Citizens of Hingham,

As the calendar moves toward the end of May and Memorial Day, I would like to share with you my memory of my best friend, 1st Lieutenant Curt Chase.  Curt was killed in Vietnam on May 6th 1967.  This year is the 50th anniversary of Curt’s death.

Curt grew up on Garrison Road.  He played little league baseball at Haley Field.  He was a Troop 1 boy scout.  A hockey player via his back yard pond, the Hingham Skating Club and goalie for the high school hockey team.  In the fall he hunted the fields of Hornstra’s farm, and in the spring fished in Triphammer Pond and the Weir River.  He worshipped at the Congregational Church with his family.  The Red Sox and Bruins were favorite teams.  An honor student, Curt graduated from Hingham High as a member of the class of 1961.  

I have always thought that Hingham’s most important and best product is its kids.  I believe that the town provides great role models and mentors.  Starting with our teachers, our coaches, our scout leaders, our pastors, our neighbors and friends parents we provide a great path for the kids growing on the journey to adulthood.  I have always thought that Hingham is a great place to be from.  Curt was a gem shaped by this net work.

So how did Curt come to be my best friend.  We did it the way most kids do.  We grew up together and spent countless hours together during those precious school years when the time was available.   Lots of friends come into your life latter in life but you never get to spend the time that’s available in youth.   Naturally we had common interests in everything outdoors that a group of friends shared.   What stood out for me was Curt’s high energy, enthusiasm and love of life.  He had a terrific sense of humor and was known on occasion to be a practical joker.  He was a hard worker in all things including school work.  He read widely and always had a book that he would share.  Those close to him still miss him!

Curt’s shortest gladdest years were spent at Bowdoin College rounding into adulthood, graduating with the class of 1965.  With graduation came an Army ROTC commission as a 2nd Lieutenant.   He entered active duty with the Army in the fall of 65.  In December of 1965 he married Judy Clifford in Cape Elizabeth Maine.

Following completion of Infantry Officers Basic course at Fort Benning Georgia, Curt was assigned as a tack officer instructing new Army recruits at Fort Ord in California. Curt received his orders sending him to Vietnam during the summer of 1966.  He left for Vietnam in late August.

In Vietnam Curt was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division as a platoon leader in an infantry company.  He held this position for six months experiencing a significant amount of jungle combat.  At the end of the six months Curt became the battalion S2 intelligence officer.

In the spring of 1967 Curt and Judy met in Hawaii for a week vacation known as R&R, rest and relaxation.  It was here that they made the decision to leave the Army at the conclusion of his tour.  Curt then applied to the MBA program at the Harvard Business School and was accepted into the Fall class of 1967.

Curt never made it to Harvard. He died in the service of his country on May 6th, 1967 in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam, in a helicopter accident.  He was 23 years old.   He is buried in the family plot in the High Street Cemetery.   The playground at the Plymouth River School, Chase Field, is named in Curt’s honor.  His smiling face along with the other five Hinghamites that died in Vietnam, greets you as you enter the front entrance of the town hall.

And now some thoughts on Curt’s loss.  In my lifetime I have experienced two wars that were tragic mistakes.  Presidents Kennedy and Johnson  (Democrats) took this country into a civil war in Vietnam that cost America over 58,000 lives.  More recently, Bush and Cheney (Republicans) took us to war in Iraq over nonexistent weapons of mass destruction at a cost of over 4000 lives.  We will never know what these people could have accomplished had they lived, but I am sure that Curt’s accomplishments would have been significant.   Multiply what would have been the accomplishments of these thousands of Americans lives lost in unnecessary wars and the cost to the nation becomes incalculable.

On this Memorial Day, while we remember those who gave their lives in the service of our country, we should also reflect on the fact that it is the president whose decisions send our young people into battle.  Our most important obligation as citizens is to take the time to evaluate presidential candidates and then vote for the one who you believe is best qualified to lead our great nation.

Bill Quinn