8Sep1945 – 10May1966
Edison Days
Patrick graduated with the Class of 1963.
Military Service
Rank: Corporal
Branch: United States Marine Corps
Unit: H&S Company – 1st Battalion – 7th Marines Regiment – 1st Marine Division
Patrick enlisted in the Marine Corps on 20Jun1963.
The 1st Battalion – 7th Marines spent time at Camp Pendleton, California and in Okinawa prior to being sent to Vietnam in August 1965.
On 9May1966 Operation Montgomery kicked off. This was a regimental sized search and destroy mission against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army.
Early in the morning on the 2nd day of the operation, 4 to 6 Viet Cong soldiers got to within 20 meters of the security perimeter where Patrick was located. When they were discovered, a brief firefight broke out.
Patrick was killed in the firefight by an enemy rifle grenade. The day after Patrick was killed, the Star Tribune wrote an article about a correspondence between Patrick and his younger brother Jim.
Patrick’s remains were returned to Minnesota for burial.
Partrick is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Several months after his death, his mother received the Bronze Star medal that he was awarded posthumously.
Patrick’s name is inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Panel 7E, Line 45.
Edison Heroes 