Sgt Glen Williams KIA Nov 4, 1967

Sgt Glen Williams

In 1966, while Cherry Hill native Glen Williams was serving in the Army in Vietnam, Mrs. Jerry Davis was in her classroom – teaching her 4th grade students at Yorkship School in Camden, NJ.

Mrs Davis started assigning letters to servicemen as homework assignments in 1966 after learning of a local boy, Harry Porter, who was serving in Vietnam and was very homesick. Another one of her students was cousins of Sgt Glenn Williams, so they began exchanging letters with him as well. Sgt Glen Williams was serving with 1st Cav Division, Company A’s 3d Platoon in Vietnam.

Sgt Glen Williams

Sadly, Sgt Glen Williams was killed on November 4, 1967 in Vietnam. Glen R.Williams, son of Ray and Madeline Williams, was born February 28, 1947.  He graduated in 1965 from Cherry Hill High School West. In high school, Glenn was an audio-visual aide, a very vocal member of the Booster Club, a participant in Drama and Civil War clubs and appeared in junior-senior musicals and plays. Glenn announced his plans to enlist in the Army almost as soon as he learned to talk. He began Basic Training at Fort Dix in September 1965.  After a year stationed in Germany, he was assigned to Vietnam in Company A, 1stBattalion, 7thCavalry in February 1967. He was 19. Before and during his Vietnam service Glenn was a prolific writer. He left behind dozens of journals, beginning in high school and ending days before he was killed in Chu Lai, South Vietnam.

When Sgt Williams was killed Mrs Davis and the fourth graders decided the best way to honor his memory was to send a tape recording, along with packages and letters to the others in his outfit. In an emotional tape recording on November 21st, 1967, the children from Yorkship School spoke about Sgt Glen Williams and sent along holiday wishes for the surviving men in his platoon.  ( listen to 1967 tape recording that was sent to the soldiers in Vietnam below. Be patient as the audio loads, it may take a minute. Click on the start button)

Grateful for the packages, members of the Platoon wrote back to the 4th grade class and they all remained penpals while the men were in Vietnam. The students picked soldiers from the Platoon to write letters to – every week letters and packages were sent from Mrs. Davis’ class, and the soldiers would write back to the students.They often sent photos from Vietnam. (click here to see photos from Vietnam). The photos and letters were placed on the bulletin board in class. (Click here to view some of the letters – Billy Harrison Batch 1 / Billy Harrison Batch 2 )

1968 L-R. Glen William’s mother, Jerry Davis and Sandy Moppert

2nd Lt Eugene Moppert KIA Feb 1968

One of the penpals, 2nd Lt Eugene Moppert, of New Orleans, was also killed in Vietnam on February 26, 1968 – just 4 months after Sgt Glenn Williams.

Later that year, Sgt Glenn Williams mother, Madeline Williams, and 2nd Lt Moppert’s widow, Sandy Moppert paid a visit to Yorkship School  to give the fourth graders the flag which had covered 2nd Lt Eugene Moppert’s casket. (click here for photos of visit)

Amoung the 4th graders that wrote to the soldiers were Joanne Crissey Dixon, Judy Vitagliano Mitchell, Kathie Cromie Gabriel, Wendy Strang Rooney, Bruce Nelson, Denise Knettle Maloy and Billy Harrison.

One girl, Denise Knettle-Moloy, had a brother and brother-in-law serving in Vietnam at the time. “After writing and going to school and her talking about it, it was like a whole total different experience,” Knettle-Moloy said about her former teacher.

The correspondence went beyond letters. Kids sent their Halloween candy and Billy Harrison, Sgt Meskitas pen pal, had his grandmother bake chocolate chip cookies. Soldiers mailed back small figures, such as a wooden elephant and a bronze frog

Billy Harrison’s penpal, Sgt Meskitas, and Kathy Gabriel’s penpal, Brian O’Leary – both came to visit the class after returning home from Vietnam (click here for photos of his visit). (Click here for newspaper article of his visit)

Click on photo to enlarge and read article

FAST FORWARD to 2009

In April 2009, the Cherry Hill American Legion hosted the Traveling Vietnam Wall, and held a Candlelight Service, honoring all the men from Camden County that were KIA in Vietnam. One of those men was Sgt Glen Williams. Relatives, friends and comrades of the KIA’s were sought out and invited to attend the Service. Sgt Glen William’s sister, Jackie Lehatto, was located in Kansas – she flew in from Kansas for the Service. An exceptionally emotional service, family members, old comrades and friends flew in from all over the country. Jackie was extremely touched by the Service honoring her brother, and gave Sue Quinn-Morris a pkg of Glen’s belongings. In the package was Glen’s 1965 Cherry Hill West High School Yearbook, photos, letters from Vietnam and newspaper clippings. Click here to see contents of package.

FAST FORWARD to 2014...

The pen pal project, which Yorkship School teacher Mrs Jerry Davis had assigned to her classes, had resonated with many of the students. Kathie Gabriel stayed in touch with her pen pal, athough now they correspond by Facebook message rather than handwritten letter. Another former student, Wendy Strang Rooney, said Davis inspired her not only to become a teacher, but also to have her own students write letters to troops.

The now grown 4th grade students who wrote to the soldiers in Vietnam paid a visit to Yorkship School to see if they still had 2nd Lt Eugene Moppert’s flag that his widow had donated to the school in 1968.

For nearly half a century, the flag rested in a wood and glass case attached to a brick wall near the school’s auditorium. It had gone untouched, even as the walls around it got repainted. This past September, they asked the school if they could have the flag for a donation, and school officials said yes.

Bill Harrison, one of the former Yorkship students and a 56-year-old Cherry Hill resident, contacted the Smithsonian at Jerry Davis’ suggestion, seeking the best way to preserve the artifacts and their story.

Kathy Golden, associate curator for the Division of Armed Forces History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, was eager to have the flag and as many letters and memorabilia as possible. They scheduled a trip in November to hand over the things.

….meanwhile, Sue Quinn-Morris, contemplated for years with what to do with the belongings of Sgt Glen Williams that his sister had given her to ensure that they were preserved ….. she just held on to them waiting, for what she didnt know…well, not until Saturday.

On Saturday, November 8th, just days before the Yorkship School crew were to depart for the Smithsonian, she had a visit from June Quinn, her 83 year old mother. Her mother, knowing she was very active in veterans and military causes, handed her a letter that her friend had written to her, along with a copy of the Courier Post article. The letter had come from her lifelong friend, Mrs Jerry Davis, who now lives in South Carolina.

In the article she saw that Sgt Glen Williams used to be one of their penpals, and that his death had inspired Jerry Davis, and that Jerry and her now grown pupils from Yorkship School would be donating all their items to the Smithsonian.  Like a message from heaven Quinn-Morris thought ! She spoke with Jerry and Bill and made arrangements to give Williams items to them to bring to the Smithsonian as well. She also contacted Glenn Williams sister, Jackie- she was elated to hear that Glen’s things would be preserved forever.

November 14, 2014….

On November 14th, 2014, the Smithsonian was presented with all the memoribilia Mrs Davis and her students had, including memoribilia from Sue Quinn-Morris had of KIA Sgt Glen Williams. Items included 2nd Lt Mopperts Flag, hundreds of letters, photos and also Sgt Glen Williams High School Yearbook, letters and photos. These items will now be preserved forever. (click here to view photos from delivery to Smithsonian)