Written By: Ben Cosgrove
In June 1969, LIFE magazine published a feature that remains as moving and, in some quarters, as controversial as it was when it intensified a nation’s soul-searching 45 years ago. On the cover was the image of a young man and 11 stark words: “The Faces of the American Dead in Vietnam: One Week’s Toll.” Inside, across 10 funereal pages, LIFE published picture after picture and name after name of 242 young men killed in seven days halfway around the world “in connection with the conflict in Vietnam.”
To no one’s surprise, the public’s response was immediate, and visceral. Some readers expressed amazement, in light of the thousands of American deaths suffered in a war with no end in sight, that it took so long for LIFE to produce something as dramatic and pointed as “One Week’s Toll.” Others were outraged that the magazine was, as one reader saw it, “supporting the antiwar demonstrators who are traitors to this country.” Still others perhaps the vast majority were quietly and disconsolately devastated.
Here, LIFE.com republishes every picture and every name that originally appeared in that extraordinary 1969 feature. Below is the text, in full, that not only accompanied portraits of those killed, but also explained why LIFE chose to publish “One Week’s Dead” when it did and in the manner that it did.
From the June 27, 1969, issue of LIFE:
The faces shown on the next pages are the faces of American men killed, in the words of the official announcement of their deaths, “in connection with the conflict in Vietnam.” The names, 242 of them, were released on May 28 through June 3 [1969], a span of no special significance except that it includes Memorial Day. The numbers of the dead are average for any seven-day period during this stage of the war.
It is not the intention of this article to speak for the dead. We cannot tell with any precision what they thought of the political currents which drew them across the world. From the letters of some, it is possible to tell they felt strongly that they should be in Vietnam, that they had great sympathy for the Vietnamese people and were appalled at their enormous suffering. Some had voluntarily extended their tours of combat duty; some were desperate to come home. Their families provided most of these photographs, and many expressed their own feelings that their sons and husbands died in a necessary cause. Yet in a time when the numbers of Americans killed in this war—36,000—though far less than the Vietnamese losses, have exceeded the dead in the Korean War, when the nation continues week after week to be numbed by a three-digit statistic which is translated to direct anguish in hundreds of homes all over the country, we must pause to look into the faces. More than we must know how many, we must know who. The faces of one week’s dead, unknown but to families and friends, are suddenly recognized by all in this gallery of young American eyes.
Here are some of the reactions from readers, published in the August 18, 1969, issue of LIFE an issue in which the entire Letters section of the magazine was given over to responses to “One Week’s Dead”:
“Your story was the most eloquent and meaningful statement on the wastefulness and stupidity of war I have ever read.” From a reader in California
“Certainly these tragic young men were far superior to the foreign policy they were called upon to defend.” From a U.S. Marine Corps Captain (resigned)
“I feel you are supporting the antiwar demonstrators who are traitors to this country. You are helping them and therefore belong to this group.” From a reader in Texas
“I cried for those Southern black soldiers. What did they die for? Tar paper shacks, malnutrition, unemployment and degradation?” From a reader in Ohio
“While looking at the photographs I was shocked to see the smiling face of someone I used to know. He was only 19 years old. I guess I never realized that 19-year-olds have to die.” From a reader in Georgia
“I felt I was staring into the eyes of the 11 troopers from my platoon who were killed while fighting for a cause they couldn’t understand.” From a Marine second lieutenant in New Jersey who commanded a rifle platoon in Vietnam
LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969, featuring a portrait of U.S. Army specialist William C. Gearing, Jr., one of 242 American servicemen killed in a single week of fighting during the Vietnam War.
Joseph L. Rhodes, 22, Marines, L. Cpl., Memphis, Tenn.
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Michael C. Volheim, 20, Army, SP4, Hayward, Calif.
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Craig E. Yates, 18, Army, Pfc., Sparta, Mich.
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Ramon L. Vazquez Nieves, 21, Army, Pfc., Puetro Nuevo, P.R.
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Robert E. Layman, 20, Army, WO1, Poquonock, Conn.
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Calvin R. Patrick, 18, Army, Pfc., Houston, Texas
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Valentine Dwornik, 20, Army, SP4, Detroit, Mich.
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Bruce Saunders, 21, Army, 2nd Lt., Queens, N.Y.
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Robert J. Rosenow, 20, Army, Pfc., La Farge, Wis.
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John C. Pape, 25, Army, Capt., Amityville, N.Y.
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William L. Alexander, 19, Army, SP4, Flint, Mich.
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Jose M. Galarza-Quinones, 21, Army, Pfc., Hato Rey, P.R.
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Roy E. Clark, Army, Pfc., Culloden, W. Va.
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James P. Hickey, 19, Marines, Pfc., West Quincy, Mass.
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John L. Rosemond, 21, Army, Pfc., Dallas, Texas
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Mario Lamelza, 21, Army, Pfc., Philadelphia, Pa.
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David Tessmer, 20, Army, Pfc., Wausau, Wis.
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Johnnie L. Brigman, 23, Army, Pvt., North, S.C.
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Gary A. Wallace, 19, Army, Pfc., Louisville, Ky.
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Cleveland Browning, 22, Army, Pfc., Miami, Fla.
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Charles C. Fleek, 21, Army, Sgt., Petersburg, Ky.
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James Patrick Francis, 22, Army, S/Sgt., Napa, Calif.
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Joe E. Bragg, 20, Army, SP4, Versailles, Ky.
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William C. Gearing Jr., 20, Army, SP5, Rochester, N.Y.
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Gary D. Carter, 19, Marines, Cpl., Tyler, Texas
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Matthew T. Lozano Jr., 21, Army, Pfc., San Antonio, Texas
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Winston O. Smith, 24, Army, Pfc., Madisonville, Tenn.
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Robert B. Read, 24, Army, Pfc., Hamden, Conn.
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Mark J. Haverland Jr., 21, Army, Sgt., Poca, W. Va.
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Ralph J. Mears Jr., 19, Army, SP4, Norfolk, Va.
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Philip W. Strout, 21, Army, SP4, So. Portland, Maine
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John A. Gillen, 25, Army, SP4, Broadville, Ill.
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Edward O’Donovan, 19, Marine, Pfc., Chicago, Ill.
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Michael D. Melton, 20, Army, SP4, Little Rock, Ark.
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Melvin Green Jr., 31, Army, S/Sgt., Manhattan, Kan.
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Gary C. Fassel, 20, Army, Pfc., Buffalo, N.Y.
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John W. Kirchner, 19, Marines, Pfc., La Crosse, Wis.
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Keith B. Janke, 26, Army, Sgt., Poplar, Wis.
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William L. Anderson, 18, Army, Sgt., Templeton, Pa.
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David L. Mills, 22, Army, SP4, Decatur, Ill.
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Carl R. Martin, 26, Army, SP5, Rapid City, S. Dak.
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Daniel L. Pucci, 22, Marines, Cpl., Berea, Ohio
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Howe K. Clark Jr., 22, Army, S/Sgt., Rockdale, Texas
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Thomas P. Jackson Jr., 23, Army, Pfc., Westbury, N.Y.
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Clifford Haynes Jr., 19, Marines, Pfc., Carnegie, Pa.
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Scott E. Saylor, 22, Army, SP4, King of Prussia, Pa.
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David R. Mann, 20, Army, SP4, Earlville, Ill.
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Henry R. Hausman Jr., 19, Army, Pfc., Hilliard, Ohio
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Robert J. Randall, 19, Army, Pfc., Miami, Fla.
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David F. Bukowski, 20, Army, SP4, West Islip, N.Y.
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John M. Vollmerhausen Jr., 18, Army, Pfc., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
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David A. Hargens, 19, Army, Pfc., Nickerson, Neb.
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Matthew J. Baurle, 20, Marines, L. Cpl., Gloversville, N.Y.
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Richard F. DuBois, 20, Marines, L. Cpl., New Orleans, La.
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Duane C. Bowen, 20, Army, SP4, Ramona, Calif.
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John N. McCarthy, 20, Army, SP4, Glen Cove, N.Y.
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Andrew W. Rice Jr., 20, Navy, GMG3, Bedford, Pa.
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Byrle B. Bailey, 19, Marines, Pfc., Omaha, Neb.
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Charles P. Smith Jr., 20, Army, Pfc., Richmond, Va.
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Robert H. Carter Jr., 35, Army, Lt. Col., Morganton, N.C.
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Stephen L. McCarvel, 19, Army, Sgt., Great Falls, Mont.
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Jackie D. Bass, 21, Army, Pfc., Cochran, Ga.
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William A. Evans, 20, Army, Sgt., Milwaukee, Wis.
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Richard L. Patterson, 25, Army, 2nd Lt., Harriman, Tenn.
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Robert W. Getz, 19, Army, Pfc., Decatur, Ill.
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James Boston Jr., 20, Army, Pfc., Gainesville, Fla.
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Michael F. May, 22, Army, SP4, Vassar, Mich.
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Freddie Lee Coffman, 20, Army, Pfc., Wardensville, W. Va.
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Milton S. Johnson, 20, Army, Pfc., Savannah, Ga.
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Ophrey A. Irvin, 25, Army, SP4, Chillicothe, Ohio
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Thomas W. Myers, 26, Army, Pfc., Middlesex, N.J.
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Gary A. Neavor, 25, Army, SP4, Davenport, Iowa
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Clarance Taylor, 25, Army, Pfc., Greensville, Ala.
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Thomas F. Barth, 18, Army, Pfc., Lakewood, Calif.
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Ralph A. Vitch, 20, Army, SP4, Tampa, Fla.
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Patrick M. Hagerty, 19, Army, SP4, Youngstown, Ohio
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Albert J. Cartledge III, 23, Marines, Cpl., Dallas, Texas
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James Drew, 20, Army, SP4, Kansas City, Mo.
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Peter S. Borsay, 24, Army, Pfc., Salt Lake City, Utah
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Robert C. Yates, 18, Army, Pfc., Hondo, Texas
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Henry L. MacArthur, 18, Army, Pfc., Fuquay Varina, N.C.
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Ronald E. Morgan, 22, Army, Pfc., San Diego, Calif.
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Rudy A. Carnley, 23, Army, SP4, Lake Wales, Fla.
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Barry L. Unfried, 20, Marines, Pfc., Oroville, Calif.
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Gary R. Clodfelter, 20, Army, SP4, High Point, N.C.
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Larry D. Muller, 18, Marines, Pfc., Ojai, Calif.
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James A. Wright, 21, Army, SP4, Boring, Ore.
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William W. Olsen, 22, Army, Sgt., Pocatello, Idaho
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Robert F. Rose, 19, Army, SP4, Ashland, Ore.
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Michael K.L. Dixon, 19, Army, Pfc., Hawthorne, Calif.
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Edward T. Kiezkowski, 20, Army, SP4, Butler, Pa.
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David J. Ewing, 20, Army, SP5, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
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Kenneth D. Pettigrew, 19, Army, Pfc., Redding, Calif.
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Warren Nix, 26, Army, Pfc., Tuscon, Ariz.
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Terry D. Clark, 18, Army, Pfc., Wallace, N.C.
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Jimmy W. Phipps, 18, Marines, Pfc., Culver City, Calif.
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Curtis Breedlove, 31, Army, 2nd Lt., Bryson City, N.C.
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Forrest L. Smith, 27, Army, S/Sgt., Columbus, Ga.
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Isaac Sapp, 21, Marines, Pfc., Williston, S.C.
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David L. Tiffany, 19, Army, SP5, Riverside, Calif.
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William W. Smith, 21, Army, Pfc., King City, Mo.
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Calvin E. Cooper, 20, Marines, Pfc., Kingstree, S.C.
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Gary R. Guest, 22, Marines, Cpl., Dorchester, Mass.
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Thomas R. Bliss, 20, Marines, L. Cpl., York, Pa.
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Clovis L. May, 24, Army, Sgt., Deming, N. Mex.
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Dennis L. Babcock, 19, Army, Pfc., Pacific Grove, Calif.
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Donald J. Deevers, 19, Army, Pfc., Hinton, Okla.
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Douglas J. Sommer, 18, Army, Pfc., Kearns, Utah
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Joe T. Conkle, 25, Army, 1st Lt., Hampton, Ga.
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Elmer E. Fields, 20, Army, Pvt., Fairfax, Okla.
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Jeffrey A. Richardson, 20, Army, Pfc., Red Lion, Pa.
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Russel Evans, 20, Army, Pfc., Sylvania, Ga.
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Emmett L. Davis, 18, Army, Pfc., Lakeland, Fla.
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Charles A. Jones, 29, Army, Sfc., Modesto, Calif.
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John H. Platt, 20, Army, Pfc., Early, Iowa
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Chris R. Martinez, 21, Army, Cpl., Alameda, Calif.
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James M. Leonard, 20, Army, Sgt., Edmond, Okla.
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Michael M. Hatzell, 19, Army, Pfc., San Jose, Calif.
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Thomas E. Hays, 20, Army, WO, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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Iran C. Brown, 19, Marines, L. Cpl., Roanoke, Va.
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Ralford J. Jackson, 20, Marines, Pfc., Tuba City, Ariz.
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Timothy K.P. Foster, 18, Marines, Pvt., Honolulu, Hawaii
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Virgil V. Hamilton, 20, Army, SP4, Brooksville, Fla.
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Donny R. Lawson, 21, Marines, L. Cpl., Grandview, Wash.
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Clarence Creaghead, 21, Army, SP4, Detroit, Mich.
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Keith A. Kahlstorf, 20, Marines, Pfc., Britt, Iowa
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Michael A. Powell, 19, Marines, L. Cpt., Atlanta, Ga.
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Byron B. Bowden, 21, Army, SP4, Arcata, Calif.
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Chris M. Pyle, 21, Navy, HM2, Hardesty, Okla.
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Patrick M. Dixon, 23, Army, 1st Lt., Dixon, Ill.
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Joseph C. Chisholm, 24, Army, SP4, Union Lake, Mich.
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Robert A. Pitts, 21, Army, Pfc., Galveston, Texas
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Albert O. Nelson Jr., 20, Marines, 2nd Lt., Alexandria, Va.
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Gary McCollough, 20, Army, Pfc., Charlotte, N.C.
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Charles D. Ervin, 18, Marines, Pfc., Lamont, Okla.
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James Titmas III, 19, Army, Pfc., Glendale, Calif.
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William J. Thornhill, 20, Army, Pvt., Baltimore, Md.
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John M. Randall, 20, Army, SP4, Phoenix, Ariz.
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Max Lisenby, 21, Marines, Cpl., Lawton, Okla.
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Gail G. Sanderson, 19, Marines, Pvt., Anthon, Iowa
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Robert P. Scibilia, 21, Army, SP4, Nashua, N.H.
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William A. Seigle, 20, Army, Pfc., Sapulpa, Okla.
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Gerald W. Posten, 20, Army, Pfc., Placerville, Calif.
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Howard S. Hill, 22, Army, Sgt., Irwin, Pa.
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David W. Kinney, 20, Army, Pfc., Charleston, W. Va.
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Ernest C. Munoz, 36, Marines, S/Sgt., San Antonio, Texas
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Cordell B. Rogers, 30, Army, Capt., Remsen, Iowa
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Larry E. Boyer, 22, Marines, Cpl., Williamstown, W. Va.
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Ronald A. Brown, 20, Army, Sgt., Huntington Park, Calif.
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John Winters, 18, Marines, L. Cpl., Clark, N.J.
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Floyd E. Barber, 23, Army, SP4, Franklin, Ohio
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Marvin C. Briss, 20, Army, SP4, Binford, N. Dak.
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Garey L. Grubbs, 20, Army, Pfc., Denver, Colo.
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Merlin J. Laber, 21, Army, SP4, Sykeston, N. Dak.
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John M. Hohman, 22, Army, CW2, Leominster, Mass.
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Gordon D. Perry, 19, Marines, Pfc., Morgantown, W. Va.
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James J. Wise, 20, Army, SP4, Detroit, Mich.
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Robert T. Bensberg, 28, Army, Capt., Columbus, Ga.
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Kenneth M. Seward, 22, Army, SP5, Greeley, Colo.
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Edward Frowner, 20, Army, Sgt., Manila, Ala.
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James S. Colombero, 24, Army, SP5, McCloud, Calif.
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Donald P. Seburg Jr., 19, Army, Pfc., Jackson, Mich.
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Milford E. Cobb, 33, Army, S/Sgt., Tempe, Ariz.
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Ronald A. Yashack, 21, Army, Pfc., Diagonal, Iowa
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Edison R. Phillips, 19, Army, Pfc., Plymouth, Pa.
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Gary C. Towle, 26, Army, Pfc., Concord, N.H.
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Douglas R. Matheson, 20, Army, Sgt., Columbiaville, Mich.
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Santiago V. E. Quintana, 20, Army, Pfc., Santa Fe, N. Mex.
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Charles A. Hilbert, 20, Army, Pfc., Parksville, Ky.
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Robert L. Anderson, 21, Army, Cpl., Middletown, N.Y.
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James Troy Ralph, 21, Army, SP4, Hobart, Ind.
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Orville Hampton, 37, Army, S/Sgt., Lawton, Okla.
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Cris Holliday, 20, Army, Pfc., Meridian, Miss.
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Billy W. Pettis, 21, Army, Pfc., Castleberry, Ala.
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William H. Darden, 20, Army, Pfc., Lanett, Ala.
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Jan Rauschkolb, 22, Marines, Cpl., Denver, Colo.
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Steven C. Owen, 22, Army, SP4, Long Beach, Calif.
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John W. Abbott, 23, Marines, 1st Lt., South Bend, Ind.
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William J. Peterson, 23, Army, 2nd Lt., Ephrata, Wash.
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Wayne E. Garven, 21, Army, Pfc., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
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William H. Beske Jr., 21, Army, Pfc., Lathrup Village, Mich.
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Ralph H. Crowley, 20, Army, Sgt., Remus, Mich.
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Yvon E. Girouard, 20, Marines, Pfc., Littleton, N.H.
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Errol W. Perreira, 21, Army, Pfc., Hilo, Hawaii
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Harold James Warmsley, 24, Army, SP4, Mansfield, La.
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Allen M. Graff, 21, Army, Sgt., West Covina, Calif.
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Robert Sigholtz Jr., 23, Army, Capt., Annandale, Va.
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Edward F. Clennon, 23, Army, Pfc., Joliet, Ill.
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Billy L. Thomas, 19, Army, SP4, Stinnett, Texas
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Richard L. Brumfield, 21, Army, Sgt., Denham Springs, La.
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Steven K. Sprinkle, 20, Army, SP4, Winston-Salem, N.C.
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Steven E. Murray, 19, Army, SP4, Indianapolis, Ind.
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Euan J. Parker, 22, Army, Pfc., Brigham City, Utah
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Emerson Martin, 21, Marines, Pfc., Gallup, N. Mex.
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James D. Johnson, 20, Marines, L. Cpl., Bedford, Texas
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Kenneth D. Shoaps, 20, Army, Sgt., Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.
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Joey L. Boles, 21, Army, Pfc., Winchester, Ky.
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Bobby G. Newby, 21, Army, Pfc., Winchester, Ky.
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Thomas B. Paynter, 21, Army, SP4, Seattle, Wash.
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James F. Hilliard, 23, Army, Sgt., Kalamazoo, Mich.
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Michael E. Gerber, 20, Army, SP4, Conway Springs, Kan.
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Donald W. Ide, 25, Army, 1st Lt., Beirut, Lebanon
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Gary M. Paul, 19, Marines, L. Cpl., Norway, Mich.
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Gary W. Leighton, 19, Marines, Pfc., Washington, Pa.
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Derrill L. Price Jr., 20, Army, SP4, El Dorado Springs, Mo.
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Farrell J. Vice, 21, Army, SP4, Abbeville, La.
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Scott E. Cochran, 18, Army, Pfc., Eugene, Ore.
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Philip L. Gamble Jr., 26, Army, 2nd Lt., Newport, R.I.
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James W. Clark, 21, Army, 1st Lt., Reno, Nev.
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Terry V. Miller, 23, Army, Pfc., Ottumwa, Iowa
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Herman L. Judy Jr., 23, Army, Pfc., Alexandria, Va.
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James Herbert III, 20, Marines, Pfc., New Orleans, La.
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Willie L. Kirkland, 20, Army, SP4, Avon Park, Fla.
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Thomas A. Nebel, 20, Army, Pfc., Keota, Iowa
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Jim J. Walters, 20, Marines, Pfc., Sioux City, Iowa
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Dick E. Whitney, 22, Army, SP4, Newberg, Ore.
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Robert L. Boese, 22, Army, Pfc., Marion, Kan.
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Twenty-five men, killed in one week in the late spring of 1969, who did not have their pictures in the June 27, 1969, issue of LIFE.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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“Vietnam: One Week’s Dead,” LIFE magazine, June 27, 1969.
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