Priceless relic worn by Marine killed in Vietnam War on display at North Jersey library

HAWTHORNE — No one in this small borough will ever forget the name of Billy Dutches.

It is chiseled in stone on a monument. It is painted in yellow letters on a park bench. And for more than a decade, it has adorned a street sign.

But now, for the first time since Lance Cpl. William G. Dutches was killed in the Vietnam War, a more tangible and very real reminder of his life is on public view in his hometown — part of an exhibit at the library on Lafayette Avenue.

The graffitied piece of fabric that covered the helmet Dutches wore when he died on Flag Day in 1966 is resting on a mannequin head on the top shelf of a display cabinet.

It will stay there until the anniversary of the Marine’s death when it will be returned for permanent presentation to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial and Vietnam Era Museum in Holmdel.

“This is a time for us to bring him home,” said Gina Gerard, the head of the library’s adult services.

Dutches, who grew up on Kingston Avenue and graduated from the local high school in 1964, was shot in the neck and killed when his platoon was ambushed. He was 21 years old, the first of 11 servicemen from the borough to die in the war.

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The library exhibit also has Dutches’ burial flag and military combat decorations, including his Purple Heart medal. In an adjacent display case is the original copy of a resolution, signed by then-Mayor Louis Bay 2nd, calling for a moment of silent prayer in his memory.

Also laid out under the glass are black-and-white photos, newspaper clippings and the Western Union telegram that the Dutches family received on the day following the tragedy.

The tone of the government missive was robot-like.

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“You will be reimbursed an amount not to exceed two hundred dollars toward funeral and interment expenses if interment is in a private cemetery, one hundred twenty-five dollars if remains are consigned to a funeral home prior to interment in a national cemetery, or…”

Gerard said she placed a box of Kleenex on top of the display case for library patrons who may have to dab their eyes.

“This is the part that kills everyone,” Gerard said about the telegram. “He was a local boy. He did it with honor.”

The focal point of the exhibit is the helmet cover, discovered in August 2019 by a collector of military artifacts on the website of an antiques dealer in Morris County. He purchased the tattered relic, having no knowledge of its immeasurable value, for $200.

In June 2021, the miraculous find ended up in the hands of Billy’s brother, Frank Dutches, after the collector deciphered a set of perplexing scribbles on the fabric — “BETTY LOU,” “DUTCHES,” “Hawthorne, New Jersey,” “(SNORKLE)” and “ΩΓΔ” — and decided to donate it. He had enlisted a local author and military historian to help him in his research and to assist him in reaching the family.

Frank Dutches, 68, said he did not know the helmet cover existed prior to his contact with the collector. The family ultimately decided to donate it, as well, giving it to the museum where it was displayed in public for the first time last year.

When that exhibit ended in March, Dutches said he and his family asked the museum to loan the helmet cover to the library.

Dutches, who lives in Monroe, Connecticut, said he has made the 80-plus-mile trek to the library multiple times to check on the exhibit and to pay respects to his older brother.

“A lot of people who knew Billy requested it,” Dutches said. “There were a lot of people throughout the years who have been very faithful to him.”

And perhaps no one more so than James Brogan, a childhood friend who grew up one door away from the Dutches family.

Brogan, 79, a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, co-wrote a book about Billy. “The Helmet” blends stories about the collector’s discovery with personal memories from his family; his fellow Marines; his fraternity brothers; and even Debbie Harry, the lead vocalist of the band Blondie, who was one year ahead of him in school.

A copy of the 256-page book — few were printed — is propped on the top shelf of the display cabinet, right next to the helmet cover.

“I can’t think of a better place,” said Brogan, who lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

“Having the book and the helmet together, with the story — it really goes together,” he added. “It’s a story in itself. You look at the helmet, and you look at the book, and it’s all one package.”

Michael Thornton, the museum curator and director, said the helmet cover will be on permanent display, with various ephemera, beginning in the fall. He said it will be in a case made for light-sensitive objects to ensure markings on its cloth are legible for decades to come.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

Memorial Day observance and parade

The borough will hold its annual service at noon on Monday at the borough hall, at 445 Lafayette Ave. The parade will step off at 1:30 p.m. at the corner of Lafayette and Rea avenues.

Councilman Dominic Mele, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, is the grand marshal of the parade.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ library showing relic worn by fallen Marine of Vietnam War era