James Joseph Weest

The database page for James Joseph Weest

27 May 2001 Jimmy, Thank you for your service to our country. Except for the luck of the draw, it could have been my name instead of yours on the Wall. May you be comforted by the fact that, as long as the United States exists, your name and those of your comrades will be enshrined there on the Mall between the monuments to Washington and Lincoln. Your cousin, Pat Lansdowne GI Killed in Vietnam Combat James J. Weest, 20, liked being a Marine. A high school dropout, he enlisted more than a year ago with encouragement from his two stepbrothers, Edward and David Hudson, both of whom are former Leathernecks. But before leaving for South Vietnam in May, Weest completed his high school education in the corps and won his diploma. Last Tuesday, Weest, a Lance Corporal with the 5th Marine Regiment, was killed when he stepped on a booby trap while on patrol with four other Marines. The four others survived the explosion. Weest's father, Samuel L. Weest, of 32 S. Wycombe Ave., Lansdowne, was notified of his son's death the next day. In his last letter home, dated July 23d and received Friday, Cpl. Weest expressed confidence the enemy would be defeated. It is just a matter of time, he wrote. "The North Vietnamese are trained soldiers just like the Americans are," he wrote. "But they just don't seem to understand they have lost the war. It is only a matter of time before we push them out of South Vietnam or wipe them out." Other survivors are a brother, George Weest; two other stepbrothers, William and Samuel Weest, Jr.; a sister, Janet Weest, and two stepsisters, Mrs. Charlotte Leary and Mrs. Ethel Seib. The Philadelphia Inquirer

A Note from The Virtual Wall The newspaper article is incorrect in one particular - two men were killed by the explosion: LCpl Weest and LCpl Leonard W. Roberson of Redmond, Washington.

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Channing Prothro, former CAP Marine
Last updated 08/10/2009