Vietnam War

Obituaries

NT Marine, 20, Killed in Action

A 20-year-old North Tonawanda Marine, who planned to be home for Christmas, was killed in action last week in Vietnam.
    Marine Cpl. Douglas M. Smith was killed in action Wednesday while on operations with the First Marine Division in Quang Nam Province in South Vietnam, his mother, Mrs. Lois Smith of  North Tonawanda, was informed. She received word of her son's death Saturday afternoon in a telegram from the Defense Department.
    The telegram said the young Marine suffered the fatal injuries from “fragmentations of a hostile explosive device.”
    The body of the North Tonawanda Marine is expected to arrive in Buffalo Saturday, his mother said. Funeral arrangements are incomplete.
    Cpl. Smith was based at An Hoa, South Vietnam, but had been at several bases since his arrival there in mid-February, his mother said.
    Cpl. Smith enlisted in the Marine Corps after he was graduated from North Tonawanda High School in June, 1965. He would have celebrated his 21st birthday on Nov. 27.
    Besides his mother, Cpl. Smith is survived by his father, Jennings W. Smith of Long Beach, Calif.; an older brother, Donald T. Smith, 23, at home, and a sister, Jane G. Smith, 18, also at home.

NT Youth Killed by Enemy Fire

    A 20-year-old Army combat medic from North Tonawanda was killed Sept. 7 in South Vietnam while on his way by air to assist some wounded men.
    Spec. 4 Gary Lee Bowdler of Ninth Ave. was a passenger in an aircraft which was shot down by enemy fire, the Defense Department announced yesterday. He previously was listed as missing in action.
    The 59th resident of Niagara County to die in Vietnam, Spec. 4 Bowdler enlisted in the Army in June, 1968, and had completed nearly a year of active duty in Vietnam. He went to Vietnam last November.
    A native of North Tonawanda, Spec. 4 Bowdler was a 1967 North Tonawanda High School graduate. He was employed by Continental Can Co. before he enlisted in the Army, and was a member of Payne Avenue Christian Church, North Tonawanda.
    Spec. 4 Bowdler was an outstanding athlete at North Tonawanda High School where he participated in varsity baseball and football. He played tackle for the Lumberjacks in 1965 and 1966. In baseball, he pitched and played first base during the 1965, 1966 and 1967 seasons.
    He also was a member of the Gratwick Hose baseball team in the Tonawanda NEWS League. He played from 1964 to 1967 and was a standout performer.
    Spec. 4 Bowdler is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. William J. Bowdler, and, a brother, Airman William Bowdler Jr., stationed at Keesler Air Base, Miss.
    The Wattengel Funeral Home in North Tonawanda will be in charge of arrangements when the young soldier's body arrives from Vietnam.

NT SERVICEMAN KILLED IN VIETNAM

    A 26-year-old North Tonawanda soldier, who joined the Army last October, has been killed in action in Vietnam.
    He was Pfc. Lon G. Carr, son of Mr. and Mrs. John I. Carr of North Tonawanda. The Defense Department notified his parents yesterday that their son was killed last Wednesday.
    The Defense Department also reported yesterday that Capt. Joseph A. L'Huillier, a former Grand Island resident, was killed in Vietnam last Thursday. Capt. L'Huillier, a member of the 107th Tactical Fighter, Group, formerly based at Niagara Falls, was reported shot down while flying a support mission. He had resided about three years on Grand Island.
    His wife and family moved to Las Vegas after he was sent overseas in June.
Pfc. Carr is the fifth North Tonawandan to lose his life in Vietnam.
    Details of his death were not immediately known. His father said he knew only that Lon was in a convoy when killed.
    Pfc. Carr was assigned to Battery A, 3rd Battalion, 16th Artillery.
    He was born Jan. 24, 1942, and attended North Tonawanda High School.
    He received his basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., and advanced training in artillery at Fort Sill, Okla.
    Survivors, besides his parents, are his wife, Linda; a son, Randy, 4, both of the Town of Wheatfield; three brothers, John, who is his twin, and Miland, both of North Tonawanda, and Robert of the Town of Tonawanda, and a sister, Mrs. Ruth Wadsworth of Niagara Falls.
    The other North Tonawanda Youths' killed in Vietnam were:

    The flag at North Tonawanda City Hall will remain at half-staff until tomorrow afternoon in tribute to Army Spec. 4 Daryl J. Schmidt, who was killed a week ago in Vietnam.
    The 21-year-old North Tonawanda soldier will be accorded full military honors during rites at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Wattengel Funeral Home.  Burial will be in Elmlawn Cemetery, Town of Tonawanda.
    The youthful soldier was killed in Binh Long Province, near Saigon, when Communists attacked the base camp about noon last Wednesday.  Spec. 4 Schmidt was serving with the Third Troop Squadron, 11th Cavalry Regiment.
    Spec. 4 Schmidt's brother, Vernon, also stationed in Vietnam, accompanied his brother's body home.
    The fallen soldier had served in Vietnam since December.  His brother, Vernon, has been assigned to Bien Hoa Airbase since April.
    Besides his parents, Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth G. Schmidt of Bryant Street, and his brother, Vernon, Spec. 4 Schmidt is survived by two other brothers and five sisters.

Obituaries: Courtesy of the Tonawanda News