On Saturday, April 17, the city officials in Burbank, Calif., plan to
dedicate a park in honor of Cpl. Larry L. Maxam.
President Richard Nixon posthumously awarded Maxam the Medal
of Honor for his heroic actions in 1968 during the Vietnam War.
After enlisting in the United State Marine Corps in 1965,
Maxam was promoted to lance corporal before arriving in Vietnam. He served as a
rifleman, radioman and squad leader before being promoted to corporal.
While participating in Operation Kentucky on Feb. 2,
1968, he was killed in action at Cam Lo District Headquarters in Quang Tri
Province Vietnam.
His actions on that day were described by President Nixon
as "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above
and beyond the call of duty."
Maxam has also been the recipient of the Purple Heart, the
National Defense Service Medal and other Vietnam military medals.
The current commanding officer of Maxam's unit will speak at
the dedication, including detailing how his unit honors Maxam each year by
awarding a Marine the Maxam Award.
TV host and Marine R. Lee Ermey will also speak, along with a
full military funeral detail including the flag Presentation to the family and
a 21-gun salute
Pacific Park will be dedicated and renamed the Larry L.
Maxam Memorial Park.
Maxam was a member of the Burbank
Ward at the time of his death in 1968.
E-mail: jcrandall@desnews.com