https://www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=308852
Vinnie Gabriel was just a neighborhood guy but he was one of those good ones.
His father, who was a Marine in World War II, died in 1957. Vinnie wanted nothing more but to follow in his father's footsteps, so he joined the US Marine Corps in September 1965. He attained the rank of Private First Class (PFC).
57 years and 5 days ago on May 21, 1967, he was mortally wounded in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. He was taken aboard the hospital ship, USS Repose, but died the next day, May 22, 1967.
He received the Purple Heart, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Military Merit Medal, and the Rifle & Pistol Sharp Shooter Award.
I was too young to be his friend but I remember him.