05 Oct 2002 Photo supplied by Mike's God-child and niece, Liz Peter, for the McGinnis family. Today, I am honored to add to The Virtual Wall my good friend and fellow Marine killed in action on September 17, 1969. We were last together in Da Nang, RVN, on April 17, 1969. Remembered today, because you were never forgotten. Your sacrifices have bestowed many a blessing on others and we thank you for them. You did not die in vain, Semper Fidelis, Mike, a good friend and good Marine! Jim McIlhenney christianamacks@comcast.net The following article is taken from The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 23, 1969: Levittown Marine Killed in Viet Action A Levittown serviceman, who wanted to be a Marine since he was six, was killed last Wednesday near Cam Lo, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, the Defense Department announced Monday. He was Marine Pfc. Michael B. McGinnis, 20, son of Mr and Mrs. Joseph W. McGinnis Sr., of 52 Tall Pine lane, Levittown. Pfc. McGinnis was a team leader in a combat demolition platoon. He was killed by a grenade, the Defense Department said. Pfc. McGinnis was with the 3d Marine Division, 3d Engineering Battalion. President Nixon had ordered the withdrawal of the division by December 15 and the young Marine had been scheduled to go on leave this Wednesday. His younger sisters, Coreen, 12, and Peggy, 16, received his last letter on the day he was killed. He asked them to get his room and his car ready. Pfc. McGinnis was a tackle on the Pennsbury High School football team. He was graduated last year. His father was a veteran of World War II and served in the Navy. In addition to his parents, Pfc. McGinnis is survived by four sisters, Mrs. Mary Ann Gallagher, Mrs. Adrienne Johnson, Coreen and Peggy, and two brothers, Joseph W. Jr. and Robert J. SEMPER FIDELIS, MIKE!

 

Notes from The Virtual Wall Note During the summer of 1969 the North Vietnamese Army made repeated attempts to drive Allied forces from the heights of Mutter's Ridge, which formed a portion of the southern boundary of the DMZ. On 17 Sep 1969, with Lima Company, 3/3 Marines, taking a real beating on Mutter's Ridge the 3rd Marine Division reinforced them with the designated rapid deployment force, India Company 3/4 Marines. Twentyfive Marines and Navy Corpsmen died in the fighting that day and the next. PFC Mike McGinnis, a combat engineer from the 3rd Engineer Battalion, was attached to Lima 3/3, and was one of the Marines killed during the initial fighting on 17 September. He, and the other men who died during the Mutter's Ridge battles of 10 August and 17/18 September, are listed on the The Virtual Wall's Mutter's Ridge Memorial

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