Richard Lee Bartlow

Richard Lee Bartlow grew up in Oskaloosa before he joined the Marine Corps. He trained as an infantryman and led a unit while in Vietnam. He served in the Marine Corps for six years at the time of his death in 1968. Staff Sergeant Bartlow was sent to Southeast Asia in January 1968 and was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines in the 3rd Marine Division. In May 1968 the 3rd Marines conducted a major operation in the Quang Tri Province near the hamlet of Dai Do. The Marines encountered a division size force of North Vietnamese regulars. In the resulting three day battle 87 Americans were killed, including SSGT Bartlow. The 26-year-old Iowan’s body was returned to the United States and buried at the Forest Cemetery in Mahaska County.