14 Dec 2000 Pete Kaulback was a friend of my parents, and they miss him dearly. I think he went to high school and possibly college with my father. The story I remember about Pete is that before he shipped out he went hunting, and brought the deer meat back to his friends. He wasn't a hunter as far as I knew, but he felt like it was something he either wanted to do or had to do before he left. He wrote my parents letters up until the time he died. Pete was a brave man fighting for his country and he should never be forgotten. A memorial from the daughter of friends, Catharine Hunter E-mail address is not available.

 

18 Sep 2003 Peter was my first love and introduced me to many other firsts. We shared many drinks, laughs and conversations together at Millers on Park Ave. While he was in Viet Nam, I was traveling and working in Europe and we wrote many letters to each other which I've saved. One letter said how he had met a deaf boy over in Viet Nam and had befriended him. That was Peter. I always called him Peter. We planned to R&R together but I couldn't afford it so he phoned me while I was in England. He was killed shortly after that. He wrote this to me and now I write it back to him: "I'll always remember you with a sparkle in my eye and a warm spot in my heart..." Peter will never be forgotten by me. I learned, grew and became a better person for knowing him. Marlene Micciche mmicciche@hselaw.com

 

7 Apr 2005 Peter was my cousin. I don't really remember him much because we lived so far apart, but I was there when we got THE CALL. I was in the Air Force at the time and on leave. My dad picked me up at my base and we went up to Boston to visit Gramma and my uncle. When we got there, we found that Peter was missing and unaccounted for. On the table was a stack of letters Peter had written Gramma. She was so worried about him. The next day, we went up to our farm in New Hampshire. That evening, the phone rang and Gramma picked it up, and began crying. Peter had ben found, or at least his remains. The next day, we returned to Boston. We were in my uncle's yard in the afternoon when a DOD station wagon pulled up and two officers approached us, just like in the movies. They must have had the saddest job in the world. They confirmed the telephone call. My uncle carried a picture of Peter with him with a 4 leaf clover next to it. "I guess it didn't do him much good" was his only comment. I had been thinking about volunteering for Viet Nam, since the Air Force was rather safe, but decided I could not put my family through a year of agony. From his cousin, Jim Kaulback jrk@evenlink.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall At the end of May 1968 the 1st Bn, 1st Marines was preparing to be withdrawn from the Khe Sanh area, while 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines were conducting road clearance and security patrols along Highway 9 south of the combat base. On the night of 29/30 May Echo 2/3's night defensive position was attacked, and during the following day the company's patrols had several contacts. The 1/1 Marines were directed to detach a company to assist 2/3; Bravo 1/1 was selected for the mission. On 31 May Echo 2/3 encountered a large entrenched NVA unit and Bravo 1/1 was directed to move to reinforce Echo 2/3. NVA practice was to establish ambushes along likely routes for reinforcements, and they did so on this occasion - Bravo 1/1 found themselves in a sharp fight with NVA troops dug in along the road. Instead of a single fight with two companies of Marines up against the original foe, there were two engagements separated by several hundred meters of jungle. The weight of US supporting arms gradually worn down both NVA elements, which withdrew toward the Laotian border several kilometers to the west. By the time the fighting stopped, the Marines had lost 25 men and had a considerable number of wounded. The dead were B Co, 1st Bn, 1st Marines Sgt Larry D. Pliler, Joplin, MO Cpl Samuel Williams, Tampa, FL LCpl Robert C. Allen, Reno, NV LCpl Eric V. Dickson, Woodland Park, CO LCpl Ralph Ferguson, Jackson, OH LCpl Peter J. Kaulback, Webster, NY LCpl Harry T. Moore, Chicago, IL LCpl Charles L. Morgan, Rock Hill, SC LCpl Donald R. Trantham, Santa Clara, CA Pfc Henry J. Boye, Pine Hill, NJ Pfc Leroy C. Haller, Birdsboro, PA Pfc Wayman D. Morris, War, WV E Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines Cpl Harold D. Gore, Houston, MS LCpl William G. Gifford, Phoenix, AZ LCpl Gary M. Martorella, Bayonne, NJ LCpl James E. West, Norfolk, VA Pfc Haydn Evans, Roselle, NJ Pfc Ruzell Gray, Crockett, TX (Silver Star) Pfc Squire N. Mayberry, Dayton, OH G Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines Cpl Douglas M. Rogers, Newark, NJ H&S Co, 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines (with Echo 2/3) Sgt George M. Ramos, San Francisco, CA Cpl Norman E. Hicks, Baltimore, MD Cpl Steven I. Olney, Lansing, MI LCpl Harrell W. Johnson, Roseboro, NC LCpl Robert L. Smith, Monroe, MI There was one more casualty, although it wasn't immediately recognized. Lance Corporal Charles H. Gatewood, Bravo 1/1, from Chicago, Illinois, had been shot. He was immediately treated by a Corpsman, was directed to move back to a helo landing zone about 100 meters to the rear for evacuation, and was seen moving under his own power in that direction. It wasn't until several days later, when Bravo 1/1 was detached from duty with the 2/3 Marines and returned to their own battalion, that it was realized that no medical facility had reported receiving LCpl Gatewood for treatment. The two battlefields had been thoroughly swept beginning on 01 June and all known dead and wounded had been recovered; although no-one was looking for Gatewood specifically - after all, he had been wounded and evacuated - he had not been found during the sweeps. Simply stated, he had disappeared. Gatewood was classed as Missing in Action and was carried in that status until 23 Sep 1975, when the Secretary of the Navy approved a Presumptive Finding of Death. His remains have not been repatriated.

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