My walk today was dedicated in honor of :
Marine GSGT James Wesley Jackson Jr, Age 21 of Atlanta, GA.
MIA Sept. 21, 1969 Vietnam
He is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall on Panel 18W, Line 121
GYSGT Jackson was awarded National Defense, Vietnam Service and Vietnam Campaign medals
Gunnery Sergeant James Wesley Jackson Jr., Served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, Third Marine Amphibious Force.
Fire Support Base Russell was located in northern I Corps, northwest of the Rockpile near the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam in Quang Tri Province. Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines occupied the remote hilltop, the scene of fierce, deadly fighting during 1969. In September 1969, Russell was being abandoned, and the 21st was its last day in friendly hands. Demolition charges were being wired to blow the bunkers and trench lines, and excess powder bags for the 105mm artillery pieces were being dumped in a pit to be burned. At approximately 1:00 PM, one of the unit’s two indigenous Bru scouts was believed to have dropped or thrown a lit cigarette into a pit containing the powder bags. The resulting fire touched off a series of explosions that scattered burning ammunition all over the hilltop. Two were killed, and numerous others were wounded. The lost Marines were PFC Grover Bowen and LCPL Leonel M. Silveira. The wounded were gathered on a landing zone below the crest of the hill, away from the fires and explosions. Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight medevac choppers carried the casualties to the 3rd Medical Battalion in Quang Tri. One of the injured was LCPL James W. Jackson Jr. who had suffered a small puncture wound to the lower back. Two Navy corpsmen assisted him from the helicopter, and he was taken into the hospital. This was the last time Jackson was seen by anyone. It was six weeks before it was discovered Jackson was missing. His parents had thought he was with his unit, and his unit thought he was in the hospital. The hospital had no record of him, so had no reason to look for him. Not until parents and friends began calling and writing Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, asking why Jackson had not written, was a search initiated. An investigation showed he was not with his unit, not in the hospital at Quang Tri, and not on the hospital ship U.S.S. Repose. On January 10, 1970, a board of inquiry issued a report declaring Jackson had vanished without explanation. On August 7, 1980, Jackson, by then promoted to Gunnery Sergeant, was declared dead by the Marine Corps. His whereabouts remain a mystery today.
We had a great walk out in the country today. The weather was perfect. I want to thank everyone who honked and waved in helping me honor this hero.
He will not be forgotten !
