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Remember...Edwin Russell Danehart
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Edwin Russell "Snook" Danehart was born on July 7, 1947, to Della and Carl Danehart. He grew up in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, as the third youngest of fifteen siblings. Edwin Danehart attended Sherrard High School and graduated in the class of 1967. He was awarded the Future Farmers of America Blue Ribbon for raising a Black Angus bull and attended Saint Mark's Lutheran Church in Wheeling.
West Virginia had weathered the Great Depression and World War II when Russel Danehart was born. Originally, Wheeling was a frontier town with trade routes and traders passing into the west, and the county was considered a small gateway to the west by its residents. The state had become known for the rise of the coal industry, and through the years of statehood, Wheeling had become more politically involved. The city became more populated as the construction of the National Road brought in enterprises like boat manufacturing, blacksmith shops, and glassmaking. After the Civil War, the focus shifted to steel manufacturing, coal, and textiles. Wheeling was a previous capital of West Virginia before the location switched to Charleston. The change of the state capital was decided by a statewide election in 1877 held by Governor John J. Jacob. The population reached its highest in 1930 at 61,659. To this day, the city has a strong educational system, a low crime rate, and continues to draw in a large tourist trade. (Margaret Brennan, "Wheeling," e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 31 May 2013, accessed 13 March 2020, https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1168.) Edwin Danehart continued to live in Wheeling for about four years after he graduated from high school. Around the age of twenty-two, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines.
| Edwin Russell Danehart was a lance corporal and specialized as an infantry rifleman. He was part of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Amphibious Force when he deployed to Vietnam on October 5, 1968. Once he arrived, his unit was already conducting search and destroy missions, as well as reconnaissance missions of main supply routes (MSR) with the hopes of denying the enemy access. They were also searching for any enemy bunkers or caches of ammo and supplies. |  Courtesy Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund |
In early May 1969, U.S. reconnaissance detected that two People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) Regiments, the 27th and 36th, were infiltrating the Vietnamese demilitarized zone (DMZ) in the central section of Quang Tri province. The 3rd Marine Regiment commanded by Colonel Paul D. Lafond was given the mission of engaging both People's Army regiments, preventing any threat to Route 9 and protecting the rice harvest. This was known as Operation Virginia Ridge lasting from May 2 to July 16, 1969.
On May 8, 1969, at approximately 0715, elements of India Company were on a combat patrol travelling along a trail, when an unknown type of a directional explosive device was detonated towards the trail. The shrapnel appeared to be 1/8 inch in diameter and smaller. It was not determined if it was command or trip detonated. It appears that Lance Corporal Edwin Russell Danehart was one of four Marines that were wounded and were Medevac'd out, where he later succumbed to his injuries. He died protecting not only the lives of his Marine brothers, but for the people of the United States.
 Military marker for Lance Corporal Edwin R. Danehart in Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling, West Virginia. Find A Grave courtesy Carla Tustin |
Lance Corporal Edwin Russell Danehart's remains were returned to the U.S., where he was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia. He is memorialized on the Vietnam Memorial Wall on Panel 25W, Line 22. He is also remembered at the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, West Virginia. |
On February 14, 2017, the West Virginia Legislature introduced a bill to rename the New County Line Bridge, carrying County Route 5 over Big Wheeling Creek in Marshall County, the "USMC Lance Corporal Edwin Russell 'Snook' Danehart Memorial Bridge."
For his sacrifice, he received the following Medals and Awards: the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Article prepared by Andrea Goodman, George Washington High School JROTC
March 2020
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.
