Duane Allan Cottrell

Duane A. Cottrell grew up in Ottumwa but moved to Embarrass, Minnesota where he finished high school in 1966. He was drafted and served a two year tour, one of them in Vietnam with a Floating Bridge Engineering Company. He worked in Minnesota for a half year and then re-enlisted in the Army. He did another tour in Vietnam with the 299th Engineer Battalion, earning the Medal for Meritorious Service. After additional training at Fort Benning, he went to Germany in March 1970 and in October 1970 returned to Vietnam where he was working at Cam Ranh Bay. On October 31, 1971 official records indicate he died from self-inflicted wounds. Specialist Fourth Class Cottrell was buried at Memorial Lawn Cemetery in Ottumwa.