Vietnam War Foundation & Museum "A Museum To Honor Our Vietnam Vets"

Guard Tower

Guard Tower The guard tower was dedicated to Sgt Allen Firth who was the only causality of the Vietnam War from Greene county, VA where our museum is located. We found a picture in his baggage of military items that were donated to the museum by his sister Susan Firth. Operation MEDINA Operation MEDINA was conducted in the Hai Lang Forest, located south of Quang Tri City and west of Hai Lang. MEDINA was directed at NVA and VC forces known to be in the area. Contact was first made on 11 Oct 1967, and became more frequent as the NVA/VC were forced to move from their camps. On 18 Oct, Golf and Hotel 2/1 were moving toward Hill 86, some 7 kilometers southwest of Hai Lang, with Golf in the lead and Hotel in echelon. At 1345 a Marine from Golf triggered a boobytrap and was killed. Immediately thereafter Hotel engaged an enemy platoon on the southwest slope of Hill 86. Echo 2/1 was dispatched to assist the other two companies. Contact was maintained until nightfall. Twelve Marines and one Navy Corpsman were killed in the fight: .. E Co, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines .. Cpl Terry H. Fenenga, Iona, SD .. G Co, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines .. LCpl Charles L. Gass, Hobbs, NM .. H Co, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines .. 1stLt Matthew O. McKnight, Opa Locka, FL ..* Sgt Allen E. Firth, Mission Home, VA .. LCpl Lawrence J. Churchill, Tustin, CA .. LCpl Jack M. Hammond, Marysville, WA .. LCpl David A. Oberle, Walnut Creek, CA .. LCpl Allen J. Roy, East Hartford, CT .. LCpl Timothy L. Vicalvi, Worcester, MA .. Pfc Charles W. Ingels, Cincinnati, OH .. Pfc Anthony Perez, Brownsville, TX .. Pfc Michael J. Sigsbee, Elkhart, IN a.. H&S Co, 2nd Bn, 1st Marines a.. HM3 Robert H. Decker, Marshfield, WI