Gerald Francis Young was born on May 10, 1947, in Glace Bay, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the son of Francis Young and Sybil Young of Boston.
Gerald enlisted in the US Marine Corps on November 16, 1965, in Boston, MA. He arrived in Vietnam in October 1966, was assigned to the 3rd Bridge Company, 7th Engineer Battalion, and was reassigned to Company D, 7th Engineer Battalion, 1st MARDIV (Rein) FMF on December 5, 1966.
On December 18, 1967, after completing their sweep for mines on Liberty Road in the Dai Loc District of Quang Nam Province, the sweep team boarded a tank for the return trip back to the Command Post. Approximately two kilometers north of Liberty Bridge in the vicinity of the Hoa Dong village complex, the tank struck a mine in the road. The blast killed three Marines and wounded five. One of the wounded was LCpl Young suffering deafness and cuts and abrasions. Treated, he returned to duty.
LCpl Young was on a security detail on April 6 for a working party at the fill pit in the vicinity of Phu Qui north of Hill 37 in Dai Loc District when an anti-personnel mine was tripped. The hostile explosive device killed LCpl Young as a result of fragmentation wounds, and another Marine was wounded.
Source of information: www.findagrave.com