BOURBONNAIS, Ill. (AP) — Bourbonnais village officials have dedicated a memorial park for a U.S. Marine who died in the Vietnam War.
The village and Olivet Nazarene University dedicated the park to Marine 1st Lt. Wayne Michael Hayes.
Hayes was the first and possibly only Olivet Nazarene student to die in Vietnam.
Hayes was killed July 6, 1967 in a battle defending a South Vietnamese village. The lieutenant had just been put in charge of the five-tank company.
Hayes led a three-tank formation into a firefight with the North Vietnamese. He took the top-of-the-tank mounted gun and was hit by what was a rocket-propelled grenade or anti-tank shell.
Hayes’ spot is called Freedom Garden. It is just south of the electronic sign that honors all area veterans.
