Burbank High 1966 Media Page

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US Marine Corporal Larry L. Maxam, honored posthumously with the Congressional Medal of Honor - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)

Larry L. Maxam (1948-1968) Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient

Recently, in my home town of Burbank, California, the city council voted unanimously to re-name Pacific Park in honor and memory of United States Marine Corporal Larry L. Maxam, a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Corporal Maxam died February 2, 1968, at Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. 
 
The Burbank Veterans Commemorative Committee will dedicate the park in memory of Larry L. Maxam on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2009.  Larry Maxam attended Emerson Elementary, John Muir Junior High (now Middle School) and Burbank High School.
John Muir Junior High, Burbank, CA - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
 
Burbank, California 1963 – John Muir Junior High
 
In the ninth grade at John Muir, boys took Metal Shop.  Inside, the shop class was like a Gulag factory, with dark, grease-stained windows.  There were many obscure and dangerous machines placed around the room.  In the middle of the shop, there was a gas-fired forge, roaring away at an unsafe temperature.  At one end of the shop, there were long, shared workbenches, where we “slaves to the state” fashioned metalwork of Old Main Entrance - Burbank High School - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)questionable quality and value.
 
Our major project for the semester was to saw, forge, grind and buff a metal chisel out of steel bar stock.  Wearing heavy gloves, we held the red-hot metal with huge tongs.  Then we hammered the glowing bar against an anvil until an unknown alchemy was supposed to change it from a slug into metal-art.  As they say in the commercials, “Don’t try this at home”.  With my fear of the forge showing through, my chisel looked like a misshapen metal lollipop.
 
Sitting next to me at my workbench that year was Larry Maxam.  Larry was a handsome young man, with sweptback, dark hair and a movie star face that Larry Maxam - Burbank High School Year Book Photo, 1965 - Click for larger picture (http://jamesmcgillis.com)was mature beyond his years.  Soon after Mr. Bins, our shop teacher, had told me I was heading for a failing grade, Larry handed me his perfectly formed chisel.  He had ground, beveled and polished it into an object of metallic perfection.
 
“I already got an ‘A’ on this one”, he said to me with a smile.  “Go ahead.  You can use it”.  While my eyes widened in astonishment, I realized that Larry was the angel I had been hoping for.  I too received an 'A' grade for Larry’s chisel.  At the end of the semester, I was not sure if the chisel was a gift, or if Larry had only lent it to me.  Secretly, I kept it as a souvenir.  Almost twenty years later, I misused the chisel and damaged it beyond repair.  Angry with myself for again dishonoring Larry’s gift, I tossed it away.
 
Larry Maxam, standing, facing camera - Click for larger image, courtesy of wesclark.com/burbank/maxam.htmlI remember encountering Larry only once during our time together at Burbank High.  As we passed each other, Larry’s unassuming aura of self-confidence almost bowled me over.  My complicity in the "chisel incident" and the fact that I had secretly kept it made me shy.  After he had passed by without seeing me, I blurted out his name.  Larry stopped on the landing of the Main Stairway.  Frozen in the north light from the window above, he turned, looked up at me, then smiled and nodded.  After that, I lost track of Larry Maxam, until two years ago, when I discovered his fate.
Burial Marker for Larry L. Maxam - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
As soon as he was eighteen, Larry dropped out of Burbank High and joined the Marines.  At age nineteen, Larry saw military action in Viet Nam.  During one major battle, North Vietnamese Army regulars threatened to overrun the position of Larry’s unit.  Despite taking several direct hits from enemy fire, Larry continued to maintain his position and fire a machine gun until reinforcements arrived.  One week after his twentieth birthday, Larry Maxam died on the battlefield. 
Larry L. Maxam Congressional Medal of Honor - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
Larry Maxam became the only alumnus of a Burbank public school to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, as awarded posthumously by then President Richard M. Nixon.
 
Larry Maxam will always be my friend and my hero.

 

 


Veteran of World War II, a Condor Squadron North American AT-6/SNJ vintage aircraft - Click for Memorial Day flyover image (http://jamesmcgillis.com)

Memorial Day 2009 - Burbank, California

Dedication of Larry L. Maxam Memorial Park

 
On Monday May 25, 2009, we attended a Memorial Day Ceremony at McCambridge Park, in Burbank, California.  The City of Burbank and its Veterans Commemorative Committee jointly sponsored the event, which attracted over five hundred people.  This year, the theme of the event was, “A time of song, word, remembrance and celebration”.
U.S. Marines Corp Color Guard at McCambridge Park, Burbank, California Memorial Day event - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
After a stirring prelude by the Burbank Community Band, the Condor Squadron, based in Van Nuys, California, conducted a flyover, with a squadron of their fully restored North American AT-6/SNJ World War II vintage aircraft.  A frequent sight over such events in Southern California, the Condor Squadron’s flyover saluted the men and women of our armed forces, and honored the sacrifices they have made.  With their powerful radial engines thrumming a heartfelt beat, the flyover added excitement and drama to the day’s events.
 
Ms. Pat Walmisley then led the crowd in a rendition of “God Bless America” that would have made Kate Smith proud.  Next was the Presentation of Colors, by the Second Battalion 23rd Marines, a reserve infantry battalion under the command of the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.  After the National Anthem, Flag Salute and Invocation, the ceremony paid tribute to every Burbank-related service person that lost their life during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.  While the crowd listened to the reading of names of those lost in war, we watched the Ceremony of the Rose.  During the ceremony, a group of Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts placed a single rose for each of the deceased on a monument in that special corner of the park.
 
Following the remarks of the city’s mayor, state and congressional legislators, Mr. Mickey DePalo, the head of the Burbank Veterans Commemorative Committee stepped forward to re-name Pacific Park in honor and memory of United States Marine Corporal Larry L. Maxam, a posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Corporal Maxam died February 2, 1968, at Cam Lo District, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam. 
 
It pleased us when Mr. DePalo read some of the words that we and other classmates had composed in memory of our classmate and friend, Larry Maxam.  However, the moment of greatest drama came when Staff Sergeant Rosal, of the Second Battalion 23rd Marines stepped forward to read Corporal Maxam’s Medal of Honor citation, attributed to then President Richard M. Nixon. 
Mr. Mickey DePalo speaking before a crowd of 500 at the Burbank, California 2009 Memorial Day event - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
As we listened in rapt attention, Larry Maxam’s spiritual brother-in-arms read the full text of the citation.  Sergeant Rosal’s voice did not falter as he described how Corporal Maxam single-handedly protected his unit from enemy fire.  Attendees who did not already know the full story, learned that Corporal Maxam succumbed to his wounds on the battlefield.  As he departed the podium, Sergeant Rosal’s military bearing was in keeping with the respect and honor he bestowed upon his fellow Marine.  Only his eyes betrayed his emotions.
Staff Sergeant Rosal, of the Second Battalion 23rd Marines at the 2009 Memorial Day event honoring posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Corporal Larry L. Maxam, of Burbank, California - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
In fitting honor of his service to the United States of America, the City of Burbank then rededicated old Pacific Park as the new Larry L. Maxam Memorial Park.  In Larry's honor, the City of Burbank included $25,000 in its 2009-2010 capital budget for installation of appropriate memorial signage and landscaping. 
 
We hope that Larry Maxam, the man and the soldier will live on in the memories of all who cherish freedom and love these United States.  If good planning and good fortune prevail, we hope to attend festivities associated with the park’s official opening on Veteran’s Day, 2009.
Preliminary signage and design for Larry L. Maxam Memorial Park, Burbank, California - Click for larger Image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
After recent publicity about the Larry Maxam story, two more of Larry's classmates at Burbank High School have stepped forward.  Here are their thoughts about Larry Maxam.
 
Classmate Deanne Adams Taylor said, "I knew Larry Maxam very well.  In fact, he took it upon himself to be sure I was safe.  He went to the same church as I did and whenever we had a dance, he was close by to be sure the young men treated me kindly.  He was always kind to me and made me feel very special.  I felt badly that I was not more attentive to him, as a friend.  He was just a good person.  When I read about his heroic deeds during the Vietnam War, I was so proud of him.  He had a big heart and cared deeply about other people."
Photo of Corporal Larry L. Maxam, United States Marines (1948 - 1968) - Posthumous recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor - Click for larger image (http://jamesmcgillis.com) 
Classmate Eddie Morton (1948-2023), BHS Class of '66 added an air of mystery to the events surrounding Larry’s death, when he said, "I knew Larry had been killed in action because I had read about it in the Burbank Review back in '68.  It happened around Tet of '68.  About ten years ago, I was in Washington, D.C. and read in something at the Library of Congress that he (Larry Maxam) died at "Monkey Mountain", a little west of Da Nang.  I spent time in both places.  I'm glad he's getting the recognition he deserves."
 
Recently, we asked a former classmate, “Is it a cliché to say that they just don't make heroes like Larry Maxam anymore?  Rather than encouraging our children to adulate the next comic book super hero, would we not be better served by honoring real people, both living and dead, who have served our country and sacrificed on our behalf?”
  • Updated Comment - July 1, 2009 - By Eddie Morton (1948-2023), BHS Class of '66:
    • "I recently returned to the Viet Nam Memorial and rechecked the info on Larry Maxam. It said that he died at Cam Lo, which is west of Dong Ha and near the DMZ. I went back to the Library of Congress to try and locate whatever it was I read back in ’99, but could not find it. Whatever it was I read back then, it was wrong or I am remembering it wrong."


To view a preview of the Burbank High School Class of 1966, 60th Class Reunion, scheduled for October 16, 2026, click HERE.

To view the prior Media Page, honoring BHS Class of 1966 alumnus, Rick Polikowski (1948-2013), click HERE.

To view the prior Media Page, honoring BHS Class of 1966 alumnus, Bob Lovejoy (1948-2018), click HERE.