Age 24 - From New York, New York
Killed on February 29, 1968 - Quang Tin, South Viet Nam

INFORMATION FOUND AT VIETNAM VETERANS

MEMORIAL FUND WEBSITE (www.vvmf.org)

GEORGE ADOLFO MUSSENDEN
is honored on Panel 42E, Row 8 of
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Full Name: GEORGE ADOLFO MUSSENDEN
Wall Name: GEORGE A MUSSENDEN
Date of Birth: 2/15/1944
Date of Casualty: 2/29/1968
Home of Record: NEW YORK
State: NY
Branch of Service: ARMY
Rank: SGT
Casualty Country: SOUTH VIETNAM
Casualty Province: QUANG TIN

EXCERPT FROM "GEORGE MUSSENDEN & MY TOUR IN VIETNAM" BY GARY HEALE - MAY, 2001
(used with permission from Gary Heale)

"...It was while assigned to the cage that I began working with George Mussenden.  "Moose" was now our sergeant.  I remember him as Hispanic looking with fairly dark complexion, square-jawed, dark wavy hair, about 5'11" tall.  He had just returned from a short stateside R&R for extending.  I questioned him as to why he would come back to this horrible place.  He said that he did not have much family at home, and he felt that he was making a difference.  This was his third tour [2nd extension].  His first tour was with the 11th Bde.  He told me, "I just love these people.  I'm doing good here.  I want to help them out, and I feel at home here."  I remember him being soft spoken and very easy to work with.

Occasionally, I also had to run convoy escort and firebase gate duty, as did the rest of the platoon.  We finally started to receive replacements [6] by the end of January.  Then the big Tet '68 offensive hit.  We could hear and see the action all around Hill 35, but we never really got hit . . . only a few mortar rounds, now and then.  We heard that the nearby MACV HQ in TamKy got hit hard.  The NVA prisoners that were brought to us all had new uniforms and gear and bragged of victory.  We had a couple of them die at the POW cage.  One evening I spent at MASH guarding a VC who had 14 wounds.  The GI's there told me that there were bodies piled up in the villages.  Rumors abounded, and February became a very brutal month for all of us.

I remember the day "Moose" was killed.  It was early afternoon.  We were packing and preparing to move further north to Hill 63 [LZ Baldy].

Here's what I wrote to my parents about his death:

Feb. 29, 1968
Dear Mom and Dad,
Our platoon leader called a meeting to tell us some bad news.  Our POW sergeant and one of the new guys went to Chu Lai yesterday to get paid. Their pay records were fouled up, so their pay didn't come up here like it usually does.  On their way back this morning they had a head-on collision with an ARVN truck.  The sergeant [we called him "Moose"] was killed, and the other guy is hurt bad.  See, you don't have to be shot by the VC to be killed.  [Dumb me!  This statement must not have been very comforting to my parents. Sic]  The gook truck was probably driving down the middle of the road.  Damn them!  Boy, he was a real nice guy, too.  He'd extended here twice over his ETS.  He would have been home and out of the army nine months ago, but just made sergeant, so he decided to extend.  How rotten!  That was the first casualty in our platoon.  Up til now, no one even received a wound.

The "new guy" was Jerrold Smith.  He had been in country for less than a month, so most of us did not know him very well.  We found out a couple of days later that he had died too.  Our platoon sergeant told us that we all understood where we were and knew that this could happen.  We all stood there for awhile and then went into our tents, and sat down in sadness and disbelief.

Two days later I sent another letter home:
Mar. 2, 1968
Dear Mom and Dad,
I found out a little more on the accident.  They were passing a truck and couldn't see ahead because of the thick dust.  When we don't have rain here for awhile, the roads get dusty as hell..."

FROM "THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL WALL"
(http://tanaya.net/vmw/M/rec-37149.html)

Let us not forget Sergeant George Adolfo Mussenden, casualty of the Vietnam War. As a member of the Army Reserve, SGT Mussenden served our country until February 29th, 1968 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam. He was 24 years old and was not married. George died when his vehicle crashed. His body was recovered. George was born on February 15th, 1944 in New York, New York.

SGT Mussenden is on panel 42E, line 008 of the Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for 2 years.

FROM "THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD -
198th LIGHT INFANTRY BRIGADE"
(http://dutch23mp.bravepages.com/graphics/mussenden.htm?IDNO=51556945)

--- General / Personal ---
Last name: MUSSENDEN
First name: GEORGE ADOLFO
Home of Record (official): NEW YORK
State (official): NY
Date of Birth: Tuesday, February 15, 1944
Sex: Male
Race: Caucasian
Marital Status: Single

--- Military ---
Branch: Army
Rank: SGT
Serial Number: 51556945
Component: Reserve
Pay grade: E5
MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 95B20

--- Action ---
Start of Tour: Friday, July 15, 1966
Date of Casualty: Thursday, February 29, 1968
Age at time of loss: 24
Casualty type: (C1) Non-hostile, died of other causes
Reason: Vehicle loss, crash (Ground casualty)
Country: South VietNam
Province: Quang Tin
The Wall: Panel 42E - Row 008

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