Vietnam War Memorial, Paramount Park, Waterloo, IA, USA - Vietnam War Memorials on Waymarking.com

Vertical triangular marble memorial with a bronze "V" on top surface of memorial. One side of memorial is inscribed with a dedication and the remaining two surfaces contain the name of the 45 Blackhawk County citizens who lost the lives in the Vietnam War. This memorial is the only thing left in Paramount Park, everything else was destroyed in the Cedar River spring floods of 2008. The park is in the process of being restored by the city of Waterloo, Iowa.

Dedication:

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A LASTING TRIBUTE TO THE VIETNAM VETERANS OF BLACKHAWK COUNTY - THEY ENDURED AT HOME AND ABROAD, AND SERVED WITH PRIDE AND COURAGE TO PROTECT FREEDOM AND JUSTICE FOR ALL MANKIND.
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Two of the 45 names on this memorial:

2LT Robert J. Hibbs, Medal of Honor, Posthumous, KIA March 5, 1966, near Loc Ninh, in the Republic of Vietnam.

Official Citation Text: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. 2d Lt. Hibbs was in command of a 15-man ambush patrol of the 2d Battalion, when his unit observed a company of Viet Cong advancing along the road toward the 2d battalion's position. Informing his command post by radio of the impending attack, he prepared his men for the oncoming Viet Cong, emplaced two mines in their path and, when the insurgents were within 20 feet of the patrol's position, he fired the 2 anti-personnel mines, wounding or killing half of the enemy company. Then, to cover the withdrawal of his patrol, he threw hand grenades, stepped onto the open road, and opened fire on the remainder of the Viet Cong force of approximately 50 men. Having rejoined his men, he was leading them toward the battalion perimeter when the patrol encountered the rear elements of another Viet Cong company deployed to attack the battalion. With the advantage of surprise, he directed the charge against the Viet Cong, which carried the patrol through the insurgent force, completely disrupting its attack. Learning that a wounded patrol member was wandering in the area between the two opposing forces and although moments from safety and wounded in the leg himself, he and a sergeant went back to the battlefield to recover the stricken man. After they maneuvered through the withering fire of 2 Viet Cong machine guns, the sergeant grabbed the dazed soldier and dragged him back toward friendly lines while 2d Lt. Hibbs remained behind to provide covering fire. Armed with only a M-16 rifle and a pistol, but determined to destroy the enemy positions, he then charged the 2 machine gun emplacements and was struck down. Before succumbing to his mortal wounds, he destroyed the starlight scope attached to his rifle to prevent its capture and use by the Viet Cong. 2d Lt. Hibbs profound concern for his fellow soldiers, and his intrepidity at the risk of his life and beyond the call of duty are in the highest traditions of the U. S. Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country.

________________________



COLONEL LAWRENCE WILLIAM WHITFORD, JR.

Rank/Branch: O5/US Air Force
Unit: Commando Sabre Operations, 31st Tactical Fighter Wing, Tuy Hoa
Airbase, South Vietnam
Date of Birth: 09 June 1929
Home City of Record: Cedar Falls IA
Date of Loss: 02 November 1969
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 144500N 1071700E (YB218846)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F100F
Refno: 1510

Other Personnel In Incident: Patrick H. Carroll (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 1998.


REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: When North Vietnam began to increase their military strength in
South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for
sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some
years before. The border road, termed the "Ho Chi Minh Trail" was used for
transporting weapons, supplies and troops. Hundreds of American pilots were
shot down trying to stop this communist traffic to South Vietnam.
Fortunately, search and rescue teams in Vietnam were extremely successful
and the recovery rate was high.

Still there were nearly 600 who were not rescued. Many of them went down
along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and the passes through the border mountains
between Laos and Vietnam. Many were alive on the ground and in radio contact
with search and rescue and other planes; some were known to have been
captured. Hanoi's communist allies in Laos, the Pathet Lao, publicly spoke
of American prisoners they held, but when peace agreements were negotiated,
Laos was not included, and not a single American was released that had been
held in Laos.

On November 2, 1969, LtCol. Lawrence W. Whitford, Jr., pilot, and 1Lt.
Patrick H. Carroll, navigator, departed Tuy Hoa Airbase in South Vietnam in
a F100F Super Sabre fighter bomber on a visual reconnaissance mission over
the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.

Whitford radioed that he was running out of fuel in Attapeu Province, about
20 miles east of the city of Muong May. He had a scheduled refueling, but
never appeared. Searches did not reveal any sign of the aircraft crash or
the crew.

Several months later, a damaged plane thought to be the plane flown by
Carroll and Whitford was found in the area with no bodies inside and nothing
to indicate that the crew had perished in the crash. Both Whitford and
Carroll were declared Missing in Action.

Carroll and Whitford went down in an area heavily infiltrated by enemy
forces. In Whitford's case, there is certain indication that the enemy knows
what happened to him. As pilot, he would have ejected second. In Carroll's
case, it is highly suspected that the Lao or the Vietnamese know his fate.

Whitford and Carroll are two of the nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in
Laos, never to return. Although Pathet Lao leaders stressed that they held
"tens of tens" of American prisoners in Laos, not one man held in Laos was
ever released - or negotiated for.

(Information courtesy of POWNETWORK.ORG)

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Requiescat In Pace brothers - For as long as your names are remembered so too are you. Thank you for serving for us and your country.

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