John Henry Kavulak
Lance Corporal
G CO, 2ND BN, 4TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF
United States Marine Corps
Omaha, Nebraska
October 29, 1947 to September 21, 1967
JOHN H KAVULAK is on the Wall at Panel 26E, Line 103

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01 Aug 2007

According to documents:

On 21 September 1967 the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, engaged an NVA force near Con Thien in Quang Tri Province. The ferocious fighting which followed left 18 Marines dead and 15 missing in action. When the Marines returned to the battlefield on 26 Sep and 09 Oct, they recovered the bodies of 14 missing Marines.

I was a classmate of John's in high school. I also served in the Corps but in a different unit in Vietnam. Semper Fi, Marine, you are not forgotten.

From a friend.
E-mail address is not available.


 

A Note from The Virtual Wall

On 21 September 1967 forty-three Marines and sailors were killed in action within sight of Con Thien (Hill 158), a few kilometers south of the Demilitarized Zone. Two were killed by artillery fire falling on Con Thien itself; the others a few kilometers to the east and southeast of the hill where elements of 2/4, 2/9, and 3/9 Marines were engaged in a bitter fight with NVA troops. Ten of the men were from Golf 2/4:
  • Sgt Charles W. Roberts, Alexandria, LA
  • Cpl Richard A. Janigian, Beaverton, OR
  • LCpl Willie Greene, Macon, GA
  • LCpl John H. Kavulak, Omaha, NE
  • LCpl Juan A. Rodriguez, Corpus Christi, TX
  • LCpl Gary R. Schafer, Bel Air, MD
  • Pfc William J. Kildare, Ogallala, NE
  • Pfc Robert S. Mueller, South Haven, MI
  • Pfc Walter Sauer, Hinckley, OH
  • Pfc Clarence D. Sheibley, Elliottsburg, PA
A number of the bodies could not be recovered as the Marines were forced to withdraw. The 2/4 Marines Command Chronology for October 1967 contains the following statement:
"On 10 Oct the Battalion made a sweep to the North East of Con Thien to recover the bodies lost in combat on the 21st of Sept. All bodies were recovered with the exception of one which is known dead. All bodies were removed to 'D' Med."
The Marine whose body was not recovered was LCpl Kenneth L. Plumadore from Fox 2/4. According to DoD's PMSEA office, his remains were repatriated on 20 June 1996 and identified on 23 Oct 2002.

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