Veterans Day Service Honors Fallen Vietnam Hero
An unfolding story of a heroic Veteran was celebrated at a very special Veterans Day service on Friday, November 7, 2014.
Texas General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson assisted in re-folding and re-presenting a U.S. flag to the daughter of Capt. George Meerdink, a Vietnam War casualty. The flag belongs to the family of Jennifer Henry, the Budget and Planning Director for the Texas General Land Office (GLO). The flag covered her father’s casket as his body was returned from Vietnam in 1969.
Henry discovered the flag amid family memorabilia while assembling pieces of her father’s combat service for the Voices of Veterans oral history program, part of the Texas Veterans Land Board at the GLO. Henry noticed the flag was in disarray and folded incorrectly — something Patterson and fellow Marines rectified on Friday at the Stephen F. Austin State Office Building in Austin.
“Jennifer has worked diligently to uncover the details of her father’s service, and we were proud to have this opportunity to honor a hero the right way,” Patterson said.
The program began with the presentation of the colors by the Marines of Weapons Company 1/23, followed by an address by Dan West, Vice Commander of the Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars. Patterson was the keynote speaker, followed by a Marine flag ceremony in which Henry’s family’s flag was refolded into the traditional triangular shape featuring only a blue background and white stars.
Henry was just four-and-a-half years old when her father was killed during a mortar attack on February 22, 1969, during the much-storied Dewey Canyon raid in Quang Tri Provence. Capt. Meerdink was 33 years old.
Much of the information about her father’s combat service and role in Dewey Canyon was lost over time, until Henry consulted an online Vietnam Memorial Wall website, where she found comments made by those who knew her late father. During Henry’s research, she found photographs and personal anecdotes about her father from his brothers-in-arms. This documentation helped her come up with a more clear picture of his service. Henry gave the information to the Voices of Veterans oral history program to share her father’s story with others hoping to learn more about the Vietnam War or their own family’s sacrifices for our nation.
Capt. Meerdink spent his first tour of duty (1965–66) as an aide-de-camp for Brigadier General Frederick J. Karch. Under the conviction that he should be on the front lines, and after receiving specialized training in amphibious warfare at Quantico, VA., Meerdink was sent on a second tour to Vietnam in September 1968. He was assigned as the company commander of the 1st Battallion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. Meerdink’s regiment was instrumental in Operation: Dewey Canyon, which was the last major offensive by the Marines during the Vietnam era. It involved a sweeping attack against North Vietnamese troops through a dense valley. Marine casualties totaled 130, with 932 wounded.
“Capt. Meerdink signed up for front line duty when he didn’t have to,” Patterson said. “That’s a hero.”
In honor of Veterans Day, a new Voices of Veterans website has debuted, making it easier for viewers to access and upload stories like Capt. Meerdink’s. The new website will have an updated, contemporary look and feel, and will be easily viewed on mobile devices. The Voices of Veterans program also has a brand new Facebook page where you can find even more photos, stories, and historical items and events.
Any Veteran interested in including his or her story in the Voices of Veterans program should contact the Texas Veterans Land Board at 1–800–252–8387, or send an e-mail to vlbinfo@glo.texas.gov.
Many thanks goes out to My Fox Austin News and Time Warner Cable News for covering this story.
