Michael Roger Ball

Michael Roger Ball attended the Davenport School District and graduated from West High School. During school he participated on the track team. Ball joined the Marine Corps and was sent to South Vietnam in February 1969. LCPL Ball served in an antitank unit with the 3rd Marine Division. He was killed just over one month in country. His unit was involved in Operation Purple Martin, operating north of Khe Sanh near the Demilitarized Zone. On March 26, 1969 a friendly artillery round inadvertently hit their position on Land Zone Sierra. LCPL Ball and another Marine were killed. The 20-year-old’s body was returned to Iowa and buried at the Davenport Memorial Park. He left behind a young wife.