Seven blue jays for seven soldiers will soon be on their way to Vietnam.
Each of the stuffed birds represent a former Westminster College graduate who died as a result of the unofficial war in southeast Asia. American involvement happened roughly from 1955-75.
On May 15, a group of 15 Westminster students led by history professor Mark Boulton and about 15 others will board a plane in St. Louis for the trip. In preparation, two junior students - Kelsie Slaughter, of Fulton, and Thomas Boreman, of the United Kingdom - did some research and presented it this week to a group at the college.
Slaughter said this trip will be her first overseas, but it won't be her last.
"I'll be going to India in July," she said, adding she's going with a fellow student whose home is there. "This year is our junior year, and we just decided to go for it."
Right now, the students and their teachers are thinking about the seven stuffed blue jays - Westminster's team mascot - and their remarkable mission.
"We'll lay one down in the closest spot we can guess where each (soldier) was KIA (killed in action)," Boulton said. "Some spots are remote, but we'll get as close as we can."
The soldiers are being called the Westminster Seven. They include:
Harmon L. Remmel III, born Jan. 21, 1943, and from Fayetteville, Arkansas. He was in the Westminster Class of 1965 and was a first lieutenant in the Army. He died Feb. 7, 1968, at age 25 in Phu Bon Province.
Philip Howard Sauer, born July 6, 1942, and from Coronado, California. He was in the Westminster Class of 1965 and was a first lieutenant in the Marine Corps. He died April 24, 1967, at the age of 24 in Quang Tri Province.
Ross Whittier Livermore, born Nov. 18, 1945, and from Germantown, Tennessee. He was in the Westminster Class of 1967 and was a first lieutenant in the Army. He died Jan. 4, 1969, at the age of 23 in Dinh Tuong Province.
Christopher "Pod" Podmaniczky, born Dec. 25, 1946, and from St. Louis. He was in the Westminster Class of 1969. He was a private first class in the Marines and died April 21, 1967, at the age of 20 in Quang Nam Province.
Patrick Lawrence Purdin, born March 17, 1948, and from Long Beach, California. He was in the Westminster Class of 1970. He was a hospitaliman (medic) in the Navy, attached to the Marines, and died Nov. 22, 1969, at the age of 21 in Quang Nam.
John Vernon Taylor Jr., born March 24, 1940, and from Fulton. He was in the Westminster Class of 1962. He served as a captain in the Army and died Nov. 4, 1967, at the age of 27 in Kontum Province.
Claude L. Curtice Jr., born Dec. 7, 1926, and from St. Louis. He was in the Westminster Class of 1952. Formerly a soldier, at the time of his death he worked with refugees in Vietnam and was U.S. Deputy Chief for Refugees at Da Nang, Vietnam. He died Jan. 30, 1968, at the age of 44.
Much of the research, which took several weeks, was done on sites such as ancestry.com and virtualwall.org.
This will be Boulton's second trip to Vietnam, a country whose troubles he's studied for at least a decade.
"I took a class there in 2016," he said. "It's a priceless, educational experience."
For Slaughter, doing this research project makes her feel closer to these soldiers.
"It's been really fun getting to know each guy," she said.
Boreman said he got so involved in the research he was up to 3 a.m. a few times.
"All seven of them gave an incredible sacrifice for their country," he said.
A room was named for Remmel in Westminster Hall. He was with a small group that was ambushed, and was offering defensive fire while his fellow soldiers climbed aboard an escaping helicopter. However, the chopper crashed, so he offered more cover as the soldiers got off the aircraft, and then was killed.
Sauer was remembered with a Silver Star 51 years to the day after his death. He also died giving covering fire, armed only with a .45 handgun.
Details about Livermore's death were hard to find, Boreman said.
"He was likely killed during Operation Rice Farmer," he added.
That event in South Vietnam was conducted by elements of the 9th Infantry Division and the 5th Vietnamese Air Force Regiment and claimed at least 1,860 enemy casualties.
Podmaniczky was killed while on patrol.
Purdin was deployed as a medic with the Marines and was on patrol. The two men on point were ambushed and pinned down, and Purdin left his safe position to run about 130 feet to administer aid. Under fire, he used his body as a shield. He was attacked by two enemy soldiers, shot one, and died at the hands of the other. He also was awarded the Silver Star.
Taylor was killed in battle. A career soldier, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. On virtualwall.com, a memory left by a friend remarks about Taylor's newborn baby daughter.
"It's honestly heart wrenching, going through the virtual walls," Boreman said.
Curtice was not on active duty when he died, although he had served in the Navy during World War II, and then for five years with the Navy Reserves. Helping refugees at Da Nang, a coastal city in central Vietnam and once a French colonial port, Curtice choked while eating and passed away.
"It was a sad way to go for a man who was doing so much for so many," Boreman said.
"He's definitely someone who gave his life to service," Boulton said, adding he learned Curtice left behind a wife, parents, two sons and a daughter.
Boulton said he had this research project on the brain for awhile.
"We've wanted to do something for the longest time," he said. "They were part of Westminster. This is something to keep their memory alive. I want to get a monument for them."
Numbers vary on how many people died in Vietnam. Some report about 1,118,000 people died in the Vietnam War between 1965-74. American deaths numbered 58,220, according to the National Archives - but of those, about 41,000 were killed in action, 9,107 died by accident, and others died from other causes. The Department of Defense reports the U.S. spent about $168 billion over 14 years in the war - that's $950 billion in 2011 dollars.
The Vietnam War may be one of the few armed conflicts in American history that cannot be put into a simple, single context.
"There's a lot of controversy, but I think we can all agree to have respect and reverance for these guys," Boulton said.