Hi, Fred,

Thought you might have possibly lost my mailing address for sending me those addresses you said you had all ready to send.

It's    19 Crown Hill Atkinson, N.H.  03811Am eagerly looking forward to receiving the addresses of the missing "sons of New Hampshire."

In today's mail, I received a packet of information on Capt. James Mozden,  class of 1964, from his mother.   Because Jim was a casualty of Vietnam with no current address, it took a while to locate his family.  I finally used the fact from his obituary in an ASSEMBLY magazine to see where he was buried.   I then phoned information for Clermont and, I was right,  his family still lived there.   I had finally after so many months, located Capt. Mozden's family.   The mother and I spoke at great length.

She is so happy that her son will be forever remembered in the N.H. Register.  Her son's story is heartbreaking.  I was very moved by what she told me during our first phone conversation. Then today, I received the packet of information, complete with pictures of Capt. Mozden.   It included two citations for valor--for on two separate occasions, risking his own life, drawing fire to save his troops,  exposing himself to enemy fire to drag wounded troops to safety.  He himself was also wounded and awarded a Purple Heart.  His courage and valor under fire was really impressive.   Along with the citations and his service summary and cadet pictures,  his mother also sent me a letter about the tragedy of her son's last days and his death.  It was heart-wrenching.  I found myself in tears as a I read this detailed letter from a heart-broken mother.  I also felt her pain as she described how her son was denied a color guard, taps and a volley at his funeral because of a terrible winter storm on the day of his burial which prevented the military team from being able to reach the funeral site.

All these years later, her hero son has still been denied that military tribute which his Vietnam service truly earned him and she still feels that pain of what her son was denied.  She wrote me that she wept as she put together the materials for the Register.  She sent much material on her son.  I am determined that the section of the Register on Capt. James Peter Mozden will give him the honor he deserved.   I'm thinking of including the letter from his mother--unedited, with her permission, of course.

Fred,  I'd like to ask a very special favor of you--that you find out for me  when the class of 1964 is having its reunion at West Point.   I'd like to do something for this heartbroken Mother---possibly, her being taken to the Point as a guest of the N.H.-WPPC.   I'd like to see about whether durirg that class reunion at the Point, USMA would allow a small outdoor memorial service for Capt. Mozden with the taps, honor guard and  volley for Capt. Mozden that a N.H. winter storm denied this N.H. hero.  Hopefully, N.H. cadets could  serve as an honor guard.  It would mean so much to Mrs. Mozden. (She just died, JSP)  What do you think?  If the class of '64  is having a reunion soon, do you think the Point would cooperate with regard to the long-overdue military tribute to this son of N.H.?

I'm just coming back to the computer after just now receiving a call from Mrs. Mozden.   The phone rang as I was just typing the previous paragraph and I somehow knew that it was Mrs. Mozden, checking to see if I had received the material on her son which she had sent me.  She wept again on the phone.  She again said how she is so pleased that her son will be forever remembered in the N.H. Register. She again said that she still remembers with pain that weather-denied military funeral for her son.

Carol Grant <cgrant0ici.net>
NH West Point Parents Club