If you knew or served with this Sailor and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Spokane
Last Address Spokane, WA
Casualty Date Feb 27, 1969
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Artillery, Rocket, Mortar
Location Quang Nam (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Greenwood Memorial Terrace - Spokane, Washington
On 25 March 1968, EDSON departed once again for duty with the U.S. SEVENTH Fleet in the Western Pacific. On 31 March 1968 Cdr. VERMILYA was relieved by Cdr. J. S. HOLMES as Commanding Officer. With most of this sixth deployment being spent along the coast of Vietnam, it proved to be a most demanding and successful WESTPAC deployment. EDSONs primary assignment was to provide Naval Gunfire Support for Allied Forces ashore in the I Corps area. By the time EDSON made her final departure of the deployment from the Vietnamese coast, she had fired over 23,000 rounds on targets in both North and South Vietnam, rescued a downed South Vietnamese Air Force pilot, been named the Top GUN Destroyer in South Vietnam by the Naval Gunfire Spotters of the First Anglico Company, Fleet Marine Force, and was awarded a Meritorious Unit Citation for her actions. During her last period on the gun line, EDSON was again taken under fire by North Vietnamese artillery but sustained only minor damage.
