Fidele Joseph Bastarache was born on February 11, 1946. He was the son of Ambroise Joseph Bastarache and Helene Marie LeBlanc Bastarache. When he was 16, he moved from Saint-Antoine, New Brunswick, Canada to Gardner, Massachusetts with his family. Ambrose, his father, moved there because of work.

When Fidele was drafted, his mother suggested he move back to Canada. He refused because he felt it was his duty to serve his adopted country. He took basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in July 1966, and on March 15th, he took additional training at Fort Hood, Texas. He started his tour in Vietnam in October.

Fidele was a mortarman and was assigned to Company B of the 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade. The Brigade had joined the 23rd Infantry Division (Americal) operating in the northern part of South Vietnam. Eight and one-half months into his tour, Fidele was killed. Wounded in a firefight at 1730 hours on May 23, 1968, he was admitted to a military hospital in Vietnam and died on May 27th.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com