MUSCOGEE COUNTY, GA - MILITARY Vietnam  Gerald Leopold Latini

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This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by:Betty Rackley Taylor  BHS 1954  artnframes@aol.com 



The Baker Lion's High School website
Betty Rackley Taylor  BHS 1954  artnframes@aol.com 



Early last summer someone on this forum
brought up the name of Gerald Latini, an
army warrant officer who was killed in Viet
Nam. Someone was wondering if he was a Baker
High School graduate. I volunteered to do
some checking around to see what I could
find out. All I could find on the internet
was basically when he was killed,
where,...... but could not find out where he
went to high school. This evening I was at
the Bradley Library doing some research for
a project that I intend to undertake in the
near future and found that I had a few spare
moments to kill while waiting for my wife to
pick me up on her way home from work. I went
into the research department, ( a foreign
area to me when I was at Baker ), and told
the person on duty what I was looking for.
He suggested that I look through back issues
of the Columbus Ledger Enquirer, ( which are
on micro film ) and see if I could find an
obituary. I knew the date of his death, 11-
29-67, so that greatly narrowed the field d!
own as to the time frame in which I would
have to look. The librarian put the micro
film in the machine,  showed me basically
how to use it, wished me luck and headed
back to his seat. He had not even got
comfortable in his chair when in the
Saturday December the 2cd issue on the 3rd
page was an article announcing Gerald
Latinis' death. Gerald was a 1961 graduate
of Columbus High School. He also attended
Columbus College and The University of
Georgia. No dates as to when he attended
these schools were given. He enlisted in the
army in December of 1965 and went to
helicopter flight school at Ft. Rucker Ala.
where he graduated in January of 1967. He
arrived in Viet Nam in Febuary of  that year
where he flew  missions for the 161st
Assault Helicopter Company until his death
in November of that year. While doing some
earlier research a couple of months ago I
found out that he had been buried at
Parkhill Cemetery here in Columbus but I was
not able to find a date as to when.

I did stop at the cemetery office,
but they had no record of Gerald LATINI
being a resident of their cemetery.

His old military unit has a website at:
www.161ahc.org 

A picture of Gerald Latini
may be viewed in the photo gallery of
Garland Lively.  John H. Hastings
john.hastings@sbcglobal.net