22 Aug 2001 In 1968 I was a 10-year-old with a favorite cousin in Vietnam. James Galati was a SeaBee with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 9. On March 31, 1968, he was part of the security detail at a rock quarry (Detachment Echo at Phu Loc, RVN, later named Camp DeShurley). The SeaBees were attacked with mortar fire and James and five others were killed - BUL3 George R. De Shurley, Roswell, NM BUL3 Allan L. Mair, Park City, UT BUL3 John F. Peek, Pontiac, MI CN James F. Galati, Philadelphia, PA CN Mark E. Hodel, Lodi, CA CN James R. Retzloff, Redding, CA I have fond memories of James, and I would like to get in touch with anyone who served with him in Vietnam. From a cousin, Fran Iannello (Contact information no longer valid)

 

26 Jun 2004 Photo captioned "James Galati was well on his way to a professional dancing career" The photos and following article are taken from The Philadelphia Daily News, special supplement entitled 'SIX HUNDRED AND THIRTY,' October 26, 1987. Galati was drawn to water - he was a seaman in the Sea Scouts and a scuba diver - but his first love was dancing. His mother said that he was considering a career as a dancer, having proved his talent in many amateur performances. His hobbies included listening to music, lifting weights, and working out on a trampoline. A 1963 graduate of Bishop Neumann High School, Galati worked as an automotive machinist for the Marymore Auto Supply Store before joining the Navy in 1967. Galati found life aboard ship too confining and asked to be sent to Viet Nam. A devout Roman Catholic, Galati never missed Mass despite the fighting that raged around the Navy and Marine installations in Da Nang, Quang Nam Province. The 23-year-old Seebee construction mechanic died in the Station Hospital at Da Nang on March 31, 1968, the day President Lyndon Johnson halted bombing above the 20th Parallel in North Viet Nam and said he would not seek re-election. He was survived by his parents and two sisters. From a native Philadelphian and Marine, Jim McIlhenney christianamacks@comcast.net

 

21 Aug 2007 I did not know him, but his name caught my eye. My name is James Joseph Galati. James Galati Colorado sameasitneverwas@earthlink.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall These extracts explain what happened at the Phu Loc rock crusher site. The first entry from the 5th Marines describes the 3 AM attack on the site, while the second reports the downing of a medevac helo. The HMM-362 report concerns the helo and its crew. Six sailors and two Marines died in the incident at Phu Loc: Det Echo, NMCB-9: BUL3 George R. De Shurley, Roswell, NM; BUL3 Allan L. Mair, Park City, UT; BUL3 John F. Peek, Pontiac, MI; CN James F. Galati, Philadelphia, PA; CN Mark E. Hodel, Lodi, CA; and CN James R. Retzloff, Redding, CA. UH-34D 148792 aircrew, HMM-362, MAG-36: Sgt Daniel Pesimer, Salt Rock, WV and Cpl Kenneth R. Yantis, Philadelphia, PA

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