Merle Keith Fagerlind Jr

Merle Keith Fagerlind Jr. grew up in Waterloo and graduated from West High School in the class of 1965, he joined the Marine Corps the same year. He was a member of the Grace Lutheran Church. CPL Fagerlind was a member of a unit assigned to protect South Vietnamese villagers from Viet Cong guerillas. In his letters home he described his passion for helping others. CPL Fagerlind provided money to a young Vietnamese boy to fund college in Hue. While on a night combat patrol on December 4, 1967, his unit was ambushed by the enemy. He was killed instantly before he could take cover. Following his death, CPL Fagerlind’s superior officer wrote, “Merle was an extremely loyal young American whose personal contributions to this unit made him one of our finest Marines.” He was 21 years old at the time of his death.