Comments and Tags
Be the first to comment on this item!
Vietnam War ➔ Letter, R. J. Drew to Joyce Washburn Skinner
Identifier:
2022.64.3Description:
This letter was written by Lance Corporal R. J. "Spike" Drew to Joyce Washburn Skinner of Grand Rapids Michigan after the death of her fiance Dennis Lobbezoo during the Vietnam War. Drew was a friend of Dennis Lobbezoo, Skinner's fiance who served in the Marines during the Vietnam War. It was written three days after Lobbezoo was killed in action and reads as follows:"9 June 68
Dear Joyce,
I don't really know how to start this letter to you, but I will try.
By now, you know Denny is dead. He was killed in action. I don't really know how but he was trying to help some one else that was wounded! I know how you feel, and I'm very sorry this happened. I know you loved him very much. He was really liked in the platoon. And he was one of my best friends.
Nothing much more I can say. I'll pray to God you watch over you, and to give you the strength to go on.
God Bless You
Spike"
Date:
June 9 1968Materials:
PaperCurrent Location Status:
In StorageCollection Tier:
Tier 2Source:
Gift of Joyce WashburnRelated Entities:
Joyce Washburn Skinner (donor)Joyce Washburn was born in October 1949 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated in 1967 from Creston High School and enlisted in the Navy Reserves in May 1968. Her basic training was held at U.S. Naval Training Center at Bainbridge, Maryland in August 1968. She returned to college then went to Naval Hospital Corps School at Great Lakes Naval Station, Illinois where she learned how to be a corpsman. She stayed in the Navy Reserves for twenty six years working at the hospitals at Great Lakes Naval Station, San Diego, and Pensacola. She also got to work at Bethesda Naval Hospital and U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington D.C. During her time in the Navy Reserves she helped with domestic abuse programs, drug abuse programs, and psychological trauma programs. After her service she helped a fellow veteran, Dr. Edward Byrd, with the creation of a memorial for her fiancé. Dennis Lobbezoo, who was killed in Vietnam in June 1968.
(Courtesy of GVSU, Veteran's History Project) PFC Dennis Lee Lobbezoo (is related to)
PFC Dennis Lee Lobbezoo of Grand Rapids, Michigan died in combat during the Vietnam War on June 6th, 1968. A patriot who loved his country, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in the spring of 1967 after graduating from Creston High School in Grand Rapids. Bootcamp started in July and he left for Vietnam in December of that year. He was wounded in Khe Sanh in February 1968 and was treated on the U.S.S. Repose before returning to his quad in March. On June 6th, 1968, his squad was ambushed in Con Thien during a security patrol, killing 13 of the 15 marines, including Lobbezoo. Lobbezoo's name along with others from that fateful day are listed on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington D.C. Joyce Washburn Skinner, his fiance at the time of his service, has traveled to the Memorial to read his name during the annual service. He is the subject of a sculpture in the Grand Valley State University Art Gallery Collections. The artist, Dr. Edward Byrd, met Dennis Lobbezoo while working as a medical officer in Vietnam. Lobbezoo had a lasting impression on Byrd. About 45 years later, upon his retirement as a neurosurgeon, Byrd studied art and created a sculpture of Lobbezoo.