William Roland Prewitt
Lance Corporal
CAP HOTEL-6, CACO HOTEL, HQ BN, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF United States Marine Corps Florien, Louisiana September 28, 1946 to August 01, 1967 WILLIAM R PREWITT is on the Wall at Panel 24E, Line 62 |
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We knew and remember him as "Roland."
Semper Fi, |
As of April 15, 2005, Roland's mother is still living. His father is not. How wonderful it would be for Roland's mother and his extended family to have more details of what happened to him. Some of Roland's relatives wonder if the injuries he received did not kill him, and thus, if he was taken prisoner.
26 Dec 2005
Roland's primary next of kin were advised that Roland was taken captive and died in captivity. Efforts to locate his remains have failed.
From the wife of Roland's cousin. mcfam@shreve.net |
A Note from The Virtual WallThe Marines' Combined Action Program placed a reinforced squad in Vietnamese villages where they lived, ate, worked and fought alongside the villagers and the local militia. Until late 1968 the CAP was run by the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions. Sub-Unit 4, HQ Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, then commanded by LtCol R. J. KELLER, USMC, was the Division's CAP unit consisting of two Combined Action Companies - CAC Alpha and CAC Hotel. LCpl Prewitt was assigned to a CAC Hotel unit, CAP Hotel-6, located at Nuoc Ngot, Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Province. In August 1967 CACs Alpha and Hotel were under the operational control of the 2nd Bn, 26th Marines.The following extracts from 3rd MarDiv and 2/26 reports for August 1967 explain what happened to LCpl Prewitt:
The two Marines with LCpl Prewitt both stated that Prewitt had died of gunshot wounds, and that they were unable to bring his body with them while they evaded the VC/NVA during the night of 01/02 August. Lance Corporal Prewitt accordingly was classed as Killed in Action/Body not Recovered. A week later there was something more:
The report that LCpl Prewitt was captured alive could not be confirmed, nor could reports that he subsequently died. If his injuries were reported accurately by the Marines with him it seems unlikely that he survived four gunshot wounds to the chest. Although LCpl Prewitt's remains have not been repatriated, there's a marker for him at Plot 7, Row 3, of the Pisgah Baptist Church Cemetery, Sabine Parrish, Louisiana. His father, Henry Lee Prewitt, is buried in Plot 8. The photo at the top of the page is taken from the POW Network site, where it is introduced with the following caption: "Gene was a good friend of Roland's and took the picture in Phu Bai while they were both with 3rd Bn 26th Marines. This was before Roland became part of SU4 HQ Bn 3rd Marine Division. SU4 was made up of Combined Action Companies (CAC) Alpha and Hotel. Roland was in Hotel-6 when he was KIA. |
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