The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, PFC Joel Clyde Roper, who died in the service of his country on October 9th, 1967 in Quang Tin Province, Vietnam. The cause of death was listed as Small Arms/AW. At the time of his death Joel was 19 years of age. He was from Marietta, Georgia. Joel is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 27E, Line 83.
The decorations earned by PFC Joel Clyde Roper include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star with V, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation.
Joel is buried in the Toccoa Baptist Church Cemetery in Blue Ridge, GA
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There are many great things I could say about my brother Joel, but those that knew him don't have to be told what a great person he was. Those in our family that never knew him personaly know of him through our memories of him in our family stories. My thoughts of him are too personal for me to share here... I just wanted those of you who visit his site here to know that he was a great person and in our family he is loved and remembered and will live on for generations to come. In Loving Memory of Our Brother Joel.
Posted by: Tony Roper
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(His BSV Citation)
Award Of The Bronze Star For Heroism
For heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 9 October 1967 Private First Class Roper distinguished himself while serving as a Rifleman in Company A, 1/35th Infantry conducting a search and destroy mission near LZ Mary Lou. Private First Class Roper's platoon was moving up the side of a hill when it was taken under fire by a reinforced NVA company. The enemy were using automatic weapons and firing from prepared positions, well-concealed in the thick underbrush, and their heavy fire killed several in the platoon immediately. Several others were wounded, and when they fell they lay still exposed to enemy fire. Private First Class Roper saw the plight of the wounded men. Unhesitatingly, he dashed through the intense hostile force to one of the wounded men, and he had another solider evacuate him. He then returned to the exposed area and, placing accurate fire on the enemy positions, he covered the removal of another stricken man. He was mortally wounded in the course of this heroic action, but, as a result of his bravery the lives of two men had been saved. Private First Class Roper's self-sacrificing valor is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
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