SANFORD — They were young men, most of them, and they died in places with names like Quang Ngai, Quang Nam and Tay Ninh in the 1960s and 1970s.

They were young men who fought in the Vietnam War — the war that claimed more than 58,000 American lives before the fall of Saigon in 1975.

On Memorial Day in Sanford, those who died in combat — some born and raised here, another who married a local girl — and others who died during the Vietnam War of non-combat related causes, will be remembered, just as those who perished in World War II and in the Korean War were remembered before them, through the the Fallen Veterans Project.

There will be banners with their likenesses hung along Main Street, ceremonies at Sanford Veterans Memorial Gymnasium, and youngsters in Carol Baker-Roux’s music class at Sanford Junior High School will compose pieces in honor of each of the deceased. 

In preparation, Joe Doiron of FVP is looking for information on the local members of the military who died during the war as well as names and information on folks who may have been missed.

“The problem is, for a number of these guys, there is no family around,” he said, pointing out that of those being honored, two were only sons, and their parents are dead.

In Sanford, there were several hometown fellows lost to combat-related deaths — U.S. Army Private First Class William Robert Batchelder, who is listed as dying June 10, 1965; U.S. Army Specialist David Harold Alexander, who died Dec. 16, 1968; U.S. Army Private First Class Paul Leo Cyr, April 29, 1967; U.S. Marine Corporal John Harold Cash Jr., May 12, 1968; U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Michael Richard Pickles, April 27, 1970; U.S. Marine Corporal Richard Paul Glaude, June 10, 1967 and U.S. Army Maj. Robert Lee Baker, Nov. 27, 1970, who was raised on the Sanford-Lebanon border and buried in Sanford.

As well, U.S. Navy Seaman Kenneth Charles Lockwood, who was born in Hollywood, Florida, and married a local girl, Elizabeth P. Libby, died in combat Feb. 29, 1968;  records show he is buried at Oakdale Cemetery.

Also perishing were Leo Lantagne, who served in the U.S. Army and died of a heart attack while serving in Germany, and Maurice Sheppard, who served in the U.S. Air Force and died in a car crash.

Several of the local men who were lost are remembered by others on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund “virtual wall.”

Pickles was a helicopter pilot, and died of a gunshot wound to the head.

“I liked him. He was easy going, and always had a smile on his face and always ready to do the job asked of him,” wrote David Baker.

Cash, who was also lost in combat, died on Mother’s Day.

“Cpl. John Cash Jr. died as the result of a rocket propelled grenade fired at point blank range into his tank, which he was driving,” wrote Retired U.S Marine Corps Lt. Col.  Robert Johnstone in 2013.  “He was courageous, competent, and an outstanding Marine and well thought of by all. The years have passed too quickly since I wrote to his parents as his commanding officer informing them of the worst possible news a parent can receive. No words can fill the void or blunt the grief. It is however a legacy that the life he lived, he lived well by the acclaim of his comrades. May God keep John in His Grace.”

“Johnnie, we always kidded you about being the man in black whenever you brought out your guitar,” wrote Robert Peavey in 2003. “I was there with you that fateful Mother’s Day on May 12, 1968. You have never left my memories. … Semper Fi.”

Anyone with information or photos of the folks listed or who has information on anyone who may have been missed is asked to call Doiron at: 351-7797 or email: jdoiron51@gmail.com.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.