Remember...
Wendell Levern Wallace
1938-1970
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
John F. Kennedy
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Remember...Wendell Levern Wallace
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Wendell Levern Wallace was born on August 23, 1938, in Gallipolis Ferry in Mason County, West Virginia. His parents were Charles E. Wallace and Faye Jones Wallace. He had three siblings, Samuel F. Wallace, Granville Howard Wallace, and Sibble Louise Wallace.
Wendell grew up in Hogsett, an area in Mason County bordering the Ohio River, which is also a short distance from Point Pleasant, the seat of Mason County, which is likely where he went to high school. At the time he was growing up, Point Pleasant should have offered many options for entertainment, including swimming pools, movie theaters, bowling alleys, roller skating rinks, and even a livestock sale every week that drew many people to watch. However, his childhood took place around the time of the Great Depression, so living conditions would have been less than desirable, and jobs scarce.
Following the Great Depression was the largest war to shake this earth, World War II (WW II). WW II ended when Wendell was around seven years old, so any advertising for the military or the war effort would have been melded into his head for the rest of his days. On December 15, 1967, the Silver Bridge, a massive bridge that crossed the Ohio River carrying Route 35 connecting Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and Gallipolis, Ohio, collapsed, killing 46 people.
The Vietnam War, one of the only wars we never really won, was a nightmare in the flesh. With guerrilla warfare like never seen before, most Americans were rightfully worried that we might not win the war. There were several movements to have our troops pull out of the war, and not only because of the conditions there. We were fighting not for us, but for other countries, and to stop the spread of communism. Many people believed that other countries should decide for themselves what type of government and economy they wanted, instead of the world superpowers deciding for them. On the other hand, some people thought that as the face of democracy, it was our duty to spread it throughout the world so that dictatorships like the ones seen in the dreaded world wars would never come back. With these groups voicing themselves as loud as they could, President Nixon decided to start pulling troops out of Vietnam, from 549,000 in 1969 to 69,000 in 1972, while increasing bombings, and President Ford finished the job by stating that the U.S. involvement in the war was over, pulling all U.S. troops and other involvement from Vietnam. As stated on the History.com website: "In January 1973, the United States and North Vietnam concluded a final peace agreement, ending open hostilities between the two nations. War between North and South Vietnam continued, however, until April 30, 1975, when DRV forces captured Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City (Ho himself died in 1969)." ("Vietnam War," 29 October 2009, last updated 25 October 2021, accessed 21 January 2022, https://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history.)
Wendell enlisted in the Army in 1955 and was assigned to be a mechanic. His MOS was 63B4H-Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic (Instructor). He supervised and performed maintenance and repair of his vehicles, and also helped with recovery operations for those vehicles. ("Wheeled Vehicle Mechanic," U. S. Army [career website], last updated 16 April 2020, accessed 21 January 2022, https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/career-match/mechanics-engineering/test-repair/91b-wheeled-vehicle-mechanic.html.) He achieved the rank of staff sergeant (SSG) over his 15 years of service. His full data file can be found at the National Archives and Records Administration website.
Wendell married Lida Mae Thornton (1940-2019) on January 3, 1960, in Mason County, West Virginia. They would eventually have three sons: David (1960-2011), Robert (1962-2005) and Roger (1965-2017).
| On June 10, 1970, Wendell was deployed to Vietnam and assigned to the 511th Transportation Detachment, 4th Transportation Command, Army Support Command Saigon,1st Logistical Command, U.S. Army Republic of Vietnam. Hardly half a year later, on December 31, he was killed in a vehicle crash in Phuoc Tuy, South Vietnam. He was 32 years old. There was not a lot of information surrounding his death as to exactly what happened and/or the circumstances leading up to his tragic death. His body was recovered and brought back to the United States. He was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Gallipolis Ferry, West Virginia. He has also been memorialized in multiple places, among them being the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Panel 5W, Line 19, and the West Virginia Veterans Memorial located in Charleston, West Virginia. |  |
These are some of the awards that he could have possible earned: National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Army Presidential Unit Citation, Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and Army Good Conduct Medal. ("Wendell Levern Wallace," HonorStates.org, accessed 21 January 2022, https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=312722.)
Article prepared by Joseph Chapman and Jeb Morris, George Washington High School JROTC
January 2022
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.