25 Oct 2005 Dave Auen was a bright, articulate, handsome young man when he left his home with Mom and Dad, Sister and Brothers in this tiny Western Pennsylvania town to become a Marine. He was only 19 and in an even tinier place called My Loc not far from An Hoa, Viet Nam, when he was shot and killed on June 7, 1968. What has he sacrificed? Well, certainly a family, children, jobs, money, property, fortune, fame but certainly not glory. He was bathed in it on that hot summer day so far from home. But more than that I think we missed out on the contributions Dave Auen would have made to our lives. He loved animals and raising them as well as Industrial Arts, Drafting, Electronics, working with metal and wood. For all these years he has been looking down at us. Now he has been joined by his Mom and Dad - they are a family again. Some would say Semper Fi, Dave. Many of my classmates would say, Thank You Dave for all of your contributions and the privilege of knowing you, if even just for a short period of time. From a friend, Bill King E-mail address is not available.

 

20 Apr 2007 David was joining the Marines as I was getting ready to leave Nam. I left Nam and was discharged in December 1967. I did not know he was joining but I AM VERY PROUD of his stand. I believe what we did was for a just cause. Semper-Fi, friend, Marine. To make the rank of E-3 in less than 1 year shows how nice a person he was. For all who knew him, and the many times I drove him home from school, he added something to our lives. You are missed. Semper-Fi From a good friend from Blairsville High School and fellow Marine, Marvin Lockard Black Lick lockardmd@verizon.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 07 June 1968 the 1st Bn, 26th Marines were conducting a sweep along the Bon Song River. Alpha 1/26 was providing a screening force along the river while Delta 1/26 was moving through the hills along the river. Charlie 1/26 was in echelon behind Delta, with the Command Group and H&S Company bringing up the rear. As Delta 1/26 crested a ridgeline they took fire from a trenchline. The company established a base of fire, flanked the trenchline, and forced the NVA to withdraw - but they didn't withdraw far; a second set of fortifications lay only 50 yards behind the first. Charlie 1/26 sent help and Delta buckled down to assaulting the second trench line - and once again forced the NVA from their lines. This action, though costly, was only a prelude. The NVA troops engaged by Delta 1/26 were a covering force for the NVA main body, which withdrew into the Alpha 1/26 position - and were engaged by the Alpha 1/26 Marines in a bloody fight. By the time the NVA escaped through the gap between Alpha's flank and the oncoming Delta Marines, 20 Marines and 2 sailors were dead: A Company: 2ndLt Paul M. McGrath, Rye, NY SSgt Donald M. Cuff, Wilmington, DE Cpl George A. Essary, Chattanooga, TN Cpl Jerome D. Kupperschmidt, Sandwich, IL Cpl Gregory A. Shelley, Palisades Park, NJ LCpl Edward L. Bradford, Westville, OK LCpl Kevin M. Coyne, Silver Spring, MD LCpl Michael W. Travis, Sweetser, IN Pfc Michael P. Becker, Omaha, NE Pfc Jerry N. Christman, Williams, AZ Pfc Carl M. Middlebrooks, Baltimore, MD Pfc Alton L. Staples, Cincinnati, OH Pfc Ernest L. Wesley, Stockbridge, GA C Company: Cpl David E. Dixon, Miami, FL D Company: 2ndLt Samuel J. Hannah, Reily, OH (Silver Star) Sgt Thomas R. Cores, Del Rio, TX Cpl Normand C. Deschaine, Lewiston, ME Cpl Johnnie B. Espy, Montclair, NJ LCpl David O. Auen, Blairsville, PA LCpl John A. Scarpinato, La Puente, CA H&S Company: HM3 Ramon Leyba, Albuquerque, NM (H&S Co, w/ Alpha 1/26) HN Ronald E. Rockefeller, Tivoli, NY In a tragic coincidence, Lance Corporal Michael Travis's elder brother, Corporal Edmund B. Travis, an artilleryman with Alpha 1/13 Marines, had been killed in action on 27 June 1967 while serving on a Forward Observer team with the 1/26 Marines at Khe Sanh.

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