Mystery surrounds Medal of Honor recipient

Mystery surrounds Medal of Honor recipient

By DEBRA MAYEUX The Daily Times
Article Launched: 08/22/2008 02:02:20 AM MDT


FARMINGTON, N.M.—A name on a wall without military rank or recognition of honors—that is how Farmington recognizes its only Medal of Honor recipient.
Like many Vietnam veterans, Lance Cpl. Kenneth Worley was not honored with a parade or celebration upon the return of his body to the United States. It even took the U.S. military two years before awarding the medal to Worley, presenting it to his son and foster family.

"Worley died Aug. 12, 1968, in Bo Ban Hamlet, Quang Nam Province, Vietnam in a valiant act of heroism, (he) instantly threw himself upon the grenade nearest him and his comrades, absorbing with his body, the full and tremendous force of the explosion," his medal's citation states.

Worley, 20 at the time of his death, saved his fellow Marines, gallantly giving his life for his country, the citation added. He is one of 297 Marines and 3,467 service members to receive the medal since it was established during the Civil War. He is the only Marine from New Mexico to earn the award.

But who was Kenneth Worley? This Marine and his life remain shrouded in mystery.

Worley was born April 27, 1948, in Farmington. He was raised by a poor family, said Bruce Salisbury, an Aztec resident


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who has spent the past five years investigating Worley.
"My sister, Ann, went to school with his sister," Salisbury said.

Worley's military record stated he graduated the eighth grade from Farmington Elementary School and moved for a short time to Truth or Consequences after being orphaned. It's not known what happened to his parents.

At 16, he moved to Modesto, Calif., where he lived with an aunt and worked as a trucker, hauling Christmas trees out of the mountains, according to a study on Worley's life completed by Terence W. Barrett, a doctor of psychology at North Dakota State University.

"I was doing a study of bravery when I came across Ken," Barrett said in a telephone interview. Barrett works with people suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorder. "The idea (of the study) was to have examples of actions that people take that are brave."

Barrett, finding little to no history on Worley, became intrigued by the young man.

"There was so little public information, and I wanted more than their citations. I wanted personal background," Barrett said.

He did research and was surprised to find that few, if any, people knew who Worley was. Residents here did not realize a Farmington native received the Medal of Honor.

"I found Worley Field and wondered if it was named after him," Barrett said.

He contacted the city's parks and recreation department, but there were no records as to when or how the park was named.

Local baseball historian Jim Clay said the field was named after an El Paso Natural Gas employee. It is not known if the Mr. Worley the field was named after was related to Kenneth Worley.

Barrett discovered there are 25,000 Worleys accounted for in the 1990 Census and no Worley has publicly claimed to be related to the Marine. No one seems to have any knowledge of his biological lineage, Barrett said.

Worley did have a foster mother and father, the late Don and Rose Feyerman, of Modesto, Calif.

At the time, Worley was not going to school and was living in a camper trailer with no running water, electricity or heat, Barrett said. The Feyermans liked Worley and considered him to be their ninth child.

In August 1967, Worley enlisted in the Marines. He trained at Camp Pendelton and was sent to Vietnam, arriving there Nov. 24, 1967, at the age of 19. He was a machine gunner and rifleman.

He died the following August, Barrett said. He saved five of his comrades when he threw his body on the grenade.

He was doing any number of things before his death that credit him with valor, Barrett said. Worley had four bronze campaign stars attached to his Vietnam Service Medal for other actions of bravery.

"There's nothing named after him (in Farmington), which is really unfortunate. Most Medal of Honor recipients have highways or buildings named in honor of them, but there was no public dedication made in honor of him," Barrett said.

Salisbury has worked on that for the past five years.

"All I want is for that kid who spent 16 years of his life here to be honored," Salisbury said. "My heart went out to Worley. ... I hope that after all of this comes out this kid will be recognized as somebody really important."

There is another Medal of Honor recipient from San Juan County.

U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Jose Valdez was born in Gobernador. He received the medal posthumously for service in World War II. A 106-mile stretch of U.S. 64 from Tierra Amarilla to Bloomfield is named in his honor.

Mayor Bill Standley said he needed more information about Worley before pushing for a memorial.

"I don't feel I can do it, until I find out more information, and if he's got strong ties or roots (to the community)," Standley said.

There are memorials to him in California and Seattle, Barrett said. There is a Medal of Honor plaque on his grave at Westminster Memorial Gardens in Westminster, Calif.

There also is the Lance Cpl. Kenneth L. Worley Young Marine unit based in Bellflower, Calif., a nonprofit organization open to all children ages 8 to 18.

Worley's only recognition in Farmington is his engraved name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Salisbury's hope is to have a memorial statue dedicated to Worley that would be a bronze depicting Worley in his military uniform, looking down at one of the young Marines.

Maybe those young Marines will find that Farmington has a heart and it cares, Salisbury said.
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It's time for New Mexico to honor this Medal of Honor awardee, he gave his life so others could live, I am sure they would like to see him honored by his hometown.

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