01 Aug 2005 I first met SSgt Kellams in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. I was assigned to what was known then as the Second Marine Brigade. It was rebuilding and there was a lot of training going on. The unit had been filled with many Marines who were not 0311s (riflemen). We were getting butchers, bakers, and candle-stick makers from all over the Corps and turning them into 0311s. SSgt Kellums was a major player in the reorganizing and training of "A" Company. He was one of the senior NCOs who recommended me for my sergeant's stripes. I had been a corporal for some time and had done a stint in Nam as a grunt. We became the 1st Battalion 27th Marines while stationed at Kaneohe. We were to go on "competition" in jungle warfare to Malaysia where we would compete with Australians, British, Malaysian jungle fighters, and some other national forces. When many of the "grunts" who had had a tour in Vietnam were transferred to MPs or other units, SSgt Kellams quickly figured something was up. Unfortunately, we never made it to those war games, and SSgt Kellams never made it home. From a fellow Marine in 1/27, Sergeant Arturo Garza sgteseusmc@yahoo.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall As noted above, the 27th Marines were deployed to Vietnam (along with the 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division) in a big hurry. The 1st Battalion was already embarked in Navy amphibious ships and heading to an exercise area when the amphibious group was redirected to Vietnam. The next land the 1/27 Marines saw was Vietnam. After a period of work-ups with a veteran Marine unit, the 1/27 Marines were given their own area of operations - one which included elements of two North Vietnamese Army battalions, a VC Main Force battalion, and several smaller VC regional and local force units. The 1/27's first major engagement took place on 13 April 1968 when they fought a bloody battle with elements of the North Vietnamese Army east of the city of Hue. The fight cost the Marines dearly - 26 dead and 46 wounded - but killed at least 62 enemy soldiers and helped to clear the area of remaining NVA/VC forces. The dead were A Company: SSgt Glennis R. Kellams, New Albany, IN (Silver Star) Cpl Kenneth M. Watson, Toledo, OH LCpl Richard L. Embrey, Warren, AZ LCpl Stephen J. Hinds, Osseo, MN Pfc Raymond Armstrong, Cleveland, OH Pfc Frank W. Atherton, Templeton, PA Pfc Robert C. Healey, Trenton, NJ Pfc Kenneth L. Hinnant, Johnson City, TN Pfc Larry C. Hopper, Ontario, CA Pfc Jerry A. Snipes, Albemarle, NC B Company: 2ndLt Alan A. Kettner, Springfield, MN Cpl James E. Hodge, Macksburg, OH LCpl Terry L. Fuhrman, Fort Wayne, IN (DoW 14 Apr 68) LCpl Alfred V. Whitmer, Morenci, AZ Pfc Roger A. Boomsma, Arcadia, CA Pfc Douglas L. Long, Savannah, GA Pfc Barry D. Lord, Findlay, OH Pfc Paul L. Whitthorne, Memphis, TN Pfc William W. Wilson, St Marys, WV Pvt Ray T. Comfort, Northumberland, PA C Company: Cpl Joseph C. Reid, Baton Rouge, LA Pfc Donald L. Mansfield, Rockland, ME Pfc William G. Parker, Detroit, MI H&S Company: SSgt Fred J. Hayes, Walnut Creek, CA (Silver Star) (with Delta 1/27) HN3 Robert L. Dodsworth, Franklin, IL HN Richard E. Cawley, St Joseph, MO

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