3rd Battalion 26th Marines (Vietnam)

Robert Schoondermark

Born in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1946, Sho joined the Marines in 1966.  He served as a company radio operator for Capt Andy DeBona of Mike Company.  He received the Purple Heart during the period 7-10 September 1967 when the Battalion was in "Ambush Valley" in the Con Thien and C-2 area.  Every year on 10 September he would call the Captain and other Marines that survived Ambush Valley.  He is survived by his son Robert and grandson Gavin Kyle.  Robert passed on 22 January 2010 and was buried with military honors on 28 January in Grandview Cemetery in the Fort Collins area.

Ken Hilliard

Kenneth Oliver Hilliard, 61, died  March 13, 2010 at the Malcolm Randall Veterans Hospital in Gainesville, Florida.  Ken was the owner and operator of the Badcock Home Furnishings Center in Hawthorne for 31 years.  In 1967 Ken joined the US Marine Corps and was a survivor of the battle at Khe Sanh during the Tet Offensive, earning a Bronze Star and Navy Achievement Medal.

Ken was preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen, and his parents, Theodore and Gladys Hilliard.  He is survived by his four children, eight grandchildren, four great grandchildren and one brother and three sisters.