This is the second story in a series of nine honoring the 32 casualties and one Missing-in-Action veteran from Grundy, Hardin, Marshall and Tama counties during the Vietnam War, Nov. 1, 1955-April 30,

Of the 58,220 U.S. military service members who died in Vietnam, more than 1,300 were from Massachusetts. These are the stories of the men who were among the first and last to die on Vietnam soil.

Vietnam marked the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the unification of the country under Communist rule after decades of war. From the ashes, the U.S. and Vietnam now enjoy close relations,