"Today [November 20 2012] is the 46th anniversary of this event. It seems like yesterday to all of Billy's brothers and sisters (there are 8 of us). I was serving in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division on that day. It took two days for the word to get to me. I was assigned as Billy's escort officer to get him home. I have said many times that the toughest thing I have ever done was to hand Billy's flag to our father at the funeral." "Billy is buried in the family plot in Peekskill, New York, not in Arlington. He is with our two great uncles who died in WWI, and our parents. Our father was a doctor who went into Normandy on D-Day. Our cousin, William Timothy Dorsey (who is listed alphabetacally next to Billy in the Wall directory), was also killed in Vietnam." "Our youngest brother joined the Marines after Billy was killed. He was in Vietnam in 1969 when I was. He ultimately joined and retired from the Army. Two of our sons are in the service. One is a reservist and is deployed on his third tour. The youngest is in Special Forces and is preparing for his fifth tour, including the First Gulf War. Seems that some things just keep on going. My Ranger buddy, 2nd Lt Neil Kroger, and several other members of our Ranger class were killed in the Ia Drang Valley in November, 1965." "I had my company in an ambush position in 1969, during my second tour, when I could see the lights and explosions of a battle in the 1st Cav AO. Captain William R Black and several of his men were killed that night when a gunship returning from re-arming and re-fueling mistook their strobe light for and enemy mortar position. It was several weeks before I found out that Bill had been involved in that battle. My wife attended his funeral at West Point. Bill and I had been Ranger instructors together at Fort Benning between tours." "My wife and I visited Vietnam in 1999 with a group of other veterans. We visited the Ia Drang and said a prayer for all those who died there in 1965. We visited Chu Lai and held a small memorial service for Billy and the other Marines. While we knew most of details of Billy's death, the information you provided is the most detailed info about the exact location. Thank you. My wife and I were in that general area, close enough to feel the spirit." "Two of my sisters, and my wife and I attended the first reunion of F/2-1 in Virginia Beach in 2009. We got to meet many of the Marines Billy had served with, including the company commander who had written "the letter" to our father." "It continues to amaze me how the threads of Vietnam continue to weave. I know you understand this, or you would not be doing the work you are doing. Thank you." - - John Dorsey, Brother, November 20, 2012.

The 2nd Bn, 1st Marines Command Chronology for Nov 1966 contains the following entry for 20 November: At 1415 hours, a Company F platoon conducting a combat patrol at grid BT040602 (Highway QL1, 1 kilometer North of Thu Bon River and 3 kilometers NorthWest of Dien Ban) discovered a mined punji trap. During the probe of the pit, the mine detonated causing 3 USMC Killed in Action (KIA) and 8 Marines Wounded in Action (WIAs) of which 3 WIAs were not evacuated. The three men killed by the mine were: 2Lt Charles Jerry Gaines, Newton, Mississippi Sgt Harry Joseph Shepherd, Largo, Florida Cpl William Banfield Dorsey, Yonkers, New York -- The Virtual Wall

Below are several news clippings from 1966 about events in Vietnam and home.

Cpl. Dorsey was born in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 1944, the son of Dr. and the late Ann Mannix Dorsey, was a graduate of Yonkers High School. His mother died in 1963. Cpl. Dorsey had served more than three years of a four-year tour of duty in the Marines. He was the ninth Yonkers serviceman to be killed in the Viet Nam war. Below is photo of Cpl. Dorsey's Burial marker in Assumption Cemetery, Cortlandt, Westchester County New York CPL Dorsey's parents' Burial markers in Assumption Cemetery, Cortlandt, Westchester County New York

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