FROM A MAN GEORGED SAVED:

I was a member of the 81 mortar squad with George when Firebase Russell was overrun. I had only been there for a couple of weeks and did not know George very well at all. In fact I only knew him as "Weldy."  But Weldy has been with me very day since that night on the hill because he was responsible for me being alive today.

The bunker I was in took a hit from a rocket or mortar and I was hit with some shell fragments. I was dazed and confused but Weldy came to my aid and helped me outside to a large hole and placed me in a relatively safe spot. He then left and it wasn't until later that I learned he had been killed. I was also shot through the abdomen and was med-evaced out after the hill was secured.

George, I didn't really know you but think of you often. Thank you for coming to the aid of a fellow Marine.

Semper Fi!
Michael W. Dowdy
PFC, USMC