Jackie Linn Lundell from Norwalk, Ohio was born on 04/17/1950. He died 03/30/1970 holding the rank of LCpl in the Marine Corps. His name is found in Panel 12W Row 61 of the Vietnam Memorial Monument in Washington, DC.

I was run out of my hometown of Norwalk, Ohio, by the Ku Klux Klan when I was 17, in June of 1968. My crime? I was dating a black girl and I was speaking out against US involvement in the Vietnam War. 

I owe my safety to a classmate of mine, Jack Lundell. Though we were not friends, he came by my house to warn me that the Klan were about to tar and feather me and run me out of town. He knew this, he told me, because the meeting was going on at his house, and the county sheriff was the head of the local chapter. While no cross was burned, the image of tar and feathers as an alternate to my 'volunteering' to leave town is still burned in my memory.

Jack told me that he didn't agree with my position (on the Vietnam War), but that it was wrong for the Klan to target me because I held a different belief, that I was exercising my right as an American. He died in Vietnam less than two years later.

My thoughts, prayers and appreciation are always there for you, Jack. Rest in Peace. You did the right thing, you acted as a true Warrior. You sought to protect the values and principles of one kid's rights. Thank you.