Florentino John Santana

Private First Class
D CO, 1ST BN, 26TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV
United States Marine Corps
20 June 1947 - 18 September 1966
Elgin, Illinois
Panel 10E Line 115

3RD MARDIV 26TH MARINES
Purple Heart, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

Florentino John Santana and his wife Donna Lou Dewis

The database page for Florentino John Santana

06 Jul 2007

Seasons In The Sun

Goodbye to you, my trusted friend.
We've known each other since we were nine or ten.
Together we climbed hills or trees.
Learned of love and ABC's,
skinned our hearts and skinned our knees.
Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die,
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Pretty girls are everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the hills that we climbed
were just seasons out of time.
Goodbye, Papa, please pray for me,
I was the black sheep of the family.
You tried to teach me right from wrong.
Too much wine and too much song,
wonder how I get along.
Goodbye, Papa, it's hard to die
when all the birds are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
Little children everywhere.
When you see them I'll be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the wine and the song,
like the seasons, all have gone.
Goodbye, Michelle, my little one.
You gave me love and helped me find the sun.
And every time that I was down
you would always come around
and get my feet back on the ground.
Goodbye, Michelle, it's hard to die
when all the bird are singing in the sky,
Now that the spring is in the air.
With the flowers ev'rywhere.
I whish that we could both be there.
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.
But the stars we could reach
were just starfishes on the beach.
- Terry Jacks - © -
Reproduced under 17 USC �107

From his daughter,
Pauline Kathryn Santana McNally
km6az-1@yahoo.com

A Note from The Virtual Wall

During the summer of 1966 the North Vietnamese Army's 324B Division had infiltrated south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) with the clear intention of setting up a major presence in northern Quang Tri Province. The NVA 341st Division was positioned within and north of the DMZ and prepared to support the 324B Division and/or exploit opportunities arising from the 324B's operations.

CG 3rd MAF, the senior US commander in northern South Vietnam, initiated Operation HASTINGS aimed at discouraging the 324B Division and forcing it back into the DMZ (at the time, US forces could not enter into the DMZ - it was an NVA sanctuary). Heavy fighting continued through July 1966, particularly around the "Rockpile" between Khe Sanh and Camp Carroll. HASTINGS ended, and a series of recon-in-force operations - termed Operation PRAIRIE - began on 03 August 1966.

Operation DECKHOUSE IV was conducted by the 7th Fleet's Special Landing Force Bravo (Battalion Landing Team 1/26) as an adjunct to Operation PRAIRIE. BLT 1/26's area was about 8 miles northeast of Dong Ha, and the operation began with an amphibious landing and a heliborne landing some six miles inland west of Highway 1. At about 1330 15 Sep 1966, a recon team made contact with an NVA company. That contact was the first in what became ten days of heavy fighting for BLT 1/26's Marines and sailors. Although DECKHOUSE IV officially ended on the 18th, BLT 1/26 stayed in support of PRAIRIE until the 25th. The operation claimed at least 200 NVA killed at a cost of 37 Marines and sailors killed in action and another 167 wounded. The dead were

  • A Co, 5th Recon Bn:
  • A Co, 5th Tank Bn:
    • LCpl Estill L. Childers, Slater, MO

  • W Btry, 3rd Bn, 12th Marines:
    • Pfc Charles E. Stokes, Santa Ana, CA

  • A Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines:
    • 1stLt Glenn E. Insprucker, Glendale, CA
    • LCpl Dennis K. Eaker, Duboistown, PAA
    • Pfc Richard S. Bates, Nutley, NJ
    • Pfc Nicholson Brown, Washington, DC
    • Pfc Sherman L. Ivey, Cleveland, OH
    • Pfc Ronald McCracken, Elmsford, NY
    • Pfc Edward Ramos, Clyde, TX

  • B Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines:
  • C Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines:
    • LCpl Jack E. Crouch, Mount Vernon, IL (Silver Star)
    • LCpl Carlton Griffin, Putney, GA
    • LCpl James L. Pettiford, Clairton, PA
    • Pfc Garry D. Davis, Elizabethtown, IL
    • Pfc Joseph A. Friel, West Roxbury, MA (Silver Star)
    • Pfc John H. Fulcher, Arlington, VA
    • Pvt Thomas J. Kane, Dorchester, MA

  • D Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines:
    • 1stLt Gerald D. Geoghegan, Verona, NJ
    • Cpl Stephen P. Miller, Philadelphia, PA
    • LCpl Micky J. Johns, Levittown, NY
    • Pfc Bruce B. Backeberg, Helena, MT (Silver Star)
    • Pfc David R. Beattie, Neptune, NJ
    • Pfc Elmer L. Boatman, Wayland, MO
    • Pfc Ronald C. Dexter, Milbank, SD
    • Pfc Herschel P. Helm, Coffeeville, MS
    • Pfc Thomas C. Jonozzo, Bedford, OH
    • Pfc Danny R. Rundle, Whittier, CA
    • Pfc Florentino J. Santana, Elgin, IL

  • H&S Co, 1st Bn, 26th Marines:
    • 1stLt Dennis D. Bradley, Marysville, WA
    • Sgt John F. Sewell, Severn, MD
    • HM3 John O. Oquendo, Campbell, OH




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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 06 Jul 2007
Last updated 08/10/2009