Curtis Charles Joosten

Curtis C. Joosten was born in Valentine, Nebraska and moved with his mother to Pella where he attended high school. He served with the Marine Corps 1st Battalion, 4th Marines in Quang Tri Province as a machine gunner. In May his unit took part in Operation Beacon Hill in the DMZ where the North Vietnamese regulars were entrenched. On May 25, 1967, after being hit with over 1000 mortars the night before, Joosten’s platoon was caught in an ambush near Gio Linh. Private First Class Joosten was one of five killed in the fire fight. He was married with a daughter and was buried in Graceland Cemetery in Pella.