In his endorsement of Bob Macdonald’s candidacy for House District 71 (May 30), Bob Stone claims that Macdonald fought in Vietnam as a Marine in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley.

Something is wrong here. It was the U.S. Army’s 1st Air Cavalry, not the Marines, which fought North Vietnamese regulars in that bloody battle of November 1965. Throughout the Vietnam War, the Marines were deployed around Da Nang and the DMZ, many kilometers removed from the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, where the battle of Ia Drang took place.

Perhaps Bob Stone should investigate the candidate’s war record or at least get the history of the Vietnam War straight. Otherwise his mistakes will damage Bob Macdonald’s credibility and his own.

Chris Beam, Lewiston

Editor’s note: Bob Macdonald was not involved in the Ia Drang Valley battle. Letter writer Bob Stone submitted incorrect information. Macdonald served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He arrived in Vietnam in 1967.