“You Will Never Be Forgotten”: Vietnam Veteran Remembers Fallen Soldier Dan Hinkle
ASHLAND COUNTY, Ohio — In his ongoing “This Day in History” series, Vietnam War veteran Doug Miller is once again honoring the memory of a fallen comrade — sharing a deeply personal story from his time in the jungles of Vietnam.
Miller reflected on March 26, 1969, the day 23-year-old Dan Hinkle was killed in action while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 8th Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
Hinkle had only been in Vietnam for 10 weeks.
According to Miller, Hinkle’s unit was engaged in Operation Wayne Grey, a mission aimed at disrupting communication and supply lines of the North Vietnamese Army’s 24th and 66th Infantry Regiments, which were known to be operating in the area.
The attack came at Fire Support Base 20 in Kon Tum Province, where North Vietnamese forces launched a coordinated assault using heavy small arms fire, mortars, rockets, and artillery.
During the intense battle, Company A suffered heavy casualties — four soldiers killed in action and 14 wounded.
Hinkle was among those who did not make it home.
For Miller, the loss is not just a name in history — it’s personal.
He recalled that on August 6, 1968, he and Hinkle rode the same bus from New Philadelphia to the United States Army Induction Center in Cleveland. From there, the two were sent to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where they trained together in the same basic training company and platoon. Their journey continued side-by-side at Fort Polk, Louisiana, where they completed advanced infantry training before eventually deploying to Vietnam.
“Dan and I started this journey together,” Miller has shared in his reflections — a bond forged long before the battlefield.
Hinkle was a 1963 graduate of Dover High School and is remembered as one of 37 men from Tuscarawas County who lost their lives during the Vietnam War.
More than five decades later, Miller continues to ensure those sacrifices are never forgotten.
“RIP. You will never be forgotten.”
