On the Magic album, Bruce asks John Kerry's question, "Who'll be the last to die for a mistake?" Well, I took the time to look up the answer. The last U.S. soldier to die in the mistake called Vietnam was PFC Kelton Rena Turner, an 18-year old Marine. He was killed in action on May 15, 1975, two weeks after the evacuation of Saigon, in what became known as the Mayaguez incident. His remains were identified on May 17, 2000.
Others list Gary L. Hall, Joseph N. Hargrove and Danny G. Marshall as the last to die in Vietnam. These three US Marines Corps veterans were mistakenly left behind on Koh Tang Island during the Mayaguez incident. They were last seen together but unfortunately to date, their fate is unknown.
I promised Peace Vet a couple of weeks ago that I would look this up and I've been remiss. I apologize. However, I note that the anniversary date is coming up soon and I think that this is a name we should all remember. In remembrance of PFC Turner and 4036 (as of April 18) U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq thus far, along with 308 coalition troops, and another 29,780 soldiers wounded -- not to mention countless Iraqis -- I offer this video of Bruce doing "Last to Die," recorded in Milan last November.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Who'll be the last to die....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I'm so glad you left me a comment because I always love meeting someone else with excellent taste in music. Bruce is the best.
I am going to spend some time checking out your blog...it looks intriguing.
I had three cousins who were in combat in Viet Nam. I was a kid at the time but remember how happy my grandmother was that they all came home "safe". I don't think there is such a thing. One died of a drug overdose (he got addicted over there) and the other committed suicide about a year after being home.
Post a Comment