20 Nov 2007 Hello ... thank you for visiting this site. Mark's mother and my mother were first cousins. The last I knew Mark's father had passed away and his mother had remarried and moved to Falls Church, Virginia. My mother passed away in January, 2003. Though I never knew Mark, I heard a lot about him. I heard that a bunch of his family tried to persuade him not to enlist, but he heard the call to duty and wanted to serve his country. Obviously, he made the ultimate sacrifice. I believe that his short life upon this earth was valuable and I just wanted to show that at least one person cared enough to remember. Just for the record, I am a Vietnam-era veteran of the Marine Corps, though I never went to Vietnam. I wanted to remember. I did not want to forget those who gave all. If you have any information on Mark, please do not hesistate to contact me or add your own addenda. Thanks again for visiting and have a wonderful life ... do not forget to thank a veteran for the freedoms we enjoy... Don From a second cousin, Donald H. Olson P. O. Box 7445, Springdale, Arkansas dnjolson@hotmail.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Operation HICKORY in May 1967 was directed at reducing the combat strength and supporting infrastructure of North Vietnamese Army units operating in and south of the DMZ. The Battalion Landing Team built around 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines was inserted on 20 May in the northeastern corner of the HICKORY operating area under the name Operation BELT TIGHT. Hotel 2/3 made an opposed air assault into LZ PARROT at YD147773; the opposition was strong enough so that the LZ was closed to further landings until Hotel 2/3 and supporting arms had secured the area. Hotel 2/3 then moved toward its initial objective, a village to the north-northwest at YD144787. The village was fortified and defended by what appeared to be a reinforced NVA platoon, supported by mortars and artillery firing from within the DMZ. The NVA were forced to withdraw by sundown, but the Marines lost eight men in the intial landing and the subsequent assault. Frequent contacts continued through the 21st and 22nd, and a decision was taken to retain BLT 2/3 ashore as a part of Operation HICKORY. Operation BELT TIGHT was terminated at 4:00 pm 23 May. Eleven Marines and one sailor were killed in action around LZ PARROT on 20-21 May: A Co, 3rd Eng Bn Pfc Ronald L. Sharar, Orlando, FL (05/20/1967) F Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines Pvt George N. Wright, Boring, OR (05/21/1967) H Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines GySgt Harry K. Davis, Tucson, AZ (05/21/1967) SSgt Hildra McCoy, Wilmington, NC (05/21/1967) Cpl Roy Smith, Birmingham, AL (05/20/1967) LCpl Edwardo J. Gonzales, Sinton, TX (05/20/1967) (Silver Star) Pfc Mark R. Lander, Battle Creek, MI (05/20/1967) Pfc Alan R. May, Cicero, IL (05/20/1967) Pfc Ronald D. Starr, Martins Ferry, OH (05/20/1967) Pfc Sandy Zimmerman, Baltimore, MD (05/20/1967) H&S Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines HM3 Donald R. Ellis, Florence, AZ (05/20/1967) (Silver Star) LCpl James Johnson, Ponca City, OK (05/21/1967)

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