Youngest American to be killed in Vietnam War, at age 15. Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps. Grave 1 mi. SW.
Topics Related to Vietnam War
(Image: Medal of Honor Recipient Lawrence Joel)On November 8, 1965, Specialist/SFC Lawrence Joel of Winston-Salem, a Korean War veteran, began a routine patrol near Bien Hoa, Vietnam. Joel and his unit, the 1st Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry, were ambushed by a Viet Cong battalion that outnumbered them six to one.
On June 7, 1969, Private First Class Dan Bullock, a rifleman in the U.S. Marine Corps, was mortally wounded by a burst of enemy small arms fire. He died shortly thereafter. He was only 15-years-old.At the time he was killed, Bullock was scurrying about to bolster the ammunition supply of the Second Platoon of Company F at An Hoa Combat Base outside Da Nang in South Vietnam. The base was under active assault by the North Vietnamese.
On May 23, 1987, the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated on the grounds of the State Capitol in Raleigh. Entitled “After the Firefight,” the memorial honors the more than 206,000 men and women of the state who served in the Vietnam War.Designed by Abbe Godwin of Colfax in Guilford County, the monument depicts two soldiers carrying a wounded comrade to a nearby landing zone to await medical help. The clothing and equipment of the soldiers portrayed were sculpted from items loaned to the artist by Vietnam veterans.