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BOGGS, DAVID LEONARD
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Casualty
Record
Name:
BOGGS, DAVID LEONARD
Rank / Branch:
CPL E-3, U. S. ARMY
Unit:
101ST AIRBORNE DIVIS
Date of Birth:
1948-12-06
Country
of Loss:
SOUTH VIETNAM
Loss
Coordinates:
BINH THUY
Category:
HOSTILE, SMALL ARMS
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:
GROUND
Awards & Decorations:
SEE BIO
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Veteran
Hagiography
DAVID LEONARD BOGGS, CORPORAL, U.S. ARMY, ODESSA, ECTOR COUNTY, TEXAS
AWARDS AND DECORATIONS:
Combat Infantryman's Badge, Parachute Wings, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal
BIOGRAPHY
David was described by one of his squad members as a "scruffy little guy from Texas". David was originally from Martin's Ferry, Ohio. The parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hildred A. Boggs, had moved the family (9 children total) to Portland, Oregon, in 1961, hoping for a better life and for better luck. The family's luck never changed and by July 1967, after a series of strokes, the father was unable to work; four of the younger children had been placed in foster care; and the parents were facing eviction.
David had left home some time in 1966 and told his father and step mother he was headed to Dallas, Texas to join the Army. At some point, David arrived in Odessa, Texas and apparently worked in the area before enlisting in the U.S. Army. It is surmised that David waited until his 18th birthdays to enlist as he would have required parental consent before then. He was inducted through the AFEES station in Abilene, Texas and told his Army buddies he was from Texas.
David was trained in infantry and became airborne qualified. He departed for Vietnam on July 10, 1967. He was assigned to "A" Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
David was killed while walking point on a recon patrol just 2 days after the Christmas stand down of 1967. He had celebrated his 19th birthday three weeks earlier. David's death devastated the little resources the family had in Oregon. His father wanted David to be buried in a family plot in Martin's Ferry, Ohio next to his first wife who had died 22 years before and they wanted to have his funeral services to be held in Portland, Oregon because the family could not afford to travel back to Ohio for his burial.
The Army's usual method of returning the body was a direct path. But in the case of the Boggs, the Army made an exception and allowed a stop over in Portland for services (donated by Mount Scott Funeral Home) and then provided transporatation for the body to Martin's Ferry, Ohio to be interred next to his mother. Mr. Boggs indicated the family was planning to move back to Ohio and he did not want David's body left behind in Portland
Several veteran's groups stepped forward with funds to allow three members of the family to travel to Ohio. In 1967 there was discussion in the newspapers around Portland about the money provided by the Department of Defense for burial. The cheapest funeral was provided by the national or post cemeteries but the family did not have input. Several states didn't even have national cemeteries to provide that service to families. If the family chose to use a private cemetery, private mortuary services, or participate in the planning of the burial at the National Cemetery, they were given an allowance that had been decided on by averaging out the costs for each service. Any costs above the allowed amount was the responsibility of the family. Many funeral homes gave special discounts for military burials which helped in some cases. One newspaper mentioned that a wife raided her daughter's college fund to finance her husband's funeral and burial. After much discussion increases in the allowance for funerals for the Vietnam dead were approved.
The irony in the Boggs family case was that David was buried in January 1968 and the increase allocation for burials started the first of February 1968. The Bogg's family luck had continued.
David received a posthumous promotion to Corporal.
He was buried with full military honors in the Riverview Cemetery in Martin's Ferry, Ohio.  
Riverview Cemetery, Martin's Ferry, Ohio
Research provided by Darilee Bednar of Marysville, Washington who is a researcher for the States of Washington and Oregon on casualities of the Vietnam War. Picture, Courtesy of William and Teresa Austin of Ellabell, Georgia. William, a retired Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army was with David when he was killed. Headstone picture by Mike Sneed, USMC Vietnam Vet and former resident of Odessa.
VIRTUAL WALL
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