Allen Edward Firth was born on December 16, 1941, to John Mirkil and Lotte Helena Firth. He attended Albemarle High School and was taking classes at the University of Virginia when he enlisted in the Marine Corps on November 23, 1963. He deployed to Vietnam in July 1967.
While in country, Firth served with H Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Division, in Quang Tri Province. He quickly fell in love with the local populace, and according to one article: “He had a personal sense of humanity, especially to the children, and the people who struggled to protect their property and freedom against the Viet Cong… Sgt. Firth truly saw the pain and suffering of the common Vietnamese [people] and went the extra mile to help them attain a sense of pride and dignity and a belief that the American fighting man really wanted to help them attain their freedom.”
On October 18, 1967, Firth led a patrol that came under heavy enemy fire. After one squad member was hit, Firth exposed himself to danger and was killed by a nearby explosion while trying to carry back the wounded Marine. A fellow NCO who was Firth when he was hit later wrote, “Al was one of the finest persons I’ve ever met… [He] should have never been back there with us, but he was a guy if anything happened, he was there.”
Firth rests in Section E, Site 90 at Culpeper National Cemetery and is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 28E, Line 34. You can honor his service at his Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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Amen! Thank all whom served in those frightning years.
All of you are heroes, complete and true. Misunderstood and forgotten defines my spirit truly your admired. God bless yall