PFC Bruce Wayne Carter
Here's the information I've been able to compile thus far. Note that anything that is either speculative or not properly sourced will be in italics. PFC Bruce Wayne Carter was a Rifleman attached to Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion/3rd Marine Regiment. Bruce lived at 6625 NW 38th Street in Virginia Gardens, but he is every bit a son of Miami Springs. He was a “Life Scout” in the Boy Scouts and graduated from Miami Springs Senior High School before joining the Marines. He was lost August 7, 1969 when his patrol squad was pinned down by deadly crossfire from a stronger force of North Vietnamese Army soldiers. As the brush around them caught fire, Bruce led the squad toward safety. An enemy grenade came out of the brush and landed among the men. Carter dived onto it and smothered the blast with his own body. His buddies were saved. He was 19 years old. He received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for his bravery and self-sacrifice – the only Dade resident to win that award in Vietnam. He is honored on the National Vietnam Memorial, at Panel 20W, Line 107. In addition, the Veterans Administration Hospital in Miami is named in his honor, as is a section of Northwest 66th Avenue in Virginia Gardens. Bruce's mother, Georgianna Carter-Krell is an active member and past President of American Gold Star Mothers, a nonprofit association of American mothers who have lost a son or daughter in service of the United States Armed Forces. Bruce is buried at Vista Memorial Gardens in Miami Lakes, FL. If you have photos, memorabilia, or further information regarding Bruce or his family and their time in South Florida, please let me know, you can email to springsobserver@gmail.com. |
|
Just because you do not take an interest in politics, does not mean that politics won't take an interest in you.
- Source unverified, but attributed *all over the internet* to the Greek philosopher Pericles...which merely underscores the hazards of copying someone else's research instead of looking it up for yourself. |