Ghosts of the Battlefield

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Ghosts of the Battlefield We are a small, privately owned museum in Virginia Beach, VA. Our mission is to preserve and present the history and heritage of the United States Military.

Ghosts of the Battlefield is charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Check out some of our new Ghosts of the Battlefield advertisements at C2 Shooting Center!We’re excited to see C2 reopene...
11/02/2026

Check out some of our new Ghosts of the Battlefield advertisements at C2 Shooting Center!

We’re excited to see C2 reopened and welcoming customers once again under new management! It’s a great time to stop by, check out the facility, meet the new team, and support a local business getting a fresh start.

While you’re there, keep an eye out for our new Ghosts of the Battlefield advertising displays. We’re continuing to spread the word about Virginia Beach’s only private museum of military history and the incredible artifacts and stories we’re preserving.

Be sure to visit C2 Shooting Center and see what’s new, and remember, admission to Ghosts of the Battlefield Military History Museum is always FREE!

MELVIN EUGENE F**DMelvin Eugene F**d was eighteen years old when he died in Vietnam on November 2, 1967. He came from Ch...
11/02/2026

MELVIN EUGENE F**D

Melvin Eugene F**d was eighteen years old when he died in Vietnam on November 2, 1967. He came from Chicago and served as an Army private first class with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division.

Born July 20, 1949, Melvin had reached adulthood only that summer. By November, his life was over. His service is recorded in the 1st Cavalry Division Association’s Book of Honor, where his name remains alongside the other men his company lost in Vietnam.

Today marks fifty-nine years since his death. I’m sharing Melvin’s name because eighteen deserves a moment of our attention. At that age, he was already serving overseas with a cavalry company. Everything that might have followed—another birthday, a return home, a life after the Army—was taken from him.

**d

OOORAH! RONALD JOSEPH COSTANTINORonald Joseph Costantino turned twenty on September 29, 1967. On November 1, he was kill...
11/01/2026

OOORAH! RONALD JOSEPH COSTANTINO

Ronald Joseph Costantino turned twenty on September 29, 1967. On November 1, he was killed in action in Vietnam. His twenties had lasted barely a month.

Ronald came from Bellwood, Illinois, and served as a Marine lance corporal with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division. His decorations included the Purple Heart. Today marks fifty-nine years since his death.

I think about how young twenty looks as we get older. Ronald had reached that age, earned his place in the Marine Corps and served with India Company in Vietnam. He never got the years that let the rest of us look back on being twenty. Today, I’m giving this space to Lance Corporal Ronald Joseph Costantino, a Marine from Bellwood whose life ended far too soon.

The GOTB Minister of Propaganda has been hard at work today. Apparently, collecting the history, researching it and buil...
11/01/2026

The GOTB Minister of Propaganda has been hard at work today. Apparently, collecting the history, researching it and building the displays wasn’t enough—they’ve put me in charge of convincing everyone to come see it, too. 😂

OLIVER COLEMAN JR. — HIS SON WAS THREEIn March 2020, Oliver Coleman III posted a question to veterans of MACV Advisory T...
11/01/2026

OLIVER COLEMAN JR. — HIS SON WAS THREE

In March 2020, Oliver Coleman III posted a question to veterans of MACV Advisory Team 90. His father had died when he was three, leaving him with “precious few memories.” He wanted to hear from someone who had served alongside him. I’m telling his father’s story today with that request in mind.

First Lieutenant Oliver Coleman Jr. came from Key West, Florida. Born November 4, 1942, he served with Advisory Team 90, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, in Tay Ninh. His decorations included the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He was twenty-six years old when he died on November 1, 1969.

That day, Coleman was aboard a UH-1D Huey from the 116th Assault Helicopter Company. The helicopter, tail number 65-09721, was shot down near Ap Trai Bi, northwest of Tay Ninh City. Four aircrew and three Army advisers were killed. Alongside Coleman were fellow advisers First Lieutenant Michael A. De Magnin and Staff Sergeant Gilbert E. Wallace. Seven men lost their lives on that flight.

Today marks fifty-seven years since Oliver’s death. His son’s message brings the loss into sharp focus: more than fifty years afterward, he was asking other men to help him know his father. If you served with Lieutenant Coleman or have photographs, letters or memories of him, please share them. They could help answer a question his son put into words in 2020.

Link in the Comments section
10/31/2026

Link in the Comments section

JOHN ETHRIDGE MCDONALD — A PROMISE TO COME HOMEJohn Ethridge McDonald promised his California pen pal that he would visi...
10/31/2026

JOHN ETHRIDGE MCDONALD — A PROMISE TO COME HOME

John Ethridge McDonald promised his California pen pal that he would visit her when he returned from Vietnam. She knew him as Johnny, though they had never met face to face. Before that meeting could happen, a telegram from his mother reached her home telling her he had been killed.

Johnny came from Hahira, Georgia, one of six children. His family remembered his love of cars and going to the races. He attended Hahira High School and worked at an air-conditioning plant before being drafted. In Vietnam, he served as a machine gunner with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He was twenty-two when he was killed on April 15, 1969.

Their correspondence began with a school assignment. In October 1968, sixteen-year-old Karen Conboy’s class at Manteca High School wrote Christmas letters to servicemen in Vietnam. Johnny answered hers. She later recalled exchanging roughly sixteen or seventeen letters with him, sharing family stories and photographs. When news of his death arrived, her father collected her from a school field trip and brought her home to read it.

Decades later, research for a road dedication led the Hahira Historical Society to find Karen again. In 2015, Lowndes County arranged a dedication honoring Johnny along Shiloh Road. His hometown was putting his name back into daily life.

Johnny would turn eighty today. I think about that promised visit and the young soldier whose letters made someone thousands of miles away feel she knew him. Those letters gave her a friendship; his death left her remembering a man she never got to meet.

NORBERT OTTO WERNERNorbert Otto Werner was twenty-two years old and already an Army sergeant when his life ended in Viet...
10/31/2026

NORBERT OTTO WERNER

Norbert Otto Werner was twenty-two years old and already an Army sergeant when his life ended in Vietnam. He died on October 31, 1968. Today, fifty-eight years later, I’m putting his name in front of you and asking anyone who knew him to help us tell more of his story. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"}

Born April 22, 1946, Norbert listed Cypress, California, as his hometown. He served with Charlie Company, 44th Signal Battalion, 160th Signal Group, 1st Signal Brigade. His battalion’s responsibilities included the extensive communications network at Long Binh—the connections through which headquarters coordinated the work of an army spread across South Vietnam. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"}

Those details establish where Norbert served and the responsibility his unit carried. I’d also like to hear what his friends called him, what he talked about and what he hoped to do after the Army. If you served alongside Sergeant Werner or knew him back in Cypress, please share a memory or get in touch. A photograph, a letter or a few words from someone who knew him could help us preserve much more of his life.

RAYMOND MICHAEL ENCZI — PRINCIPLE AND CHARACTERChico Hernandez knew Ray Enczi only briefly. That was long enough for him...
10/31/2026

RAYMOND MICHAEL ENCZI — PRINCIPLE AND CHARACTER

Chico Hernandez knew Ray Enczi only briefly. That was long enough for him to remember “a man of principle and character,” and for their mission together to become a memory he struggled to revisit. Those words tell me something worth passing on about this young soldier from Ohio. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="0"}

Specialist Four Raymond Michael Enczi came from Elyria. Born July 26, 1948, he began his Vietnam tour on April 13, 1968, and served with Company F, 51st Infantry, a long-range patrol unit under II Field Force. He turned twenty that summer. On October 31, small-arms fire killed him in Hau Nghia Province, South Vietnam. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="1"}

Hernandez’s tribute speaks directly to Ray. He describes the difficulty of reliving the mission and the importance of doing so to find some closure. He ends with four words: “Thank you, my friend.” Even a short acquaintance had left something that endured. :chatgpt-content-reference{index="2"}

Today marks fifty-eight years since Ray’s death. When I tell his story, I’m carrying forward that description from someone who served beside him: principle and character, remembered in a man who had barely entered his twenties.

NEW INTERACTIVE ACTIVITYIt's 1943. You've been drafted, passed your physical, and taken the oath. But where will the Arm...
10/31/2026

NEW INTERACTIVE ACTIVITY

It's 1943. You've been drafted, passed your physical, and taken the oath. But where will the Army send you?

During WWII, recruits took classification tests to help determine their military assignments. Now it's YOUR turn!

Ghosts of the Battlefield's new 25-question WWII Army Classification Challenge is LIVE on our website!

You've got eight minutes to prove what you've got. Could you qualify for specialized training, or would Uncle Sam have other plans for you?

Take the test and tell us how you scored!

LINK IN THE FIRST COMMENT!

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Make the opening more immediateClarify what the test measures

Address

1329 Harpers Road Suite 103
Virginia Beach, VA
23454

Opening Hours

Monday 11am - 5pm
Tuesday 11am - 5pm
Wednesday 11am - 5pm
Thursday 11am - 5pm
Friday 11am - 5pm
Saturday 11am - 5pm

Telephone

+17573018718

Website

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