Dan Bullock was killed instantly, seems to be the case. But since the other three Marines in the 5-foot-by-7-foot bunker with him at the An Hoa combat base were also killed, it’s hard to say for sure.

The night of June 6, 1969 , had been quiet , and guarding the airstrip at Delta sector was supposed to be an easy watch . Some of the Marines were even drinking beers .

Neal Rairden was a bunker or two down , just 15 yards away, when North Vietnamese commandos tossed a pack of explosives . “When the bomb went off that blew up their bunker, no one could’ve lived,” said Mr. Rairden , who was a private first class at the time . “I’m serious. It was the most horrific thing. It was a satchel charge you throw in, and blow the whole thing up.”

The other three Americans in the bunker were men , as we generally define the term, but Bullock was not. Just 15 years old , he would be the youngest American killed in the Vietnam War . He had been there just a few weeks.