lest we forget

PATTERSON, GORDON LEE

Rank / Branch:

  • WARRANT OFFICER FIRST CLASS, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1932-04-24

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE SMALL ARMS FIRE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • PASSENGER WATER CRAFT

Other:

  • MARRIED

Unit:

  • FIRST LOG COMMAND-VIETNAM

Date Of Loss:

  • 1968-11-16

Loss Coordinates:

  • BIEN HOA

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • PATTERSON, GORDON LEE, WARRANT OFFICER ONE, U.S. ARMY, ODESSA, ECTOR, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • BRONZE STAR MEDAL, PURPLE HEART WITH OAK LEAF CLUSTER, ARMY GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, MARINE CORP GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL WITH GOLD STAR, KOREA SERVICE MEDAL WITH FOUR CAMPAIGN STARS, UNITED NATION'S EXPEDETION MEDAL FOR SERVICE IN KOREA, ARMED FORCE EXPEDITIONARY MEDAL KOREA, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM MILITARY MERIT MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Gordon Lee Patterson was born in Lamar County, Texas. He had an older brother and three sisters. His family moved first to Goldsmith in 1948 and then into Odessa. Gordon attended Odessa High School. It was during his senior year when the war in Korea started, and Gordon dropped out of high school and rushed to join the United States Marine Corp. He served in the Korean Theatre and earned his first purple heart. He went through four major campaigns during the conflict. He was stationed state side at Camp Pendleton in California and there he met and married his wife, Ida Terrell in 1954.
  • He discharged from the Marine Corp and returned to Odessa. He went to work in the oilfield, first living in McCamey, Texas where his son, Gordon Lee Jr. was born in December 1954. Two daughters, Suzanna Marie and Terri Annette were later born in Odessa. Gordon went to work for the Odessa Fire Department in 1957 and worked as a fireman for four years. In 1961, Gordon decided to return to military service, and he enlisted in the U.S. States Army. He was first sent for basic training at Fort Hood, Texas and trained as a mechanic, he then completed a tour in Korea, then returned to Fort Hood, Texas, and then completed an assignment in Okinawa. He was then selected to attend the Warrant Officer Academy and was trained at Fort Eustis, Virginia as an electrician and diesel engineer. He was commissioned as a Warrant Officer One, WO1. He was then ordered for service in Vietnam.
  • He began his tour on November 16, 1968. He was assigned to Detachment 3, 4th Transportation Command, First Log Command, United States Army-Vietnam. On November 16, 1968, he was performing shore duty working on a watercraft that was buoyed on the Saigon River near Ben Hoa. The craft came under attack from NVA and V.C. forces. WO1 Patterson and another soldier both perished from gunshot wounds.
  • WO1 Patterson was buried with full military honors at the Sunset Memorial Garden's Cemetery in Odessa with full military honors. His wife, Ida passed away in 1977 and now rests next to him.
  • FORT HOOD, TEXAS 1961
  • SUNSET MEMORIAL GARDEN'S CEMETERY, ODESSA TEXAS
  • IN VIETNAM