Name: Edward Haddock, PFC, USMC
Local address: 26 Idaho Lane, Aberdeen, NJ
Courtney John Gilpin Haddock (1915-1987) and Helen Marguerite Glassmeyer (1918-1975) were married July 25, 1941 in Asbury Park and subsequently adopted two children, Linda and Edward. Edward had been born April 3, 1947 in Chambersburg, PA. Courtney worked as a general adjuster for the General Adjustment Bureau in New York City. The family moved to Aberdeen in 1962 and both children graduated from Matawan High School, Linda Lee in 1963 and Edward in 1966.
Edward was active in his church, Cross of Glory Lutheran. His high school nickname was “Fish,” and he participated in the school’s bowling and golf clubs. He enlisted in the Marines immediately after graduation, and reported for boot camp at Parris Island, SC that September, subsequently receiving advanced training at Camps LeJeune, SC and Pendleton, CA. In 1967, he deployed to Vietnam with Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division.
In July of 1967, Edward volunteered to search a tunnel near Quang Tri when a Viet Cong guerilla threw a grenade and wounded him, for which he received his first Purple Heart medal. On January 28, 1968, he participated in his third combat mission, codenamed Operation Badger Catch, a search and destroy operation to clear the north banks of the Cua Viet River and prevent enemy interdiction of river traffic. Edward was killed from shrapnel from an exploding mine. During that operation, thirteen other Marines and two Navy corpsmen lost their lives. Edward is buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.
Note: another Strathmore “I” Section veteran, Donald Allaway, was killed in Vietnam the month Edward graduated from Matawan High and is also buried in Arlington. Knowing this, Edward still enlisted. Additionally, Phillip Frank, another Matawan High graduate assigned to the same 1st Marine Regiment, was killed in Iraq 36 years later.
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