Dwayne Elbert Kever

The database page for Dwayne Elbert Kever

10 Nov 2002 In memory of what would have been Dwayne's 55th birthday Veteran's Day, November 11, 2002. Dwayne's family heard he had been in a tank in Tay Ninh when he was killed. A land mine broke one of the tracks. When he lifted the lid to get out of the tank, he was shot. He had left for Vietnam on June 1, 1968, and came home on August 30. The Kever family worshipped at the First General Baptist Church, the place they held Dwayne's funeral service the Sunday before Labor Day in 1968. His body arrived in Heber Springs, Ark., the same day as a gift Dwayne had sent his family: a large Bible, crimson-covered, with "The Kever Family" engraved in gold lettering. The family took this as a sign: Dwayne was letting them know he was all right. Dwayne was buried in Macedonia Cemetery, next to his infant son. Some years after his death, the VFW at Greers Ferry, Ark., named their post after Dwayne Kever and Edd David Taylor, another Arkansas boy lost in Vietnam. Until the post disbanded, it held a special service for Dwayne every year on Memorial Day.

Notes from The Virtual Wall On the morning of 19 August 1968 A Troop, 3/4th Cavalry, was ambushed while moving from Cu Chi to Tay Ninh on Highway 26. Elements of the 1st Bn, 5th Infantry, and 4th Bn, 23rd Infantry, were introduced into the fight. Later in the day, B Company, 1/5 Infantry, was tasked with escorting a unit from the 3/4th Cavalry, into Dau Tieng. Shortly before 7 PM, the combined force was hit by rocket-propelled grenade fire, damaging several APCs and tanks. Supporting arms fires were called in, allowing the force to move through the ambush area, arriving at Dau Tieng just before 8 PM. The 1/5 Infantry lost 9 men during the day, while 3/4 Cavalry lost 6 men: A Trp, 3rd Sqdn, 4th Cav Rgt 1SG John V. Veara, El Paso, TX SGT Terry A. Hodges, Charlotte, NC SGT Dwayne E. Kever, Heber Springs, AR SP4 Roy A. Harbaugh, Dauphin, PA PFC Leonard E. Sexton, Cookstown, NJ HHT, 3rd Sqdn, 4th Cav Rgt SP4 Alvin H. Langford, Paterson, NJ, Medic w/ A/3/4 B Co, 1st Bn, 5th Inf Rgt 1LT Terrence E. Butler, Ozone Park, NY SSG Aubrey R. Henley, Japan SP4 Willie S. Fields, Macon, GA SP4 Joe E. Lofton, Mantee, MS SP4 Jack P. Pashano, Polacca, AZ SP4 Arthur Watson, Smithfield, NC PFC Richard Ramirez, McNeal, AZ PFC Frederick V. Seaborne, Merrimac, MA HHC, 1st Bn, 5th Inf Rgt PFC Rene Serrano, New York, NY, Medic w/ A/1/5 The other man mentioned above, Navy Lieutenant Edd D. Taylor, was assigned to Attack Squadron 152 embarked in USS ORISKANY. He was shot down on 29 August 1965 while flying an A-1H SKYRAIDER (BuNo 134619) in a search and rescue effort to recover Air Force Captain Wesley W. Schierman, shot down in F-105F 63-8282 while attacking a barracks at Son La some 125 miles west of Hanoi. Schierman was captured and returned home on 12 Feb 1973 after 7-1/2 years of captivity. Lieutenant Taylor's remains were repatriated on 25 Apr 2000, with positive identification announced on 21 Aug 2001, almost 36 years after his loss.

The point-of-contact for this memorial is a supporter of Vietnam veterans, W. Lemmer lemmer2@msn.com  10 Nov 2002

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Channing Prothro, former CAP Marine
Last updated 10/12/2004