KILLED IN ACTION - 5/4/1967
QUANG NAM PROVINCE, SOUTH VIETNAM
James Iverson Balch was born on November 16, 1946 in Fresno, California. Available historical records report he was raised by a single mother after his father died in 1953. His mother become a nurse in 1939 after which she served in the U.S. Army during World War II, following which she worked in several hospitals in California, including the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fresno. After residing in California, James and his mother moved to Sioux City, Iowa, where James graduated from high school.
The date James enlisted in the Navy is not readily available but records reveal he followed in his mother’s footsteps by becoming a medical Corpsman following recruit training. Upon completion of this training James was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. In late April 1967, his company landed in Vietnam from the Philippines and commenced participation in a prolonged and deadly battle with Viet Cong forces south-east of Da Nang, Vietnam, that lasted until the middle of May. On May 3 a large Viet Cong force attacked the Marines with heavy automatic and small arms fire with the battle lasting through the night. At first light, assistance was called in and when the firing ceased, fourteen bodies were recovered in addition to nine wounded Marines. Unfortunately, HN Balch was one of the men who had been killed.
HN James Iverson Balch is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Le Mars, Iowa. He was survived by his mother who had returned to Fresno to live.
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
