Cpl.
Gary Lee Hisle served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines,
Mike Company. His name stands proudly on the Mike 3/5 Wall of Honor
alongside the Marines he fought and died with. Semper fi, Brother
Marine. We will never forget.
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Pictures
courtesy of Ron Thayer
Gary Hisle at 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines HQ
Gary Hisle (left) and Ron Thayer, Dec. 1969
This picture was taken by Joey Freeman, Killed In Action Mar.
3, 1969
Mike Zang and Gary Hisle (right)
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May
He Rest in Peace
(submitted by Mike Alden)
Gary
was a radio man with "M" Co. 3/5. He became the C.P. radioman.
Gary must have been close to rotation as Ron Thayer tells me Gary
was in the rear for a bit, but he was taken back to the bush for the
C.P. radio man again. Was not long after that, Gary stepped on a land
mind. He was medavaced to Da Nang where he passed away 3 or 4 days
later. Ron went into Da Nang to visit Gary. Ron informed me Gary was
alive at the time, but no way would Gary survive his wounds. The time
of the incident is not for sure.
Gary was an orphan. He was from Covington, Kentucky. In the middle
of '68, several of us got together and were going to make our wills
out to the other of choice in our group, 1st and 2nd squads. The only
one that did this as far as any of us know was Gary. He made Dennis
Merryman his beneficiary (Dennis was killed in action Mar. 5, '69).
Mrs. Merryman received the life insurance money. In return, Mrs.Merryman
sent this money to the orphanage that took care of Gary, $10,000.00.
The Merrymans had 11 children in the family, and needed the money.
God Bless Mrs.Merryman !! Semper Fi~Mike
Alden
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My
Radioman
(submitted
by Tom Mahlum)
Gary
was my radioman when I first joined the First Platoon as Platoon Commander
in Dec. '68. He took over the company radioman job for Captain Burns
while still on Operation Taylor Commons. After Gary was hurt in the
booby trap explosion, I had the opportunity to visit him in the hospital
in Da Nang . I will never forget seeing him there and the terrible
condition he was in and the utter feeling of inadequacy I felt in
that I could do absolutely nothing to help him. He died a few days
later. I did not know about some of the men changing their insurance
beneficiary forms. Nor did I know about Mrs. Merryman’s donation
of the insurance money to an orphanage. It shows how wonderful a family
Dennis Merryman came from. ~Tom Mahlum
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LCpl.
Dennis Merryman Memorial
LCpl.
Joseph Lloyd Freeman, Jr. Memorial
