William Edward Rees

William Edward Rees was raised in Jones County and graduated from Anamosa High School in the class of 1965. Rees attended Buena Vista College in Storm Lake before joining the service. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on July 28, 1966 in Omaha, NE. After training, LCPL Rees was sent to Vietnam in January 1967 and was assigned to the 1st Marine Division as an infantry rifleman. On October 5, 1967 LCPL Rees’ unit was performing a road sweep of Highway 1 in the Quang Nam Province. The enemy ambushed the Marines with the detonation of a roadside bomb followed by an attack with rifles, rockets, and machine guns from a concealed position. Four Marines were killed in the fight and seven men were wounded and evacuated. LCPL Rees was killed by fragmentation wounds to his head, abdomen, and extremities. The 20-year-old’s body was buried at the Riverside Cemetery in Anamosa.