| Corporal David O. Kamp of Muskegon, Michigan, was honored in a Memorial Day observance on May, 29th in the year of 2000 as the latest American to have his name added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 32 years after he was paralyzed by enemy fire in Quang Tri Province and more than three years after he died in March 1997 of related illnesses caused by those wounds.
In a simple tribute at the annual holiday ceremony on the Mall, family and comrades closed another chapter on the war that ended a quarter a century ago. For Dave's family, for his friends, for the men who served with him in Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, I'm very proud to present the name of my son, United States Marine Corps Corporal David O. Kamp, his mother Joyce Kamp told the audience at the Memorial observance. Corporal Kamp became the 58,220th person on the 493ft memorial. His case was intially denied by the Marine Corps because of the length of time between the wounding and his death, according to Richard C. Anderson, Cpl Kamp's former Platoon Leader. Richard Anderson eventually turned to Washington defense lawyer John M. Dowd the former Marine brother of a man he befriended in basic training who put Anderson in touch with a former client, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). The former Navy POW agreed with six other of Cpl Kamp's doctors that his wounds had eventually killed him and Cpl Kamp's case was approved soon afterward, Anderson said. On Dec. 27th 1967, Cpl Kamp's Lima Company was in the second night of a fierce firefight with the Viet Cong near the demilitarized zone. He was following his company commander on a final assault when the officer was killed and Kamp was hit by AK-47 bullets in the neck and twice in the chest. He layed for five hours before the bloodied Marine battalion recovered him. For nearly 30 yrs until his death in Florida. Cpl Kamp did not walk. He still volunteered for charities and kept the American and Marine Corps flag flying wherever he lived. He was my hero. "said Cpl Kamps sister, Renae Erickson, of Twin Lake, Michigan. "He was very proud of what he did, and he did it because it was necessary." The above writings were taken from parts of an article written in: The Washington Post, Page B2 On December 30th, 2000 |
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| Click Here To view the David O. Kamp Memorial Page Picture Album These pictures were submitted by Phil Metz, 3rd Platoon. Lima Company 3/1 |
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