Richard Allen Cesar

Richard Allen Cesar, originally from Rockford, IL, moved to Russell, IA as a teenager. He attended Russell Community School for most of high school and then completed his senior year at the Cambria-Corydon High School. After completing his education he joined the Marine Corps. He trained as an antitank assaultman and was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division. CPL Cesar deployed to South Vietnam in June 1965. His unit was one of the first ground forces to arrive in Danang. Throughout the first few months the enemy mounted well-coordinated attacks on the Marines’ positions. On October 30, 1965 enemy forces assaulted the defensive perimeter on Hill 22, south of the Tuy Loan River, manned by Cesar’s unit. Reinforcements arrived on Hill 22 and the communists retreated. In the end, 15 Marines were killed, including CPL Cesar and one Navy Medical Corpsman, a fellow Iowan named HN Feltner. Cesar was 20 years old at the time of his death. His body was returned to the United States and buried at the Willwood Burial Park in Rockford, IL.