Russell M. Heath

Heath, the youngest of eight children, was nicknamed "Baby" by his mother. He loved dancing, singing and playing musical instruments, and often wrote his own songs. Heath attended Benjamin Franklin High School and worked at the Marriott Hotel in Bala Cynwyd before enlisting in the Army in August 1964. He planned to make a career of the service. The 2G-year-old private first class, a rifleman assigned to Company A of the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade, died in Vietnam on Oct. 5, 1965. He was survived by his mother, two brothers and five sisters.