Patrick John Dearborn was born on November 17, 1948, in Buffalo, New York. He was a dual citizen (Canada/USA), the son of Marietta Hicks of Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada, and Gilbert Dearborn of Buffalo, NY, the step-son of Russell S. Hicks of Ridgeway, Ontario.

He enlisted in the US Marine Corps on August 11, 1966, in Buffalo, NY. Arriving in Vietnam on May 30, 1967, he was assigned for duty with Company M, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st MARDIV (Rein) FMF.

In the early morning, at approximately 02:00H, a Viet Cong force composed of 100 to 150 men launched their attack on the Marines of the 2d Platoon based on Hill 25. Under a heavy mortar barrage and greatly outnumbered by the defenders, the aggressors immediately breached the wire defenses using Bangalore torpedoes and surged over the top of the hill tossing satchel charges into the bunkers where some of the men had been sleeping. The fighting quickly developed into hand-to-hand combat at close quarters between the Marine defenders and the attacking enemy force. The smell of cordite from explosions hung in the air, and the sounds of automatic gunfire resonated in the darkness of the night.

The primary radio, being destroyed with the collapse of the CP Bunker, SSgt. Bolton managed to reach and locate the secondary radio calling in for a 105mm variable time-fuse fire mission of six rounds which would produce an air burst over his position on Hill 25. The artillery officer on Hill 65 was stunned; he told Bolton his request was suicidal. With no time to lose, Bolton directed his men into any available bunker and told the artillery officer, "If you don't fire now, the VC will kill us all anyway, Fire for effect! Dammit!" The artillery barrage broke the aggressors' attack, and the Marine survivors managed to drive the enemy off the hill.

Ten brave Marines did not survive the night, including PFC Dearborn, who was killed in action as a result of multiple fragmentation wounds from a hostile explosive device.

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