New display in Hawthorne, N.J., honors local Marine killed in Vietnam in 1966
HAWTHORNE, N.J. -- This Memorial Day, a New Jersey town is remembering a Vietnam War Marine who was killed at just 21 years old.
A new display in Hawthorne hopes to carry on his memory by showcasing a special piece of history.
In the 57 years since Lance Cpl. Billy Dutches died protecting this country, his hometown has never forgotten. His name is adorned on a park bench, hung from a street sign, and now sits proudly in the local library.
"We believe it's something to be shared with others. It represents not only Billy, it represents all those who didn't come home," Frank Dutches said.
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Frank Dutches was Billy's youngest brother, just 12 years old at the time the family received a heartbreaking telegram that his brother died from a gunshot wound to the neck while fighting in Vietnam.
For years, the family clung onto Billy's photographs, letters and medals. That is, until 2021, when they received a touching surprise.
"Somehow it made its way from Vietnam to Okinawa back to the States," Frank Dutches said of Billy's helmet, which he was wearing the day he died in 1966.
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A Canadian military collector purchased the relic and returned it to the family after deciphering the scribbled clues left behind. Among them was the name Betty Lou, Billy Dutches' girlfriend and prom date at the time.
"We want everyone to remember, not forget, that this young man sacrificed his life for this country, regardless of what was politically going on at the time," said Gina Gerard of Louis Bay 2nd Library.
Gerard helped the family create an exhibition. Those who knew Billy Dutches stop by often.
"It brought the whole Vietnam War to us in a different way. At that time, every night on the news they would have a running total of how many people had been killed. You see that on TV, but then you hear someone who could have been your brother, who was your neighbor," Hawthorne resident Christine Delaney said.
The display will remain in Hawthorne until Flag Day -- the day Billy died. After then, the memorabilia will be moved to its final resting place, at a Vietnam veterans memorial in Holmdel.
