Publish Date 
Written by - Full Name: KURT ELTON LA PLANT
- Date of Birth: 12/11/1948
- Date of Casualty: 6/6/1968
- Home of Record: LENEXA, KANSAS
- Branch of Service: MARINE CORPS
- Rank: LCPL
- Casualty Country: SOUTH VIETNAM
- Casualty Province: QUANG TRI
- Status: MIA
- Full Name: RALPH LEWIS HARPER
- Date of Birth: 1/14/1948
- Date of Casualty: 6/6/1968
- Home of Record: INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
- Branch of Service: MARINE CORPS
- Rank: LCPL
- Casualty Country: SOUTH VIETNAM
- Casualty Province: QUANG TRI
- Status: MIA
- Full Name: JOSE RAMON SANCHEZ
- Date of Birth: 3/15/1949
- Date of Casualty: 6/6/1968
- Home of Record: NEW YORK, NEW YORK
- Branch of Service: MARINE CORPS
- Rank: PFC
- Casualty Country: SOUTH VIETNAM
- Casualty Province: QUANG TRI
- Status: MIA
U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 934-08
Marines Missing From Vietnam War Are Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of four U.S. servicemen, missing from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
They are Lance Corporal Kurt E. La Plant, of Lenexa, Kansas, and Lance Corporal Luis F. Palacios, of Los Angeles, California. Remains that could not be individually identified are included in a group. Among the group remains are Lance Corporal Ralph L. Harper, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Private First Class Jose R. Sanchez, of Brooklyn, New York. All men were U.S. Marine Corps. Palacios will be buried Friday in Bellflower, California, and the other Marines will be buried as a group in the spring in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C.
On June 6, 1968, these men were aboard a CH-46A Sea Knight helicopter that was attempting an emergency extraction of elements of the 1st Battalion, 4th Regiment, 3rd Marine Division then engaged against hostile forces in the mountains southwest of Khe Sanh, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. The helicopter was struck by enemy ground fire and crashed, killing 12 of the 23 crewmen and passengers on board. All but four of the men who died were subsequently recovered and identified.
HARPER, RALPH LEWIS
- LCPL US MARINE CORPS
- DATE OF BIRTH: 01/14/1948
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/06/1968
- BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 8980
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
LA PLANT, KURT ELTON
- LCPL US MARINE CORPS
- DATE OF BIRTH: 12/11/1948
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/06/1968
- BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 8980
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
SANCHEZ, JOSE RAMON
- PFC US MARINE CORPS
- DATE OF BIRTH: 03/15/1949
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/06/1968
- BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 8980
- ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard