BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) - Bourbonnais village officials have dedicated a memorial park for a U.S. Marine who died in the Vietnam War.
The village and Olivet Nazarene University dedicated the park to Marine 1st Lt. Wayne Michael Hayes .
Hayes was the first and possibly only Olivet Nazarene student to die in Vietnam.
Hayes was killed July 6, 1967 in a battle defending a South Vietnamese village. The lieutenant had just been put in charge of the five-tank company.
Hayes led a three-tank formation into a firefight with the North Vietnamese. He took the top-of-the-tank mounted gun and was hit by what was a rocket-propelled grenade or anti-tank shell.
Hayes’ spot is called Freedom Garden. It is just south of the electronic sign that honors all area veterans.
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