Say His Name to Remember: CPL Jerry Ray Hall

Jerry Ray Hall enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 20, 1966. Following Basic and Advanced training, he received orders for Vietnam, where he arrived on June 16, 1967. Once in-country, he was assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.

On October 18, 1967, Alpha Company was positioned at Con Thien (Hill 158), just south of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Around 4:45 PM, the outpost came under enemy artillery and mortar fire. The Marines responded by targeting the enemy positions with their own mortar fire. In a tragic accident, one of the 60mm mortar rounds fell short, landing inside the Con Thien perimeter. The explosion wounded four Marines, three of them severely enough to require medical evacuation. Corporal Jerry Hall was among the three, and he passed away while being evacuated.

Con Thien was a 158-meter-high hill, part of a cluster of three small, barren hills. It was an unforgiving landscape, characterized by its stark red mud. Local missionaries referred to it as "The Hill of the Angels" because of the heavy toll of casualties associated with the area. To the Marines, however, it was grimly known as "the meat grinder" or "our turn in the barrel," a reflection of the relentless and brutal fighting that took place there.