26 Dec 2002 The following article appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer on November 22, 1968: Germantown Father Dies of Viet Wounds A Germantown soldier, reported missing in action in August, was declared dead in Viet Nam by a telegram received Thursday by his wife. The Army notification said Sp/4 Lural L. Bevins 3d (sic), 22, of 5831 N. Woodstock st., died on August 16 as the result of wounds. His wife, Brenda, 19, said there were no circumstances of death reported and the remains were never recovered. "I can't believe he's dead," she said. "It doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem real, either, that they can't find anything-- a tooth or the wedding band he always wore." Mrs Bevins (sic) last heard from her husband in July when "he spared me the details of war. He wanted to come home and study to be a mechanic." Sp/4 Bevins (sic), who attended Edison High School, was drafted in June 1966, for a three-year tour. He went to Viet Nam in October, 1967, and was assigned to an artillery unit of the 101st Airborne Division. The Bevins (sic) were married in March, 1966. They have a 22-month-old daughter, Alonda. Besides his wife and daughter, he is survived by his father, Lural Bevins (sic) Jr; his mother, Mrs Lucy Walker: and a sister, Mrs. Irma Johnson. The following photo and article are taken from The Philadelphia Daily News, special supplement entitled 'SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY,' October 26, 1987. The special supplement was issued in conjunction with the dedication of the Philadelphia Viet Nam Memorial. Blevins attended Thomas Edison High School before being drafted into the Army in May 1966. He was assigned to Viet Nam in October 1967, and was declared dead on August 16, 1968, after he went into combat in the A Shau Valley in Thua Thein Province. The specialist four was 22 years old. Survivors included his wife and two children. Placed by a native Philadelphian and Viet Nam veteran, Jim McIlhenney christianamacks@comcast.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 16 Aug 1968 a platoon from D Company, 1st Bn, 327th Infantry was conducting a patrol on the northwestern border of the A Shau Valley about 5 kilometers north-northwest of A Loui village. The platoon was engaged by a larger North Vietnamese force, incurred a number of casualties, and was forced to withdraw, leaving the bodies of two men behind. The three men killed in the action were A Btry, 2nd Bn, 320th Artillery SP4 Lural L. Blevins, Philadelphia, PA (BNR) D Co, 1st Bn, 327th Infantry PFC David Chisum, Salinas, CA (recovered) PFC Jose A. Graniela, Brentwood, NY (BNR) Nearly a year later, on 10 June 1969, unidentifiable remains of a US soldier were recovered from the area - and on 03 November 1975 the remains were identified as SP4 Lural Blevins. He was returned to his family for burial returned for burial in Plot MA-0-31, Beverly National Cemetery, Beverly, New Jersey. PFC Graniela's remains have not been recovered.

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