Vietnam War soldier and casualty. Affectionately known to his family as "Wayne," he was killed in action at Firebase Gold, a temporary artillery post set up in response to Viet Cong activity during the Tet Offensive. The firebase was about eighteen miles due west of Lai_Khê in the Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. He served as an SP4 (a rank similar to corporal) radio operator in Company A, 1st Battalion, of the 18th Regiment of the First Division of the United States Army.
Wayne was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, and his family initially moved to a farm on South Highway 105 outside Hardinsburg. He was baptized at New Clover Creek Baptist Church. Wayne loved working and hunting on his grandparents' farm.
The family then moved to Cloverport, and his family attended Cloverport Baptist Church. An athlete who played Little League baseball and high school basketball, he had a keen sense of humor and was an accomplished prankster. In 1965, he graduated from Frederick Fraize High School.
Shortly after graduating from high school, he began employment with the Tell City Chair Company.
In 1967, he married Gail Adkins of Hancock County, and the couple moved to Elizabethtown. In one of his letters home, he expressed interest in becoming a Kentucky State Police Trooper after concluding his military service.
Wayne died only about 42 days before he was to be permanently discharged from the army. His heroic wartime death deeply saddened the Breckinridge County Community, where he grew up. His funeral was delayed until October 16, 1968, because the body had to be transported from South Vietnam. On the day of his funeral, businesses in his hometown of Cloverport were closed in his honor. Dozens of Breckinridge Countians lined the sidewalks of Cloverport and clenched their hearts as the procession slowly made its way from Cloverport Baptist Church to the cemetery. His remains were laid to rest only a few feet from his father, who had died just five years earlier. An Army Honor Guard saluted him with the traditional fire of twenty-one guns, and a bugler bid farewell with "Taps."
Cloverport Baptist Church dedicated its church library to Wayne's memory. His name appears on four stone memorials: (1) the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., (2) the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial in Frankfort, (3) a war memorial overlooking the Ohio River in Cloverport, and (4) a stone at the Breckinridge County Fairgrounds in Hardinsburg.
Wayne was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, and his family initially moved to a farm on South Highway 105 outside Hardinsburg. He was baptized at New Clover Creek Baptist Church. Wayne loved working and hunting on his grandparents' farm.
The family then moved to Cloverport, and his family attended Cloverport Baptist Church. An athlete who played Little League baseball and high school basketball, he had a keen sense of humor and was an accomplished prankster. In 1965, he graduated from Frederick Fraize High School.
Shortly after graduating from high school, he began employment with the Tell City Chair Company.
In 1967, he married Gail Adkins of Hancock County, and the couple moved to Elizabethtown. In one of his letters home, he expressed interest in becoming a Kentucky State Police Trooper after concluding his military service.
Wayne died only about 42 days before he was to be permanently discharged from the army. His heroic wartime death deeply saddened the Breckinridge County Community, where he grew up. His funeral was delayed until October 16, 1968, because the body had to be transported from South Vietnam. On the day of his funeral, businesses in his hometown of Cloverport were closed in his honor. Dozens of Breckinridge Countians lined the sidewalks of Cloverport and clenched their hearts as the procession slowly made its way from Cloverport Baptist Church to the cemetery. His remains were laid to rest only a few feet from his father, who had died just five years earlier. An Army Honor Guard saluted him with the traditional fire of twenty-one guns, and a bugler bid farewell with "Taps."
Cloverport Baptist Church dedicated its church library to Wayne's memory. His name appears on four stone memorials: (1) the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., (2) the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial in Frankfort, (3) a war memorial overlooking the Ohio River in Cloverport, and (4) a stone at the Breckinridge County Fairgrounds in Hardinsburg.
Vietnam War soldier and casualty. Affectionately known to his family as "Wayne," he was killed in action at Firebase Gold, a temporary artillery post set up in response to Viet Cong activity during the Tet Offensive. The firebase was about eighteen miles due west of Lai_Khê in the Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam. He served as an SP4 (a rank similar to corporal) radio operator in Company A, 1st Battalion, of the 18th Regiment of the First Division of the United States Army.
Wayne was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, and his family initially moved to a farm on South Highway 105 outside Hardinsburg. He was baptized at New Clover Creek Baptist Church. Wayne loved working and hunting on his grandparents' farm.
The family then moved to Cloverport, and his family attended Cloverport Baptist Church. An athlete who played Little League baseball and high school basketball, he had a keen sense of humor and was an accomplished prankster. In 1965, he graduated from Frederick Fraize High School.
Shortly after graduating from high school, he began employment with the Tell City Chair Company.
In 1967, he married Gail Adkins of Hancock County, and the couple moved to Elizabethtown. In one of his letters home, he expressed interest in becoming a Kentucky State Police Trooper after concluding his military service.
Wayne died only about 42 days before he was to be permanently discharged from the army. His heroic wartime death deeply saddened the Breckinridge County Community, where he grew up. His funeral was delayed until October 16, 1968, because the body had to be transported from South Vietnam. On the day of his funeral, businesses in his hometown of Cloverport were closed in his honor. Dozens of Breckinridge Countians lined the sidewalks of Cloverport and clenched their hearts as the procession slowly made its way from Cloverport Baptist Church to the cemetery. His remains were laid to rest only a few feet from his father, who had died just five years earlier. An Army Honor Guard saluted him with the traditional fire of twenty-one guns, and a bugler bid farewell with "Taps."
Cloverport Baptist Church dedicated its church library to Wayne's memory. His name appears on four stone memorials: (1) the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., (2) the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial in Frankfort, (3) a war memorial overlooking the Ohio River in Cloverport, and (4) a stone at the Breckinridge County Fairgrounds in Hardinsburg.
Wayne was born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky, and his family initially moved to a farm on South Highway 105 outside Hardinsburg. He was baptized at New Clover Creek Baptist Church. Wayne loved working and hunting on his grandparents' farm.
The family then moved to Cloverport, and his family attended Cloverport Baptist Church. An athlete who played Little League baseball and high school basketball, he had a keen sense of humor and was an accomplished prankster. In 1965, he graduated from Frederick Fraize High School.
Shortly after graduating from high school, he began employment with the Tell City Chair Company.
In 1967, he married Gail Adkins of Hancock County, and the couple moved to Elizabethtown. In one of his letters home, he expressed interest in becoming a Kentucky State Police Trooper after concluding his military service.
Wayne died only about 42 days before he was to be permanently discharged from the army. His heroic wartime death deeply saddened the Breckinridge County Community, where he grew up. His funeral was delayed until October 16, 1968, because the body had to be transported from South Vietnam. On the day of his funeral, businesses in his hometown of Cloverport were closed in his honor. Dozens of Breckinridge Countians lined the sidewalks of Cloverport and clenched their hearts as the procession slowly made its way from Cloverport Baptist Church to the cemetery. His remains were laid to rest only a few feet from his father, who had died just five years earlier. An Army Honor Guard saluted him with the traditional fire of twenty-one guns, and a bugler bid farewell with "Taps."
Cloverport Baptist Church dedicated its church library to Wayne's memory. His name appears on four stone memorials: (1) the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C., (2) the Kentucky Vietnam Memorial in Frankfort, (3) a war memorial overlooking the Ohio River in Cloverport, and (4) a stone at the Breckinridge County Fairgrounds in Hardinsburg.
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