The Lasting Toll: Vietnam Veterans Still Dying from War’s Impact

On January 31, 1967, the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines Command Post at Duc Pho Airfield came under a simultaneous small arms and mortar attack. Beginning at approximately 10:00 PM, the Viet Cong fired some 40 rounds of 60mm mortar fire from a nearby location and conducted a heavy probe of the perimeter. The perimeter defenses turned back the VC, killing several of the enemy. The Marines fired 81mm counter-mortar concentrations and 105mm concentrations against possible VC exfiltration routes as the enemy broke contact and withdrew. Contact could not be regained by pursuing American forces. Captured equipment included two Russian rifles, several grenades, and bamboo satchel charges. Evidence suggested that the attack was led by a sapper-type unit. One of the 3/7 Marines, rifleman CPL John A. Frederick, was critically injured in the attack when he suffered fragmentation wounds to his face and chest plus internal injuries to his spleen and chest. He was evacuated first to the 1st MED Battalion in Chu Lai and eventually transferred to the U.S. Navy Hospital in Great Lakes, IL. He was released from the USN Hospital on July 31, 1968 and retired from active duty due to the nature of his wounds. Frederick died on February 6, 1989, at the age of 41 from complications due to the injuries he sustained in Vietnam. His name was added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in in May 2006.