Lee W. Borden served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army.

He was a veteran of the Vietnam War.

He was originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He is interred, along with his Infant Son, in the Annex Section of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

********************

GLEN MAN, VIETNAM VETERAN TO BE LAID TO REST AT GETTYSBURG TODAY

GETTYSBURG, PA. -- Gettysburg National Cemetery, final resting place for 6,871 veterans, will pay tribute to another Friday at noon when former Attitash and Black Mountain ski instructor, past Eastern Slope Ski Club Junior Program volunteer, and decorated U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran Lt. Col. Lee W. Borden (Ret.) will receive his final wish when he is interred with full military honors.

Borden, 74, was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1938. He lived in Glen (New Hampshire) from 1992 to 2013. He died from cancer on June 1.

"We wanted to let Lee's friends in Mount Washington Valley know of his service. We did not put together an obituary when he died in June," said son-in-law Michael Barton, husband of Borden's daughter Laura, both residents of Tyngsboro, Mass.

Borden was the father of three children: Blair Borden of Los Angeles, Laura Borden of Tyngsboro, Mass., and the late Bradley Borden. He moved to the valley from Rhode Island after his divorce from Laetitia Borden of Saco, Maine, according to Barton. He was grandfather to Cate Barton, 11, Ian Barton, 9, and Anna Barton, 6.

A former Eagle Scout, he received his bachelor of arts from Washington and Jefferson College in 1960. He served in the military from 1960 to 1980.

His military record includes serving as a district advisor in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967; he was a Special Forces Officer, 10th Special Forces from 1967 to 1978; and was an executive officer at the USA Intelligence School at Fort Devens, Mass., from 1979 to 1980.

He was a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) parachutist, and served in the United States, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal, Master Parachute Badge, Korean Parachute Badge, and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

Following his retirement, he moved to Glen and worked at the Red Jersey Cyclery for seven years, Attitash for seven years, and Black Mountain for three years.

"He was a private person. I think a lot of his friends will be surprised when they learn of his military accomplishments," said Barton.

Barton said when his father-in-law returned from his tour of duty in Vietnam, he reserved his interment space at the Gettysburg National Cemetery in 1970.

The National Cemetery has been closed to new reservations for burials since 1978, according to Gettysburg National Military Park historian John Heiser.

The National Cemetery holds the bodies of 3,564 Union soldiers. Three additional sections were added prior to 1968, which contain an additional 3,307 burials. Borden will be buried in the annex, where there are 1,666 grave sites, either filled or reserved, many with veterans of World War II and the Korean War.

"The annex where Lt. Col. Borden is to be interred was added to the National Cemetery in 1968. By 1978, it had all been reserved," notes Heiser.

Site of the Battle of Gettysburg, fought between the Union and Confederate armies July 1 - 3, 1863, Gettysburg saw 51,000 casualties, including just over 10,000 killed, according to Gettysburg's Heiser.

On Nov. 19, 1863, President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

The 150th anniversary of both of those epochal moments in American history have led to an increase in park visitorship and interest, according to Heiser.

The park usually averages two million visitors a year -- the park attracted more than 250,000 for the week-long observance of the battle's 150th anniversary this past July. Another 30,000 to 40,000 are expected to attend the events this November marking the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, considered to be one of the most memorable speeches of all time.

"The Civil War was the deadliest war this nation has ever been in," said Heiser, who is manager of the park's library and who works as a historian in the division of visitor services. "Every piece of turf here is a killing ground, filled with the blood of both sides. It makes this place not just a battlefield, but a little more than that."

(From the CONWAY DAILY SUN, Conway, New Hampshire, Thursday, August 29, 2013)