Ricky Jergenson Athletic Scholarship:

About Ricky Jergenson Athletic Scholarship 

 

PO Box 74
Darrouzett, TX 79024

Established

1973

Tax ID

23-7239475

NTEE code

Scholarships, Student Financial Aid, Awards

Ricky Jergenson Athletic Scholarship Memorial Fund is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 23-7239475. Donations are tax-deductible. 

Rickey Layne Jergenson

Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Texas

Rickey Layne Jergenson

Vietnam War

Vietnam War

Texas

▼ Content Integrity Note

Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Rickey Layne Jergenson is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2015-04-23 16:56:32.

Service Details

This Profile ID	280435
Service ID	449849640
Name	Rickey Layne Jergenson
From	Darrouzett, Lipscomb County, Texas
Birth Date	11 June 1950
Casualty Date	1 June 1970
War	Vietnam War
Service Branch	Marine Corps
Rank	Private First Class
Specialty	Assaultman
Unit/Group	III Marine Amphibious Force, 2nd Civil Affairs Group, Cap 2 4 2
Casualty Type	Died through hostile action .. multiple fragmentation wounds
Location	South Vietnam, Quang Nam province
Notable Awards	★ Purple Heart
Remembered	Rickey is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 10w, Line 131.

Additional Details

Rickey Layne Jergenson was serving his country during the Vietnam War when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Entered the service via Regular Military. He began his tour on 15 January 1970. Jergenson had the rank of Private First Class. His military occupation or specialty was Assaultman. Service number assignment was 449849640. Attached to III Marine Amphibious Force, 2nd Civil Affairs Group, Cap 2 4 2. He was born on 11 June 1950. According to our records Texas was his home or enlistment state and Lipscomb county has been included within the archival record. We have Darrouzett listed as his city. During his service in the Vietnam War, Marine Corps Private First Class Jergenson experienced a traumatic event which ultimately resulted in loss of life on 1 June 1970. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died through hostile action .. multiple fragmentation wounds. Incident location: South Vietnam, Quang Nam province.

Commendations + Awards

★ Purple Heart

SPECIAL-SECTIONS

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Marine gave his life to protect another's

Staff Writer

Amarillo Globe-News
Marine gave his life to protect another's

A big smile and a heart of gold were two of the things 19-year-old Rickey Layne Jergenson of Darrouzett carried onto the plane as he boarded TWA Flight 315 on June 27, 1969, and headed for basic training at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

Just as his father, a World War II Marine veteran, before him had done, Ricky decided to enlist in the Marine Corps. Being the only child of Freddie and Awilda (Boogie) Jergenson, his decision was not a popular one, nor one that would bring much peace to his parents. Rickey had grown up in the small northeastern Texas Panhandle town of Darrouzett, had graduated with his high school class of '68, had been an outstanding Longhorn athlete, and had been a faithful Future Farmers of America and 4-H participant of Lipscomb County.

Rickey tried several semesters of college, as he attended Clarendon College and South Plains College. His heart was really not into pursuing more education because he was more of a hands-on kind of young man. Thus, he made the decision to follow in his father's footsteps and on June 27, 1969, at 400 Harrison St. in Amarillo, he received his enlistment papers and became a member of the "Always Faithful" United States Marine Corps.

Rick, as he would be called by his fellow Marines, was the type of person who never met a stranger. His personality could light up a room in a flash, and once you were his friend, you would be his friend forever.

Sandy Wardlaw, a Marine buddy from the Texas Panhandle, remarked, "I still remember wondering if our feet would ever touch U.S. soil again. We flew to Hawaii, stayed in Okinawa a few days and landed in Da Nang on Jan. 16."

Having always loved children, it was not difficult to believe that Rick took great pride in protecting the Vietnamese village's children and their families from the Viet Cong.

As everyone knows, however, Vietnam presented its own unique set of obstacles for our soldiers. Not only were they at war with the vicious Viet Cong, but they were fighting the torrid temperatures and the dense, death-seeking bush of the terrain. Just a month before his death, Rickey had been treated twice for heat exhaustion/stroke.

On June 1, 1970, CAP 2-4-2, Rick's unit, was on Vinh Chau Island, just across the river from Hoi An.

As a fellow Marine described it, "It was late afternoon June 1, 1970. No different than any other day in a CAP in Vietnam. The time of day when everyone begins to settle down; talk becomes whispers; each man is alone with his own thoughts about that night's ambush site. We all knew that usually it was the darkness that we needed to fear."

It was on that day that Rick would rush to the aid of a fellow Marine who had been wounded, and would be killed, along with four others from CAP 2-4-2, by an exploding booby trap.

For his service to his country, Pfc. Rickey Layne Jergenson was awarded the following medals:

¦ Combat Action Award Ribbon

¦ The Purple Heart

¦ National Defense Service Medal

¦ Vietnam Service Medal

¦ Vietnam Campaign Medal

¦ Vietnam Gallantry Cross

¦ Vietnamese Military Merit Medal

¦ USSM Good Conduct Medal.

Medals can never replace a young life. Maybe they help fill a void in the survivors' hearts or maybe it's simply the way a nation can honor them and say thank you for the price the fallen pay.

And so, as is true with every American soldier (regardless of size, color, gender, race or national origin) who has given his or her life for our great country and our freedoms, "Your memory lives on. Semper Fi, young Marine ... Semper Fi!"

- Submitted by Bob and Barbara Schneider

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