Earl Warren Frederickson
Petty Officer Third Class
HQ, NAVAL ADV GROUP, USNAVFORV
United States Navy
Shafer, Minnesota
July 16, 1949 to June 20, 1972
(Incident Date June 13, 1972)
EARL W FREDERICKSON is on the Wall at Panel W1, Line 47

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 Earl W Frederickson
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25 Jan 2001

"FROSTY"

They say your eyes are the window to the soul;
My husband volunteered to go to Vietnam when he was just 20 years old.

Patrolling the rivers on a PBR,
In a place he called "the Nam" on the aft gun;
His first time out "Boats" and "Freddy"
assured him it would be a simple milk run.

First a few cracks were heard,
Then suddenly it was a full blown fire fight.
"This wasn't supposed to happen, not now"
He thought, not his first night.

He saw his first man, "Brother",
Killed that awful night;
He could hear his head roll around the boat,
First left and then right.
When they got back to the mother ship
He had to put his body and then the head in a body bag;
He earned his name "FROSTY" that night and it made him gag.

No longer were his eyes quick to twinkle;
Nor did his wonderful smile make his nose wrinkle.

After 2 long tours in that far away place he called "The Nam",
He knew deep down inside his mortally wounded soul
He could no longer belong.
His eyes grew colder, harder, more distant and full of mistrust;
All he kept thinking over and over through the years, was
My "brothers" "Boats" and "Freddie" no longer live so die I must.

Thirty long, hard years came and went,
Never once could he forget "The Nam," his "brothers", his past.

"FROSTY" took his last breath on his own September 4, 2000 and on September 6, 2000, he died from P.T.S.D. at last.

This poem is written by FROSTY'S wife, and dedicated to Earl Warren "FAT FREDDIE" Frederickson and "BIKER BOATS", whose real name is unknown. May the 3 of you have a wonderful reunion and enjoy your life together now. I can hear the laughter all the way down here on earth.

These 3 men served on PBR 1182 AKA "Ironman", Riverine Division 51. HT2 Frederickson was assigned to Commander, Naval Forces Vietnam, at the time of his death.

Janet R. Masters-Oyler
janetfrostyswife@aol.com


 

A Note from The Virtual Wall

As the US withdrawal moved ahead, the river patrol boats were transferred to the Vietnamese Navy and the US sailors reassigned. Petty Officer Fredrickson was assigned to the Naval Advisory Group of the Military Assistance Command Vietnam at the time of his death.

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