Gregory Patrick Kent
Lance Corporal
B CO, 1ST BN, 26TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF
United States Marine Corps
Lawrence, Massachusetts
April 29, 1946 to March 28, 1968
GREGORY P KENT is on the Wall at Panel 46E, Line 55

phndvsvc.gif
 
Combat Action Ribbon
 
Gregory P Kent
3rdmaf.gif 3mardiv.gif 26thmarines.gif



Gregory P Kent

LCPL GREGORY PATRICK KENT


Gregory P Kent

LCPL GREGORY PATRICK KENT

 
2 Jun 2001

Greg Kent was a track star from Lawrence Mass. He joined the Marines because he felt it was the right thing to do. He won many track and field medals while in the Marines. His orders were changed from Vietnam to train for the "68 Summer Olympics". He refused the orders and requested to go to Vietnam with his unit. He was at Khe Sanh during the siege and was killed on March 28, 1968 during a rocket barrage. His former high school (Lawrence High) closed the day of his funeral. He was my brother's best friend. My brother joined the Marines after he graduated from Lawrence High in June of 1968. He went to Vietnam and fortunately made it home to his family.

From a friend,
Tom Laverriere
tomlaverriere@aol.com


 
06 Feb 2003

Greg,
Competitor and Champion. When people talk of the best and the brightest, you were among them. The years have gone by too fast without you. I think of you as a friend. You have been missed.

Kinch

From a friend and competitor,
John Kinchla
xinuan@hotmail.com


 
08 Apr 2003

I was only fourteen when Greg went to Vietnam and was a neighbor and friend to Greg's brother Jim. He was always a hero to us and I miss him to this day. I'll always remember how he made everyone feel important when you were around him.

Raymond Hey
arahey@aol.com


 
11 Jun 2003

What is a Friend

I had a friend many years ago, he taught me many things,
How to pitch a fast ball and really make it sting.
He was always playing jokes funny as can be,
He played them on everybody, yes including me.

He was good at many things, but running he was great,
He ran long distances, he was never late;
Track was his love it took him place to place,
You always read the newspaper, Kent has another race;

He broke all kinds of records, that was in his plan,
He name was mentioned in colleges, but there he wouldn't stand;
So to his folks he did talk, standing straight and true,
I joined the U.S. Marines to fight for the Red, White, and Blue;

His unit was called and sent off to war,
He wrote me many letters and told me what he saw;
I sent him that last letter and told him I would be,
A U. S. Marine, so that he could see;

But he never got that letter, he died in that war,
I went in his place and know what he saw;
A day don't go by that I don't think of him,
I'll always remember Greg, smiling with a grin...

Semper Fi Greg...

From a friend and brother Marine,
Billy Laverriere
Methuen, Mass. 01844
massusmc@aol.com


 
16 Jun 2003

Greg. You will always be remembered by those who knew you. A guy who liked to kid around, who LOVED to run. A straight arrow, just an overall nice guy. I think of you often and the sacrifice you made for all of us. Words can never be enough. Veterans and citizens alike, we stand tall, say a prayer and salute you.

From a friend,
John Paul Lenotte
elaine.john2@verizon.net


 
18 Nov 2003

I was a high school runner when the Lawrence Veterans Stadium track was dedicated to Greg Kent in the late 1970s. As an athlete, 40 years later, Greg's standards are still amazingly high. And Greg has made the ultimate sacrifice to all Americans, to help insure our freedom.

From an admirer,
John
E-mail address is not available.


 
17 Dec 2003

I am the widow of Roger J. Desharnais, USCG, 1961-1964, who, I'm proud to say was one of the founders of the Greg P. Kent Chapter Veterans' Group, which is now known as Veterans' Northeast Outreach. The Greg P. Kent Chapter was formed in my home in Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1985. I had the pleasure of meeting with Greg's mother Agnes, who told me all about her beloved son, Greg. In her words, Greg did not want to take the "back-door" out on his Marine Corps friends. Greg made a decision to remain in Vietnam and lost his life there.

To all my Vietnam brothers, Semper Fi

Phyllis Desharnais
pdesharnais@comcast.net


 

A Note from The Virtual Wall

Bravo Company, 1/26 Marines, lost two men on 28 March 1968: LCpl Gregory P. Kent and PFC Jimmie L. McRae of Blenheim, South Carolina.

Contact Us © Copyright 1997-2019 www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd ®(TM) Last update 08/15/2019