Rest in Peace USMC PFC Dan Bullock; youngest Vietnam KIA at age 15

Washington Syndicate

 

God bless the dead. 

God bless United States Marine Corps PFC Dan Bullock of Brooklyn, NY who is gone but not forgotten.  

Bullock was born December 21, 1953 in Goldsboro, North Carolina. His mother passed when he was 11; and he moved with his father and younger sister to Brooklyn, New York. He dreamed of becoming a pilot, or police officer, or U.S. Marine.  

When he was 14 years old he altered the date on his birth certificate to show he was born Dec. 21, 1949, processed through the recruiting station, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on Sep. 18, 1968.  

As a member of Platoon 3039 in Parris Island, he graduated from boot camp on Dec. 10, 1968. He arrived in Vietnam on May 8, 1969 and was assigned as a rifleman in Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was stationed at An Hoa Combat Base in Quang Nam Province.  

He was killed instantly by small arms fire on June 7, 1969, during a North Vietnamese Army night attack. He was 15 years old.  

The story of Dan Bullock is known by few, but important to all. A friend of PFC Bullock’s has petitioned Congress, the Commandant of the USMC, and the President to award the Medal of Honor, posthumously. School lessons are being taught across the country around advocacy for recognition of PFC Bullock’s love of country. The Syndicate supports these efforts.  

The New York City Council in 2003 renamed a section of Lee Avenue, where Bullock had lived while in Brooklyn, in his honor.  

More from flickr, Virtual Wall, US Militaria Forum, Find a Grave.