Donald Glenn Peddicord

Donald Glenn Peddicord was born in Los Angeles, CA while his father was serving in the Navy during WWII. He grew up in Des Moines and graduated from West Des Moines Valley High School. He enlisted in the Navy in 1958. Engineman 1st Class (EN1) Peddicord arrived in Vietnam in the fall of 1966. He worked on a minesweeper in the Mekong Delta region. EN1 Peddicord was killed on January 23, 1967 when his minesweeper was attacked by enemy forces on the Long Tau River southeast of Saigon. A helicopter came to support the damaged vessel when it was shot down by the Viet Cong. Peddicord and a fellow sailor died aboard the minesweeper and all four crewman of the helicopter were killed. The 25-year-old left behind a wife, a daughter, and a son. His body was returned to Iowa and buried at the Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines.