 Courtesy of Victor Vilionis, Find A Grave |
Remember...Rodney Allen Breedlove
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Have you ever been interested in a fallen soldier? Well, we have. Recently we researched a fallen solder named Rodney Allen Breedlove. This soldier was really interesting! Here are some facts about him.
Rodney Allen Breedlove was born on September 10, 1947, in Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia, the United States of America. His father's name was Bernie Mansfield Breedlove. His mother's name was Bertha G. Breedlove. His siblings' names were Pat, David, Cindy, Edward, Richard, Gean, and Carol. He went to Woodville Grade School; then he went to Duval High School, where he graduated in 1965. He had wanted to be a Marine since he was at Duval. He had an interest in cars, and he looked forward to buying one. He was not married and did not have any children.
Did you know that he was in the Vietnam War? He was in the Marines. His rank was lance corporal. He was a very good soldier. He won a lot of awards. One of his most known badges was called the Purple Heart badge. He had a lot of other badges too, and by saying that you probably know that it takes a while to name them all: those other awards were the Combat Action Ribbon, the Vietnam Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Expert Marksmanship Award, the Republic of Vietnam Merit Medal, and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm.
Rodney's service number was 2090595/0311. During the war, he was taken as a hostage and killed. He died at Tam Ky Quang Nam, Vietnam, on April 21, 1967. According to the account by Victor Vilionis on Find A Grave, he was killed by a gun; he was shot through his chest, also known as KIA (killed in action).
Rodney Allen Breedlove was very young when he died. In all of this, Rodney Allen Breedlove was a great man. We wrote to one of his dear friends named Bryant Bowman, who was incredibly helpful. Here are some things Bryant had to say about Rodney:
Thank you so much for asking about Rodney. As long as people are interested in someone they are never forgotten. It is important that young people like you are aware of what some have done for our country and never asked anything in return.The thing I remember about Rodney was that he loved cars and looked forward to the day he could have his own. After joining the Marines he bought a new shiny one. He was so proud but at that point realized that there were things more important than a car.
I don't remember much that was bad when we were young. It was a great time in America with all kinds of jobs and little or no drug problems. It is people like you that can restore to America its greatness.
Rodney was never in trouble, He was a great guy. He did his school work well and obeyed the rules. He first started talking about joining the Marines in early high school.
Carl, Rodney was one of those people that you would not notice if he walked into a room. He was mannerly, kind, and cared about others. What none of us knew [was] that inside that young man burned a fire to serve, to protect, and to defend and it cost him all he had. He will long be remembered for his bravery and what he did on the battlefield.
Rodney Allen Breedlove is buried in the Orchard Hills Memory Gardens at Yawkey, Lincoln County, West Virginia. If Rodney were here today, we would say, "Thank you for all that you've done."
Article prepared by Carl Zhu and Shelby Bender, Chamberlain Elementary School
December 2017
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
