Spc. 4 Dale Francis Hudson. A rifleman with the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, Hudson was killed Nov. 17, 1965, at LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam.
The last Butler County casualty during the Vietnam war, according to information compiled by the museum, was Airman 1st Class Charles Harold Stepp. The 18-year-old was killed in a jeep accident on Sept. 5, 1972. He was an Air Force security police officer with the 6498 Security Police Detachment at Danang Air Base, Vietnam.
The following information was compiled by members of the Poplar Bluff Museum:
Spc. 4 Loyde Dean Armor was 23 years old. He was an Army aircraft structural repairman (sheet metal) for the Army’s 1st Aviation Brigade. On Jan. 10, 1968, he was killed during a sapper attack on Kontum Airfield Vietnam. He is buried in Broseley.
Lance Cpl. Ronald David Cobb was 20 years old. He was a vehicle mechanic for the 1st Marine Division. On April 29, 1968, he was sweeping the road for land mines when he detonated a mortar shell near Dien Ban, Vietnam. He is buried in Jacksonville, Arkansas.
Maj. Freddie Dale Dickens was 34 years old. He was an 0-1 Bird Dog pilot for the Air Force’s 504th Tactical Air Support Group. Dickens was a forward air controller. He coordinated airstrikes. On Oct. 17, 1968, Dickins was shot down near Tay Ninh, Vietnam by ground fire and killed. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Dickins is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Pfc. Michael Lee Endicott was 19 years old. He was a machine gunner for the 1st Marine Division. Pfc. Endicott was killed by a mine while on patrol near Dien Ban, Vietnam on Aug. 5, 1967. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Spc. 4 Richard Lee Ferguson was 20 years old. He was a mortar crewman with the Army’s 23rd Infantry Division. On Dec. 13, 1970, while on patrol near Bihn Son, Vietnam, Richardson detonated a booby trap, killing him. Ferguson was awarded the Bronze Star. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Spc. 4 Garclee Fredwell was 20 years old. He graduated from Poplar Bluff High School in 1966. Fredwell was an Armor Crewman (Tanker) with the Army’s 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. On Aug. 29, 1968, he was killed near Bien Hoa, Vietnam, when a rifle accidentally discharged. Fredwell is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Pfc. Michael Ray Goins was 20 years old. He was a mortar crewman for the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. Goins was killed in direct combat with the enemy at Ban Don Airfield, Vietnam, on Aug. 20, 1968. He is buried in Broseley.
Lance Cpl. Jerry Edward Hancock was 22 years old. He was a rifleman with the 1st Marine Division. Hancock was killed in a grenade accident on Dec. 27, 1970, at An Hoa Airfield, Vietnam. He is buried in Qulin.
Spc. 4 Harold Ray Harris was 21 years old. He was a rifleman with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. On March 20, 1970, Harris was killed in direct combat with the enemy near Hue, Vietnam. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Sgt. 1st Class Harold Utah Hayes was 31 years old. He was an Intelligence NCO for the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade. Hayes was on his second tour of Vietnam. While fighting a fire on June 30, 1970, at Phu My, Vietnam, an old French mine detonated, killing him. Hayes is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Spc. 4 Dale Francis Hudson was 26 years old. He was a rifleman with the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. Hudson was killed Nov. 17, 1965, at LZ X-Ray in the Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam. This was the same battle depicted in the movie “We Were Soldiers.” He was the first Vietnam casualty from Poplar Bluff. Hudson is buried at Poplar Bluff.
Pfc. Famous Lee Lane was 34 years old. He was a machine gunner with the Army’s 101st Airborne Division. During a firefight on April 20, 1966, near Phan Thiet, Vietnam, Lane rescued several wounded soldiers under heavy fire until he was mortally wounded. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Sgt. Earnest Dale Menley from Harviell was 21 years old. He was an Aircraft Armament NCO with the Army’s 17th Cavalry Regiment. He was killed in an accident on May 2, 1969, near Bein Hoa. While unloading munitions from a chopper, they exploded, killing Menley. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Col. James Hardin Metz was 36 years old. He was an F-105 Thunderchief pilot for the Air Force’s 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. On April 15, 1968, Metz was on a bombing mission over Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, when his aircraft was shot down. Three weeks later, Metz was spotted and identified in a POW camp. When the POWs were released in 1973, Metz was missing. In 1977, the North Vietnamese released his body and he came home. Metz is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Staff Sgt. Jerry Lee Miller was 27 years old. He was an infantry NCO with the 3rd Marine Division. Miller was killed on July 2, 1967, in an ambush near Con Thien, Vietnam. He is buried in Broseley.
Pfc. Paul James Miller was 19 years old. He was a rifleman in the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. On Feb. 27, 1968, Miller was killed by friendly fire near An Hoa, Vietnam, when a bomb fell short of its target. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Spc. 4 Edward Jerry Muller was 21 years old. He was a rifleman in the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. On March 21, 1967, Muller was killed in direct combat with the enemy near Noi Ba Den, Vietnam. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Pfc. Robert J. Neal was 18 years old. He was a mortar crewman with the 1st Marine Division. Neal was killed Feb. 22, 1968, during the Tet Offensive in the fight for the Citadel in the city of Hue. This was one of the toughest battles in Marine Corps history. He is buried in Broseley.
Lance Corp. Riley David Raulston was 19 years old. He was a rifleman in the 3rd Marine Division. On May 15, 1968, Raulston was killed when he stepped on a mine near Cam Lo, Vietnam. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Spc. 5 Harold W. Reinbott Jr. from Parma was 27 years old. He was a UH-1 helicopter crew chief with the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade. On July 27, 1966, Reinbott was killed when his helicopter had an engine failure and crashed near Tanh Linh, Vietnam. He is buried in Sanford, North Carolina.
Corp. Robert Daniel Richardson was 23 years old. He was the 1961 senior class president at Poplar Bluff High School. Richardson was a rifleman in the 1st Marine Division. He was killed on July 4, 1966, in direct combat with the enemy near Binh Son, Vietnam. Richardson is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Airman 1st Class Charles Harold Stepp was 18 years old. He was an Air Force security police officer with the 6498 Security Police Detachment at Danang Air Base, Vietnam. He was killed in a jeep accident on Sept. 5, 1972. Stepp was the last Vietnam casualty from Butler County. He is buried in Bollinger County.
Spc. 4 George Edward Stewart was 21 years old. He was a combat engineer heavy equipment operator in the Army’s 18th Engineer Brigade. Stewart was killed in an accident on Oct. 18, 1966.
Spc. 4 James E. Tinsley was 20 years old. He was a rifleman with the Army’s 199th Infantry Brigade. On Feb. 17, 1968, Tinsley was killed in direct combat with the enemy near Xom Binh Dong, Vietnam. He is buried in Poplar Bluff.
Staff Sgt. Bobbie Gene Wooten from Harviell was 27 years old. He was an Artillery NCO with the Army’s 23rd Infantry Division. On June 14, 1969, Wooten was killed during an enemy mortar attack near Tien Phuoc, Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Silver Star. Wooten is buried in Seoul, Korea.
Editor’s note: The Poplar Bluff Museum veterans’ halls include service members from all branches and eras.