19 Mar 2008 I joined the Marines in January, 1968 and went to Parris Island. I was in platoon 304, along with over 80 recruits. The Marine training was an eye-opener to say the least. One night, our last week on the island, the D.I. called a "SCHOOL CIRCLE". We all gathered up in the front of the squad bay to listen to a lecture. This lecture was different from the ones we usually hear. He said I want all you to look around and remember the faces of your fellow Marines, because some of you are not going to make it home from Vietnam. With all my training this was a slap of reality I never thought about. After the war I looked up the names of my fellow Marines and found five who died for their country. This is a memorial for Kenneth L. Witham who was killed in action on March 27 1969. SEMPER FI, brother, you are not forgotten. If anyone knows his unit or the circumstances of his death please let me know. L/Cpl Ed Kirby 3rd 155mm Gun Btry (SP) Vietnam 68-69 ed-kirby@comcast.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall LCpl Kenneth L. Witham was assigned to H&S Co, 3rd Bn, 4th Marines and died of wounds on 27 March 1969 - but the date he was wounded is not known. The 3/4 Marines' Command Chronology for March 1969 contains an entry reporting an artillery hit on India Company, 3/4 which casued one death and 10 emergency medevacs. The Marine killed by the shell was LCpl Michael R. Ball of Davenport, Iowa, also assigned to H&S Company but in the field with India 3/4. While The Virtual Wall cannot prove it so, it seems likely that LCpl Witham was one of the 10 men wounded that day.

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