'The brightest of all of us': Family honors fallen Etna Vietnam veteran with memorial

When Lt. Fred Bragg Jr. was killed during the Vietnam War, his four younger brothers lost their guiding star.

Now, more than 50 years later, they are honoring the older brother they loved so dearly with a memorial in their hometown.

The family has placed a memorial to Bragg — and all those who died in Vietnam — in Etna Township's High Point Park, located at the corner of Ohio 310 and Pike Street. A dedication ceremony will take place there at 11 a.m. Monday, complete with the Licking County 4-H Band and remarks comments from Bragg's brother Jeff, and the Etna Township trustees.

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The oval-shaped stone memorial includes an etched photo of Fred and the medals awarded to him as well as an account of his actions the day he died. It reads in part, "He gave his life while bravely leading his men in the face of overwhelming odds."

'The brightest of all of us'

As the oldest of the children of Fred Bragg Sr. and Barbara Bragg, Fred was the leader of his four brothers: Wendell, Jeff, Stuart and Greg.

"He was by far the smartest, the brightest of all of us. He graduated second in his high school class," said Jeff, who was five years younger than Fred. "We just thought he hung the moon."

The family moved to a home at the northwest corner of Etna's Pike and East streets — just down the road from High Point Park — when Fred was 9 years old, said Jeff, who led the memorial effort. All five boys were extremely close and often played in the park together.

"That park would often flood in heavy rains, and all of the town's children would gather in the lowest spot of that park and splash in the water. It became a makeshift swimming hole for a day in heavy rains," he said.

As a teenager, Fred's summer job was mowing and maintaining the park as well as Etna Cemetery.

It's why the family selected it as the place for Fred's memorial, which was paid for privately. Even though Jeff lives in Florida and his other brothers are scattered throughout the country, it made sense to place the memorial in a place that held so much meaning for the family, he said.

While Fred was a responsible young man, he also was a prankster, Jeff said.

"He would sometimes try to shock us with some electric motor that he concocted and he thought that was great fun," said Jeff, now 74. "But we always touched the wires whenever he asked us to, so I guess we knew what was about to happen."

Fred had a strong commitment to his four brothers.

"Gifts at Christmas were always special from him," Jeff said. "He put a great deal of thought in them and worked hard to earn the money to buy our presents."

A brave soldier

Fred graduated from Watkins Memorial High School in 1960. Because the family was Mormon, he decided to attend Brigham Young University in Utah as an engineering student. He completed a year and half of classes but, short on money for the rest of his education, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, Jeff said.

He was sent to Vietnam in the summer of 1966 as an artillery forward observer, and that fall he saw his first combat. As a result, he was awarded the Bronze Star for his service and was promoted to first lieutenant.

On July 12, 1967 — just two weeks before Fred was supposed to come home — enemy forces pinned down his company with small arms and mortar fire. Fred took charge when the company commander was killed, giving his men encouragement.

He was injured himself but continued to direct troops. When enemy forces began to advance, Fred stayed in the open to defend his troops and fired at the advancing enemy force, according to the website Together We Served, an online community of veterans.

He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Service Cross, the U.S. Army's second highest medal, Jeff said. He was only 25 years old.

For decades, the family discussed a way to honor Fred but delayed their effort for many years because of the unpopular reaction to the war. As the negative attitude about the war began to thaw, Jeff said, the Bragg family knew the time was right.

"We knew also that we wanted to honor all Vietnam veterans, not just my brother, because of their service and because of the cold attitude that they experienced when they returned," he said. "It's important that Vietnam veterans generally are recognized, and that's what we tried to do in the memorial."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Memorial Day: Fallen Etna Township Vietnam War veteran honored