CAPT. JAMES WESTLEY AYERS
Born
on Oct. 31, 1934
From MONCKS CORNER, SOUTH CAROLINA
Casualty was on May 26, 1967
in QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Panel 20E - - Line 110
Capt. James Ayers served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines.
He was Killed In Action during Operation UNION II. His name stands
proudly on the H&S 3/5 Wall of
Honor. Semper Fi, Brother Marine. We will never forget.
Operation
UNION II
LEST
WE FORGET
I
was there that day. He was my Comm. Platoon Commander, H/S
3/5, 1st MarDiv
I
WAS A MEMBER OF CAPT. AYERS RADIO PLATOON. IT WAS DURING OPERATION
UNION II. THE CAPTAIN WAS ATTACHED TO BATTALION HQ. THEY WERE CROSSING
A DANGER AREA UNDER FIRE, CAPT. AYERS TOOK A DIRECT HIT WITH A MORTAR.
HE NEVER KNEW WHAT HIT HIM. HE WAS A GOOD OFFICER, AND WAS WELL LIKED
BY ALL.~Norm Bailey, Sr.
He
was CO of "K" Marine Support Battalion during my tour
Captain
Ayers was everything a young Marine needed his first CO to be: demanding,
fair, honest and interested in us. His first words to me: "Looks
like you need to go where I'm going: I'm getting a haircut."
The
most telling, to Shore Patrol in Richie's: "Those young (under-aged)
men at the bar belong to me. I'll take care of them.
The
words that made me proud (when I left "K"): "Good luck,
LCpl. Barton; I hope we can serve together again."
He
may have said these things to every Marine there, but somehow it seemed
that he made them special for me. How many others felt the same way?
I visited him at The Wall in 1997.
Semper
Fidelis,
~Jim Barton~
(H&S
3/5 graphic by Vic Vilionis, 7th Marines)
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