He was from Lowell, MA. and I was from Manville, RI. About 50 miles apart. It was just
natural that we set up our houches together. For 9 months we slept together. In May 1968
I was sent to Dak Pek to set up a Toll House Alpha station. My job there was to inform
fighter pilots of the Artillery fire in the area and which way it was clear to fly. While
I was in Dak Pek I picked up the Stars and Stripes, and as a matter of course, started
reading the KIA section. That is how I found out my roomy had been killed on June 8, 1968.
As fate would have it the 3-8th came to occupy my Fire Base 2 weeks later. That is how I
found out the details of Ron's death.
Apparently he had gone back to Pleiku for some reason. When it was time to return he checked
in with the Pathfinder at the Pleiku Heliport. The Pathfinder put him on a helicopter to
Kontum instead of Dak To. When Ron arrived at Kontum, he could have opted to wait until
the next day and catch a 'copter to Dak To. He didn't. He hitched a ride on a convoy to Dak
To that afternoon. The convoy was attacked and during the ensuing firefight he was shot in
the head and died. This story was told to me by the Executive Officer of the 3-8th. I do not
remember his name.
I believe Ron had 59 days left in-country. He had told me that he already had one child and
that his wife was pregnant when he left for Vietnam. He couldn't wait to get back to see his
new baby. I find it such a waste that someone who already had a family and a bright future
to look forward to should have had it all taken away.
It has taken me 30 years but I am now on a search to find someone in his family. I have so much
that I could share with them about his last year of life. After all these years, I still
remember my friend, SGT Ronald Edmond Forget . . . .
Submitted by: SGT Ray Lussier, C Bty, 6-29 FA, Vietnam, 67-68, on November 11, 1998
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