On April 29, 1975, America’s involvement in Vietnam was coming to an end.  
The Paris Peace Accords, signed on Jan. 27, 1973, aimed to establish peace in Vietnam and end the Vietnam War, involving North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the Viet Cong and the United States. The agreement called for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the return of prisoners of war, but it ultimately failed to bring lasting peace, as fighting resumed shortly after its signing. Two years later, the North was moving on the South and nearing Saigon.
Two young Marines were on guard duty that early morning of the Jan. 29, 1973, at Tan Son Nhut Airbase as evacuations continued. Suddenly, during a rocket attack, L/CPL Darwin L. Judge, of Marshalltown, Iowa, and CPL Charles McMahon, of Woburn, Mass., were killed. They would be the last American ground casualties of the Vietnam War.
Back in Marshalltown, people were listening to the news. On April 30, it was announced Darwin had been killed in action along with Charles.
“I was a senior in high school and working my co-op job at Randall’s grocery store,” said Ken Locke, boyhood friend and fellow Eagle Scout with Darwin. “When I heard the news I went to the back of the store and cried like I never had before.”
The airbase was shut down after that and the evacuation was centered around the U.S. Embassy in Saigon. Operation Frequent Wind remains the largest helicopter evacuation in history, withdrawing 7,000 people. In the dawn of April 30, the last helicopter loaded up the last Marines on the roof of the U.S. Embassy. “Gunny” John Valdez jumped onto the ramp and was pulled into the CH-46 as the presence of America vanished in Vietnam. In the confusion the bodies of Judge and McMahon were left at the Saigon Adventist Hospital.
“It didn’t seem real,” Locke said. “On May 13, a ceremony was held at Marshalltown High School in support of the Judge family and to honor Darwin. My graduation was in a few days but celebration was not on my mind.”
Growing up together in Scouting, the parents served as leaders of Darwin and Ken as they passed through Cub Scouts, Webelos and the Boy Scouts, teaching them the ideals of duty to God, country and self.
“I followed Darwin through every step. He was small in stature, but big in heart,” Locke recalled. “We both completed the requirements for Eagle Scout with Darwin always being first as I followed him.”
Judge, who wanted to be in the military, enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as a senior in high school and went to the Marine Corps Depot in San Diego in July 1974, then to Camp Pendleton in California for Infantry training as a mortar man. He was then selected for Marine Security Guard (MSG) training in Virginia.
After graduation he had the choice of Uruguay or Saigon. He volunteered to go to Vietnam.
“The last time I saw Darwin, he was in his Marine Corps dress uniform in the foyer of Marshalltown High School. He was home visiting his parents before being shipped out to Southeast Asia,” Locke recalled. “I told him to be careful as he looked back at me with his steely blue eyes and smiled.”
People wanted to forget Vietnam and move on. Locke enlisted in the U.S. Army and went to basic training in November 1975. He eventually was assigned to Fort Stewart, Ga., in 1976. Negotiations to get the bodies back to Iowa and Massachusetts were headed up by Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Finally, in March 1976, Darwin’s body was escorted by his brother Loren from San Francisco to Des Moines and then finally laid to rest in Rose Hill Cemetery in Marshalltown.
“I couldn’t get permission to come back for the burial,” Locke said. “Every time I go back home, I visit his grave and remember my friend who was 19 when he gave the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.”
He kept connection with Henry and Ida Judge, Darwin’s parents who now are buried next to their son. Darwin’s brother, Loren, served in the U.S. Navy and Air Force and died possibly from complications from his service. Lori, Darwin’s sister, and her husband Greg stay in close contact. Twenty-five years ago, the Fall of Saigon Marines held ceremonies in Marshalltown and Woburn to honor their fallen comrades.
“For 50 years I have been driven to remember my friend,” Locke said. “Henry and Ida always reminded me to honor all men and women who served in Vietnam.”
On Tuesday at 10 a.m., there will be a special program at the Iowa Veterans Home, Malloy LRC in Marshalltown to honor and remember all Vietnam veterans. A ceremonial wreath laying will follow the program at the IVH Vietnam Memorial. Ceremonies are also being held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; San Diego, Calif.; Woburn, Mass.; and Quantico, Va., either Tuesday or Wednesday by members of Darwin and Charles unit as well as friends, veterans and the U.S. Marine Corps. Locke and his wife, Sina, serve as the directors of The Salvation Army serving Kosciusko and Whitley counties.
“I get up in the morning and look in the mirror wondering who is that aged person looking back at me? Sometimes I complain about things but am reminded that I got many more days than Darwin and others who have died for liberty,” Locke said. “The one thing I always stress is that ‘Freedom Isn’t Free.’”