Watertown to honor Vietnam War vet Paul Gorman

In 2011, Watertown native and war veteran Bonnie Gorman traveled to Khe Sanh Valley in Vietnam to see Hill 606, the spot where her younger brother Paul had died 51 years earlier.

Today, the area is all beautiful hillside, she said. Bonnie searched and searched, but she never did find Hill 606. Despite this, visiting the site felt therapeutic, Bonnie said.

This week, Paul Gorman will be honored by his home town.

Watertown honors Paul

A few months ago, Marines Joe Derian and James Prendergast got in touch with Bonnie. Derian and Prendergast had both joined the Marine Corps with Paul back in 1967.

The pair told Bonnie they planned to ask the town’s veterans service officer to hold a dedication ceremony for Paul. Derian and Prengergast had requested dedications for other veterans in the past and told Bonnie they had wanted to have one for Paul for some time.

Patrick George, Watertown’s veterans service officer, gave the Marines the go ahead. Bonnie filled out the required paperwork, and the memorial plaque was ordered.

“It has been wonderful to see the Watertown veterans come forward; those from his high school class and those who knew him,” Bonnie said.

Paul joined the U.S. Marines after graduating from Watertown High School in 1967. He was 18 when he was deployed to Vietnam.

“[Gorman] signed up for the Marines at a time when young men sign up as teenagers, not thinking about what the consequences might actually be, and what they are being asked to do,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie also served in Vietnam. She worked for two years in the Vietnam Air Evacuation Hospital network as a military nurse. Bonnie had been studying nursing at Boston College, when she decided to join the military for financial reasons in 1963.

“They had no idea, and neither did I, as to what we were in for,” she said.

In July, 1968 Gorman and his company were defending Hill 606 in the Khe Sanh Valley. At the time, the military saw Khe Sanh as a key region to control Vietnam’s northern provinces. Hill 606 was in an area nicknamed the DMZ, or dead marine zone.

Robert "Bob" Fasano, Paul’s comrade, described how Paul died in a letter he wrote to his wife Donna on July 31, 1968. According to Fasano their company had left for Hill 606 the morning of July 30 and reached the hilltop with no problems.

At around 1 p.m. the first platoon went to patrol at the base of the hill on the opposite side which they came up. The platoon was attacked, and two of their men were killed. They called for help and Paul and Fasano fired back at the enemy’s position.

“Paul was only about 10 to 12 feet from me when he was hit. I watched him fall,” Fasano wrote. “Paul died instantly. The bullet went through his jaw and hit his right side of the neck.”

A lasting impact

Paul’s death rocked the Gorman family. He left behind four older siblings, a mother and a father. Soon after Paul’s death, his mother, Madeline had a massive heart attack.

The heart attack left Madeline to live as an invalid until she died two years later. Bonnie attributes her mother’s heart attack to Paul’s death.

“She died of a broken heart,” Bonnie said.

Bonnie’s losses led her to join peace groups advocating to end the Vietnam War and to prevent future war. Today she works with a number of advocacy groups to provide veterans with access to medical and mental health services.

'An honor for the family'

The shadow of Paul’s death is omnipresent. Over 50 years have passed, and Bonnie’s eyes still brim with tears as she reminisces about her lost brother.

The dedication ceremony, Bonnie said, is an honor for her, her family, and for Paul. To Bonnie, the ceremony will also give Paul’s fellow veterans the opportunity to come together and acknowledge their time and service, and to celebrate that they are still here.

“This is a comfortable venue for men to be able to come and talk about the consequences of war, and their experiences in the war, and to get support. For that, I am very happy,” Bonnie said.

The dedication ceremony takes place on July 12 at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Emerson Road and Main Street. At that time, the town will recognize the intersection, near the house where Gorman grew up, as “Private First Class Paul James Gorman Memorial Square.”

Paul is buried alongside his parents at Ridgelawn Cemetery.