Wayne Thomas McGuire

Wayne Thomas McGuire was born in Sioux City then moved with his family to Storm Lake and the Quimby area before ending up in the Peterson community. McGuire joined the Army in January 1967 at the age of 17. He trained as an infantryman and was sent to South Vietnam in July 1967. SP4 McGuire served with Company A, 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry, in the 11th Infantry Brigade or Americal Division. In the spring of 1968 he sustained multiple severe fragmentation wounds while serving in the Quang Ngai Province. He was evacuated and hospitalized in Japan. The 18-year-old was transferred back to the United States to the Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver while he recovered from his injuries. SP4 McGuire returned home in the fall of 1968 and felt well enough to work at the Lundell Manufacturing Company in Cherokee. He had yet to be formally discharged from the Army. One month into his employment, on October 3, 1968, McGuire fell over dead in the middle of his shift. Doctors determined the sudden death was linked to his wounds sustained in Vietnam. A funeral was held in the Cherokee community and his body was buried at the Buena Vista Memorial Cemetery in Storm Lake.