DORIO, JOHN ★ 18 DEC 44 - OCT 68 SCHELLER, JEFFREY ★ 31 JUL 54 - 1 OCT 72 KERBL, FRANK ★ 16 SEP 34 - 1 OCT 67 WILLIAMS, LEROY ★ 7 APR 42 - 3 OCT 65 KOCH, KENNETH ★ 18 JAN 49 - 3 OCT 70 FRITZ, RAYMOND ★ 28 MAY 47 - 4 OCT 67 FORMICA, GARY ★ 28 JUL 47 - 4 OCT 70 BIRD, JOHN ★ 14 MAR 44 - 4 OCT 66 HOPKINS, MARION ★ 25 MAY 47 - 4 OCT 67 OWEN, DAVID ★ 27 JAN 36 - 4 OCT 67 MIDUSKI, FRANCIS ★ 8 APR 44 - 5 OCT 67 BURGANS, RICHARD ★ 17 FEB 44 - 5 OCT 65 PIANO, RALPH ★ 8 SEP 48 - 5 OCT 69 ELFENBEIN, ERNIE ★ 5 FEB 48 - 6 OCT 67 SCHOELIER, TJEERD ★ 12 APR 45 - 6 OCT 67 GROSS, VICTOR ★ 30 AUG 46 - 7 OCT 67 METTINGER, ALBERT ★ 6 MAY 33 - 7 OCT 70 BROCKMANN, ROBERT ★ 17 JUL 43 - 7 OCT 66 PABST, EUGENE ★ 13 OCT 42 - 7 OCT 66 JACOBSON, JON ★ 19 OCT 47 - 7 OCT 70 RICHARDSON, CHARLES ★ 5 APR 44 - 8 OCT 68 GONZALEZ, FRANCISCO ★ 1 MAR 42 - 8 OCT 67 FERRUGGIA, RICHARD ★ 15 JUN 45 - 8 OCT 67 BRAYBROOKE, CHRISTOPHER ★ 25 MAR 28 - 8 OCT 67 FEISTNER, STEPHEN ★ 8 FEB 47 - 8 OCT 67 CAMPBELL, PATRICK ★ 21 NOV 46 - 8 OCT 66 LAZARO, ROBERT ★ 29 MAR 47 - 9 OCT 67 ARMSTRONG, WARDELL ★ 13 DEC 49 - 9 OCT 68 SUYDAM, JAMES ★ 4 OCT 48 - 9 OCT 69 BRENNAN, JOHN ★ 21 FEB 43 - 9 OCT 69 GODFREY, WILLIAM ★ 24 MAR 49 - 10 OCT 69 SCHIESS, THOMAS ★ 21 JUL 50 - 10 OCT 70 RAMOS, ANGEL ★ 20 MAY 48 - 10 OCT 66 HIMMELREICH, HARRY ★ 15 APR 46 - 10 OCT 65 FEENEY, JOSEPH ★ 22 JUL 49 - 10 OCT 71 JAMES, HENRY ★ 29 NOV 47 - 10 OCT 68 ALVES, MOSES ★ 23 NOV 34 - 11 OCT 69 HAHN, JEFFREY ★ 20 JAN 47 - 11 OCT 67 HARRIS, LANTIE ★ 29 JUL 48 - 11 OCT 68 LIGHT, JERRY ★ 23 JAN 47 - 11 OCT 67 SMYRYCHYNSKI, GEORGE ★ 7 AUG 43 - 13 OCT 66 MIKULA, EMERY ★ 20 MAR 42 - 13 OCT 66 MICHEL, ROBERT ★ 28 JAN 43 - 13 OCT 68 LANNING, HAROLD ★ 11 MAR 35 - 13 OCT 65 KRUEGER, JOHN ★ 19 FEB 50 - 13 OCT 69 BURROUGHS, ROBERT ★ 26 JUN 42 - 14 OCT 67 MULLINS, WILLIAM ★ 28 DEC 42 - 14 OCT 67 MERLINO, CARL ★ 20 JAN 37 - 14 OCT 71 SCHULZ, WILLIAM ★ 23 MAR 47 - 15 OCT 67 FERGUSON, KEVIN ★ 6 DEC 48 - 16 OCT 67 VANDERHOFF, GEORGE ★ 7 NOV 48 - 16 OCT 68 KUTKOWSKI, GREGORY ★ 21 MAR 48 - 18 OCT 70 SELF, EUGENE ★ 2 JUN 46 - 18 OCT 66 ARNTZ, WILLARD ★ 5 JUL 46 - 18 OCT 68 CUSTODE, RALPH ★ 13 OCT 48 - 18 OCT 69 EALEY, DOUGLAS ★ 28 FEB 42 - 19 OCT 68 SALUGA, STEPHEN ★ 24 DEC 46 - 19 OCT 68 MENA, SAMUEL ★ 23 SEP 49 - 19 OCT 68 COLANTUONO, WAYNE ★ 22 NOV 46 - 20 OCT 67 LATOURETTE, PAUL ★ 5 DEC 46 - 20 OCT 67 HENDRICKS, EUGENE ★ 13 JUL 46 - 21 OCT 68 MILEY, BRUCE ★ 20 DEC 46 - 21 OCT 68 VAN VLIET, HOWARD ★ 4 OCT 28 - 21 OCT 68 HAYNES, BARTON ★ 19 JUL 48 - 22 OCT 67 BACH, COLIN ★ 14 FEB 48 - 22 OCT 68 HOLDEN, THOMAS ★ 23 AUG 41 - 22 OCT 66 ETTZ, MICHAEL ★ 28 JAN 47 - 23 OCT 67 SIMONE, DENIS ★ 2 MAY 42 - 23 OCT 68 MORVAY, JON ★ 17 MAR 47 - 23 OCT 67 RILEY, RICHARD ★ 1 APR 45 - 24 OCT 68 SACKETT, DAVID ★ 8 OCT 46 - 24 OCT 69 MORLEY, JOHN ★ 13 APR 47 - 24 OCT 68 MEESTER, EVERETT ★ 8 JAN 48 - 24 OCT 68 WHELAN, JOSEPH ★ 1 FEB 42 - 25 OCT 69 ESPOSITO, JAMES ★ 31 AUG 44 - 25 OCT 68 HARGROVE, DALE ★ 14 APR 52 - 26 OCT 70 TUNICK, FRANKLIN ★ 10 APR 41 - 26 OCT 66 BROWN, RICHARD ★ 27 JUN 44 - 26 OCT 67 GRANT, WAYNE ★ 7 MAY 46 - 26 OCT 67 ELKINS, JAN ★ 20 MAR 48 - 26 OCT 68 WYATT, RONALD ★ 31 MAY 46 - 28 OCT 66 BOSKO, MICHAEL ★ 3 JUN 45 - 28 OCT 66 ROSSELL, FRANCIS ★ 26 DEC 43 - 28 OCT 68 MOYER, CHARLES ★ 12 JUL 47 - 28 OCT 67 FOXWORTH, ARTHUR ★ 17 MAY 40 - 28 OCT 69 MAC VEAN, STEPHEN ★ 30 JAN 44 - 29 OCT 69 GABURO, GEORGE ★ 9 JAN 36 - 29 OCT 67 GREGORY, DAVID ★ 8 AUG 45 - 31 OCT 66 DORIO, JOHN ★ 18 DEC 44 - OCT 68 SCHELLER, JEFFREY ★ 31 JUL 54 - 1 OCT 72 KERBL, FRANK ★ 16 SEP 34 - 1 OCT 67 WILLIAMS, LEROY ★ 7 APR 42 - 3 OCT 65 KOCH, KENNETH ★ 18 JAN 49 - 3 OCT 70 FRITZ, RAYMOND ★ 28 MAY 47 - 4 OCT 67 FORMICA, GARY ★ 28 JUL 47 - 4 OCT 70 BIRD, JOHN ★ 14 MAR 44 - 4 OCT 66 HOPKINS, MARION ★ 25 MAY 47 - 4 OCT 67 OWEN, DAVID ★ 27 JAN 36 - 4 OCT 67 MIDUSKI, FRANCIS ★ 8 APR 44 - 5 OCT 67 BURGANS, RICHARD ★ 17 FEB 44 - 5 OCT 65 PIANO, RALPH ★ 8 SEP 48 - 5 OCT 69 ELFENBEIN, ERNIE ★ 5 FEB 48 - 6 OCT 67 SCHOELIER, TJEERD ★ 12 APR 45 - 6 OCT 67 GROSS, VICTOR ★ 30 AUG 46 - 7 OCT 67 METTINGER, ALBERT ★ 6 MAY 33 - 7 OCT 70 BROCKMANN, ROBERT ★ 17 JUL 43 - 7 OCT 66 PABST, EUGENE ★ 13 OCT 42 - 7 OCT 66 JACOBSON, JON ★ 19 OCT 47 - 7 OCT 70 RICHARDSON, CHARLES ★ 5 APR 44 - 8 OCT 68 GONZALEZ, FRANCISCO ★ 1 MAR 42 - 8 OCT 67 FERRUGGIA, RICHARD ★ 15 JUN 45 - 8 OCT 67 BRAYBROOKE, CHRISTOPHER ★ 25 MAR 28 - 8 OCT 67 FEISTNER, STEPHEN ★ 8 FEB 47 - 8 OCT 67 CAMPBELL, PATRICK ★ 21 NOV 46 - 8 OCT 66 LAZARO, ROBERT ★ 29 MAR 47 - 9 OCT 67 ARMSTRONG, WARDELL ★ 13 DEC 49 - 9 OCT 68 SUYDAM, JAMES ★ 4 OCT 48 - 9 OCT 69 BRENNAN, JOHN ★ 21 FEB 43 - 9 OCT 69 GODFREY, WILLIAM ★ 24 MAR 49 - 10 OCT 69 SCHIESS, THOMAS ★ 21 JUL 50 - 10 OCT 70 RAMOS, ANGEL ★ 20 MAY 48 - 10 OCT 66 HIMMELREICH, HARRY ★ 15 APR 46 - 10 OCT 65 FEENEY, JOSEPH ★ 22 JUL 49 - 10 OCT 71 JAMES, HENRY ★ 29 NOV 47 - 10 OCT 68 ALVES, MOSES ★ 23 NOV 34 - 11 OCT 69 HAHN, JEFFREY ★ 20 JAN 47 - 11 OCT 67 HARRIS, LANTIE ★ 29 JUL 48 - 11 OCT 68 LIGHT, JERRY ★ 23 JAN 47 - 11 OCT 67 SMYRYCHYNSKI, GEORGE ★ 7 AUG 43 - 13 OCT 66 MIKULA, EMERY ★ 20 MAR 42 - 13 OCT 66 MICHEL, ROBERT ★ 28 JAN 43 - 13 OCT 68 LANNING, HAROLD ★ 11 MAR 35 - 13 OCT 65 KRUEGER, JOHN ★ 19 FEB 50 - 13 OCT 69 BURROUGHS, ROBERT ★ 26 JUN 42 - 14 OCT 67 MULLINS, WILLIAM ★ 28 DEC 42 - 14 OCT 67 MERLINO, CARL ★ 20 JAN 37 - 14 OCT 71 SCHULZ, WILLIAM ★ 23 MAR 47 - 15 OCT 67 FERGUSON, KEVIN ★ 6 DEC 48 - 16 OCT 67 VANDERHOFF, GEORGE ★ 7 NOV 48 - 16 OCT 68 KUTKOWSKI, GREGORY ★ 21 MAR 48 - 18 OCT 70 SELF, EUGENE ★ 2 JUN 46 - 18 OCT 66 ARNTZ, WILLARD ★ 5 JUL 46 - 18 OCT 68 CUSTODE, RALPH ★ 13 OCT 48 - 18 OCT 69 EALEY, DOUGLAS ★ 28 FEB 42 - 19 OCT 68 SALUGA, STEPHEN ★ 24 DEC 46 - 19 OCT 68 MENA, SAMUEL ★ 23 SEP 49 - 19 OCT 68 COLANTUONO, WAYNE ★ 22 NOV 46 - 20 OCT 67 LATOURETTE, PAUL ★ 5 DEC 46 - 20 OCT 67 HENDRICKS, EUGENE ★ 13 JUL 46 - 21 OCT 68 MILEY, BRUCE ★ 20 DEC 46 - 21 OCT 68 VAN VLIET, HOWARD ★ 4 OCT 28 - 21 OCT 68 HAYNES, BARTON ★ 19 JUL 48 - 22 OCT 67 BACH, COLIN ★ 14 FEB 48 - 22 OCT 68 HOLDEN, THOMAS ★ 23 AUG 41 - 22 OCT 66 ETTZ, MICHAEL ★ 28 JAN 47 - 23 OCT 67 SIMONE, DENIS ★ 2 MAY 42 - 23 OCT 68 MORVAY, JON ★ 17 MAR 47 - 23 OCT 67 RILEY, RICHARD ★ 1 APR 45 - 24 OCT 68 SACKETT, DAVID ★ 8 OCT 46 - 24 OCT 69 MORLEY, JOHN ★ 13 APR 47 - 24 OCT 68 MEESTER, EVERETT ★ 8 JAN 48 - 24 OCT 68 WHELAN, JOSEPH ★ 1 FEB 42 - 25 OCT 69 ESPOSITO, JAMES ★ 31 AUG 44 - 25 OCT 68 HARGROVE, DALE ★ 14 APR 52 - 26 OCT 70 TUNICK, FRANKLIN ★ 10 APR 41 - 26 OCT 66 BROWN, RICHARD ★ 27 JUN 44 - 26 OCT 67 GRANT, WAYNE ★ 7 MAY 46 - 26 OCT 67 ELKINS, JAN ★ 20 MAR 48 - 26 OCT 68 WYATT, RONALD ★ 31 MAY 46 - 28 OCT 66 BOSKO, MICHAEL ★ 3 JUN 45 - 28 OCT 66 ROSSELL, FRANCIS ★ 26 DEC 43 - 28 OCT 68 MOYER, CHARLES ★ 12 JUL 47 - 28 OCT 67 FOXWORTH, ARTHUR ★ 17 MAY 40 - 28 OCT 69 MAC VEAN, STEPHEN ★ 30 JAN 44 - 29 OCT 69 GABURO, GEORGE ★ 9 JAN 36 - 29 OCT 67 GREGORY, DAVID ★ 8 AUG 45 - 31 OCT 66

Jan Elkins - Corporal

Hometown:
East Brunswick
D.O.B.:
March 20, 1948
County:
Middlesex
Rank:
Corporal
Branch:
Marines
Date of Casualty:

October 26, 1968

Casualty Status:
Killed In Action
Country of Incident:
South Vietnam

Jan Avery Elkins resided in East Brunswick, NJ. He graduated from East Brunswick High School in 1965. Jan’s interests included electronics, Elizabethan Literature and 20th Century American authors. He ran on the track team and played basketball. He sang well and played the guitar through high school and college. Following one year of college and a short period working for IBM, he enlisted.

Elkins entered the US Marine Corps in 1967, where he attained the rank of Corporal (CPL) in Company C, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines.

On October 26, 1968, in the Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, Jan was participating in an operation against the enemy. At approximately 8:40 AM, an explosive device mortally wounded him. A Medical Corpsman rushed to his aid but his wounds were too severe and he died almost instantly.

He is buried in Jefferson Memorial Park in Pittsburgh, PA.

Elkins was awarded the Military Merit Medal and Gallantry Cross with Palm, the Purple Heart and the Silver Star.

The grim and embittering elements of war, specifically for Americans in Indochina, affected every soldier differently. Where some accepted their experiences as part of their assigned tasks in Vietnam, others chose to reflect upon the horrors of their surroundings and activities and to avoid participating in either depravity or atrocity. Jan Elkins was an individual who practiced personal reflection, while his leadership qualities drew the attention of his peers and superiors.

Before his entrance into the US Marine Corps, Jan had been an introspective and serious high school student and athlete. He ran on his track team and played basketball. He sang well, and played the guitar through high school and college, where he performed in coffeehouses and nightclubs. Following one year of college and a short period working for IBM, he enlisted. He resumed his enjoyment of music while stationed at the 8th and I Barracks in Washington, DC, and there he met and married Steffanie Blanning. They’d been together for eight months when Jan started his tour of Vietnam. He died seven weeks later. At that time Steffanie was pregnant with their son, Jan.

While corresponding with family and friends amidst war’s ugliness and madness, he articulated the ironic, the contrasts between home and war surroundings and the inhumanities he witnessed, with both surprise and sadness. His letters from Vietnam testify to his decency and his remorse over the tacit losses of cultural and civilian life in the lives in Vietnam, of the losses of his friends and fellow soldiers, and of the dramatic changes in the lives of those who would live to see the end of that war. He wrote to his former schoolteachers, to his siblings, his parents, and daily to his wife, maintaining his personal and moral perspective. He died a US. Marine with a copy of The Complete Works of Byron in his pack.

Jan expressed concerns for his unit in combat, including that of surviving; returning to civilian life with the burden of what they all had become accustomed and compelled to do in their days. He wrote of firing at a moving object at the command of his C.O., and that a fellow Marine subsequently reported that he’d shot a young boy; how horrified he was that he’d killed a child the same age as his own youngest brother.

He wrote of his frustration over having our Dad sending medical supplies to his platoon when the Marine Corps began to send only what the “statistical survivors” should have needed. We got photos of Jan and other soldiers sharing cigarettes with the Vietnamese and posing with the children in small villages in the forests. He wrote of “sweeping” villages for Vietcong soldiers and of the hunts for snipers along with the common dread of booby traps (which would eventually claim him as well).

The past decades of events in the lives of Jan’s family members tend to dilute the impact his death had on all of us, but no eulogy or reminiscence has been capable of capturing the scope of what an extraordinary person he was, especially to those who knew him well.

Written by Jay A. Elkins, Brother

Sources: The Elkins Family and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024

Other Heros From East Brunswick

Gonder, Kenneth - Corporal

Hometown: East Brunswick

Bonner, Frederick - Sergeant

Hometown: East Brunswick

Bosko, Michael - Specialist 4

Hometown: East Brunswick