The late John Allen Campbell, the second Cole County resident killed in Vietnam, was honored at Sunday's annual Memorial Day Ceremony at Enloe Cemetery west of Russellville.
The event featured Jamie Doolittle and Ashley Shannon, who spoke about their late uncle.
Doolittle said Campbell grew up on a farm outside Russellville, the third of 11 siblings whose names all started with the letter "J."
"I'm told he was quite the fun-loving jokester growing up, getting into his fair share of trouble," she said. "(He) had lots of friends, absolutely loved baseball and worked hard on the farm."
After graduating from high school, Campbell was turned down from the Army due to a heart murmur. But in 1966 he joined the Marines. He was a squad leader "in a country he had no idea of the location of to fight in a war he had no idea why he was fighting."
There he made many friends, and his family still stays in contact with many of them, she said.
Doolittle said one of Campbell's letters home talked about how he did a taped interview for historical purposes. She recently tracked down the interview from the Marine Historical Division in Quantico, Virginia, and played the interview during the event. In it, Campbell talks about the hardships of fighting in Vietnam, especially during the monsoon season. But overall, he said, things weren't that bad, and he was proud to be serving his country.
In the background, artillery fire could be heard.
Just 14 days later - about 45 days before he was to come home - he was killed in action from multiple fragmentation wounds from an enemy explosive, Doolittle said.
Shannon read a poem she wrote about Campbell. In part, the poem reads: "Your bags were at your side, while you waited for the train. Your mother's tear-filled eyes looked up at you in pain. Your father couldn't be more proud. His boy is now a man. The train pulled up, a tear fell down, and you released your mother's hand. She landed a kiss on your cheek, and patted you lovingly on the back. In this moment, she never dreamed that you wouldn't be coming back. You shook your father's hand and he embraced you with a smile. Keep your head held high, son, you'll only be gone awhile. The whistle sounded and the train rolled on. Just a few more stops, and you'd be in Vietnam."
About 100 people attended the hourlong ceremony, including a number of American Legion Riders.
Campbell is one of 353 veterans buried at the cemetery. He was the only Russellville-area casualty of the Vietnam War.
Also at the event, Jeremy mick, military historian and public affairs officer for the Silver Star Families of America, presented a framed photo of Roscoe Enloe's grave marker in France to Gary Kempker, commander of American Legion Post 5, which is named after Enloe.
"We share a kinship with Russellville and the Enloe Family and the namesake of our post in Jefferson City," Kempker said. "If you've ever been in the post, you've seen a large, framed photograph of Roscoe Enloe hanging in the club room. I can assure you that this portrait will also hang in the American Legion in a prominent place where everybody that comes through the door knows about our namesake."
Enloe, a Jefferson City native, was killed while serving in World War II after being was shot through the lung by a machine gunner.