Army SP4 Carl Dennis Wadleigh began his service in 1966. One year into his service, the Army was unable to locate him after a missed medical appointment, and he was determined to be AWOL for the first time.
After he was located in May of 1968, he was awaiting Court Martial when he volunteered for another mission. He went missing again and was marked as AWOL. His father, Cliff, received a letter from Carl’s commanding officer stating that a continued AWOL status would result in loss of pay, confinement, dismissal, and dishonorable or bad conduct discharge. In June of 1968, he was coded as a deserter for a second and final time.
His family was made to feel ashamed, and they were treated with stigma by the U.S. Army. He did not receive a military funeral. But Carl’s story didn’t end there.
His family did not learn the truth for forty years.
In 1973, the government located remains that were originally identified as Master Sergeant Frank Parrish and buried in Cleburne, Texas, but Parrish’s story didn’t end there, either. In 1989, the Vietnamese Government shipped the remains of twenty-one soldiers back to the U.S., one of whom was determined by DNA to be Parrish, raising questions about whose remains were in the grave in Cleburne.
Following an investigation including process of elimination and DNA testing of Carl Wadleigh’s family, the U.S. Army officially declared in 2004 that Carl Wadleigh was not a deserter but was killed in action on May 31, 1968. After years of speaking the truth about the kind of man their brother was, Carl’s siblings were finally vindicated. In spring of 2004, Carl received an Arlington burial and was added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
It was our great privilege to welcome Carl’s family, including his sister Rev. Michelle Wadleigh, to our location on June 23 as we recognized the addition of Carl Dennis Wadleigh’s name to our Wall of Heroes. Rev. Wadleigh spoke to an audience of 100 and gave each individual veteran in attendance a flower as a symbol of her appreciation. Representatives from across the state spoke at the ceremony, including representatives from the offices of Senator Cory Booker and the Department of Veteran Affairs.
He is the 1,566th New Jerseyan to be acknowledged as killed in action.
