Dan Bullock (December 21, 1953 – June 7, 1969) was a
United States Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
and the youngest
U.S. serviceman killed in action during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
,
dying at the age of 15.
Early life and education
Bullock was born in Goldsboro,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. He lived in North Carolina until he was about 12, when his mother died and he and his younger sister, Gloria, moved to Brooklyn to live with their father and his wife.
[ (three-page article)] He said he wanted to become a pilot, a police officer, or a U.S. Marine.
Career
When he was 14 years old, he altered the date on his birth certificate to show that he was born December 21, 1949. He processed through the recruiting station, and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on September 18, 1968. He was a member of Platoon 3039 at
Parris Island
Parris is both a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Parris Afton Bonds, American novelist
* Parris Campbell (born 1997), American football player
* Parris Duffus (born 1970), retired American ice hockey go ...
. At first he struggled to make it through, but was able to do so with the help of one of his fellow recruits. Bullock graduated from boot camp on December 10, 1968.
Private First Class Bullock arrived in
South Vietnam on May 18, 1969, and was assigned as a rifleman in 2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon, Company F,
2nd Battalion 5th Marines,
1st Marine Division
The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).
It is th ...
. He was stationed at
An Hoa Combat Base
An Hòa Combat Base (also known as Đức Dục) is a former U.S. Marine Corps and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) base west of Hội An in Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam.
History
The base was located approximately 28 km west of Hội ...
, west of
Hội An
Hội An (), formerly known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is a city with a population of approximately 120,000 in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province and is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cu Lao Cham archipelago, it is part ...
in Quảng Nam Province. Less than a month later on June 7, 1969, Bullock and three other Marines were occupying a bunker near the base airstrip when a
People's Army of Vietnam sapper
A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...
unit attacked the base at night, throwing a
satchel charge
250px, Weapons used in the Winter War. The original Finnish satchel charge is on the left.
A satchel charge is a demolition device, primarily intended for combat, whose primary components are a charge of dynamite or a more potent explosive s ...
into the bunker killing three Marines; Bullock was just 15 years old. He had been assigned to cleaning duty that night, but was transferred to the night watch after one Marine was wounded on night duty.
After he was interred, his grave site did not have a marker. A veteran's marker was finally provided in 2000.
Legacy
On June 7, 2003, a section of Lee Avenue in Brooklyn, where Bullock had lived since age 11, was renamed in his honor. In 2019, a North Carolina state historical marker honoring his life was erected near his childhood home in Goldsboro NC. Marine Corps League, Brooklyn #1, Detachment 217 usually holds a color guard memorial ceremony each June on Lee Avenue honoring PFC Bullock.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Dan Bullocko
The Wall of Faces commemorative website supported by the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a U.S. national memorial in Washington, D.C., honoring service members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. The site is dominated by two black granite walls engraved with the names of those ...
Foundation
1953 births
1969 deaths
United States Marines
American military personnel killed in the Vietnam War
People from Goldsboro, North Carolina
Child soldiers
United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War
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