Daniel James Kaplan

Daniel J. Kaplan resided in Cedar Rapids since 1960 and graduated Washington High School in the class of 1966. He was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. Daniel Kaplan had six brothers, including a twin brother who served in the Navy, and three sisters. Kaplan joined the Marine Corps the September after graduating high school. He was sent to South Vietnam in October 1967. There he served with the 3rd Marine Division as a radio telegraph operator. LCPL Kaplan’s unit participated in the multi-battalion Operation Kentucky to rid the area south of the DMZ of North Vietnamese forces. On February 7, 1968 the NVA ambushed several Marine patrols, killing 30 Americans including LCPL Kaplan. His body was returned to Iowa and buried in the Saint Patrick’s Catholic Cemetery in his childhood hometown of Dougherty in Cerro Gordo County. He was 19 years old at the time of his death.