I was in the Navy and stationed in Quang Tri with MACV in 67-68. I was beside E-5 Sgt. Ed McKim when he got killed on 31 Jan, 68. I don’t remember any of the other marines, I think there were about 8-10 of them, about the same number of air force and navy, the rest were doggies. Jim Burdette jburdette@mt.gov
From what I can remember (40 years!) Ed had it all. He had a blonde beauty waiting for him in Texas, along with a neat little blue Mustang and plans for one hell of a future. I remember Dennis Wakefield, a Navy corpsman won a medal getting Ed into the medical bunker. It was a really shitty day for the team. Everywhere we called on the radio they were getting their asses kicked. A couple Marine Cobras flew in over the compound and blasted hell out of something with rockets. There was a victor charles lying in the road between our compound and the Citadel that we saw when it got light enough. We had everyone on the bunkers and flares up all night. I remember that a lot more mortar rounds landed over by the officer’s hooches and not so many in the enlisted areas. Jim Burdette 10-21-07
