Mary Carr of New Brighton and Joe Grayson of Gulfport, Miss., point to the name of Robert Carr Jr. on The Moving Wall, in Beaver's Quay Square. Grayson was with "Doc" Carr, Mary's son, on June 15, 1966, when he died in a battle of the Vietnam War.

BEAVER - On Father's Day last year, Mary Carr of New Brighton posted a message on the Internet site of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial asking anyone who knew her son, an Army medic who was killed in action in 1966, to contact her.

Her sister's daughter-in-law Dori Marich of Moon Township had talked Carr into posting the message. Several months later, a letter postmarked from Gulfport, Miss., arrived at Carr's home.

The two-page letter from Joe Grayson tells of being in the same fight that claimed her son's life. It speaks of their friendship of three months and tells in heart-stopping detail how "Doc" Carr died on June 15, 1966, while trying to help a wounded comrade.

"I was just so thrilled," Carr said. "I sat down in my chair and cried and cried as I read that letter."

On Sunday, Grayson escorted Carr to a Vietnam Gold Star Mothers luncheon at Jeffries Landing in Bridgewater. About 100 people attended the luncheon, which honored the mothers and families of Beaver County residents killed in the Vietnam War.

The luncheon was held in conjunction with The Moving Wall memorial, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Moving Wall is on display at Beaver's Quay Square until Tuesday.

After the luncheon, Grayson, Carr and several family members went to The Wall, where they found Robert Carr Jr. on Panel 8E, Row 48. They paused in silence. After several minutes, the small group made their way to one of several nearby green military tents that contained biographical information on the casualties of Beaver County.

Carr asked Grayson to recount the story of her son's last moments.

Mongoose Bravo Company, part of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Calvary Division, was on patrol in the jungle northwest of Kontoom, near the border shared by Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. It was morning.

Fire team leader Grayson and several others exchanged fire with North Vietnamese soldiers. One Army infantryman by the name of Greg Brooks was shot and fell down.

Brooks was hit near an area that Grayson had moments before walked through, Grayson said.

"He didn't make it as far as I did, and he was shot," Grayson said. "I don't know why he was shot and I wasn't."

What happened next came fast and furious.

"Two or three times Brooks tried to get up, and two or three time they shot him," Grayson said. "Doc Carr went to render aid, and he was shot twice in the chest, 'boom-boom,' and he went down, dead."

Grayson said he remembers continuing on in the battle.

"We were up against professional soldiers in that battle; they wore uniforms, not simple outfits," Grayson said. "We (beat them back) with hand grenades. We continued our mission; they didn't."

Grayson said he remembers three U.S. soldiers being killed and many more wounded. Brooks, though shot 11 times, survived.

Carr said she was happy that Grayson had come to visit and wanted to adopt him as her own son.

"To think that he was really with my son," Carr said. "I really think that Bob is up there looking down at us and making it happen because Joe was one of his good buddies who survived."

Grayson said he wanted to visit Carr because the memories of war have followed him for 36 years.

"I came here basically to honor Bob," Grayson said. "I think about it every day. This was a must-do thing for me. I've been dealing with some problems relating to Vietnam, and this is a healing for me."

As Grayson stood with his arm around Carr's shoulder, he looked at the many people who had come to visit The Wall on a warm Sunday afternoon.

"This lets people know that we don't forget," Grayson said. "It doesn't go away. It never goes away."

Bob Janis can be reached online at bjanis@timesonline.com.