Marine veteran Charles L. Denton of Clarkston has been at rest in Lakeview Cemetery since 1983, but not forgotten by his buddies from the Vietnam War.
“Charlie’s ex-wife Zoe contacted Ray Stewart, the president of the Marine Corps Tankers Historical Foundation, asking for some information about Charlie because his son (Mike) wanted to know more about his dad,” said Ken Zebal, who served with Denton in the same tank platoon along with Ky Thompson, Milo Plank Jr., Ken Zitz, Chris Vrakelos, Jim Thompson, Tony Pinnetti, Willy Williams, Don Clark, and Dan MacQueary. “Ky, Milo, Jim and I have each written about our experiences with Charlie, in peacetime and war, hoping that the information would benefit his son.”
The tankers were sent to Okinawa in early 1965 before deployment across the beach to Chu Lai, Vietnam, in May of 1965. Thompson was close friends with Denton at Camp Lejeune after the war, before they were both honorably discharged.
Denton was born on Dec. 31, 1945, and passed away on Jan. 1, 1983 at age 37. His headstone in Lakeview Cemetery notes his rank as sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Vietnam.
“We have no contact information for either Zoe or Mike but think that folks in and around your area would, perhaps, benefit by knowing more about one of their own,” Zebal said.