Two Salem men who were killed in action during the Vietnam War have been remembered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall of Faces in the past week.
Both Roger D. Atkinson and Kester Ulrey are now pictured on the Wall of Faces, along with the portraits of thousands of other American soldiers killed in the conflict. The photo of Atkinson was located by Salem Museum director John Long, who found the Army PFC’s senior photo in the 1965 Andrew Lewis High School yearbook.
Roger Atkinson
Long also searched through local yearbooks for Ulrey’s photo, but was unsuccessful. However, within the past week, a photo of the uniformed U.S. Army staff sergeant was uploaded to the Wall of Faces website. The website did not reveal who posted the photo.
Details on Ulrey’s life were limited, and since he did not appear in local high school yearbooks, Long ascertained that he had moved to Salem after high school. Meanwhile, Long learned some details about Atkinson’s life and Salem roots through information in the Andrew Lewis yearbook and from an article about his death in the Oct. 19, 1967 edition of the Salem Times-Register.
According to the article, Atkinson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Atkinson of 107 N. Bruffey Street and the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. D.W. Atkinson. He was also survived by a sister, Sandra Gail Atkinson.
The Times-Register reported that Atkinson had been in Vietnam since July 19, 1967 and was killed by shrapnel Oct. 14, just eight days before turning 21 years old. The article reported that Atkinson enlisted in the U.S. Army Feb. 14, 1967, and between 1965 and 1967, he attended Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga.
Kester Ulrey
At Andrew Lewis High School, Atkinson played basketball and was a cheerleader for the “girl’s football team,” according to the yearbook.
The website notes that Atkinson is honored on panel 27E, row 105 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Ulrey was born Jan. 11, 1935 and was killed in Vietnam Feb. 4, 1968. He is honored on panel 37E, row 28 of the memorial.
To view the profiles of these fallen veterans or any others killed in the Vietnam War, visit www.vvmf.org.
